Page 126 of The Mafia Assassin's Redemption-

Then the utter coldness moves back in and there’s nothing else but that endless, uncaring darkness that lurks. “You tried to hurt Declan. Then you tried, twice, to have Harry killed. None of that’s going to fly with my family or me.”

Her eyes flash. “What?—?”

“I’m sorry you had a shit time, and I’m fucking sorry you got shot and your family left you for dead. I chose you and her parents died. And then I saved Harry and you died, or so I thought. And Harry…” He glances at me. “She is blaming herself for all of it.”

Then he looks back at Siobhan. “Yet you blame everyone but yourself, don’t you, Shiv? And the bottom line is, you tried to hurt her. She’s sweet. Good.”

“So… I’ll kill her.”

“Your own nail is in your coffin, Siobhan.”

Things happened fast. She points the gun at me when I lunge to grab a heavy book from the shelf next to me. I throw it, and in the sudden melee, Torin shoves me aside, stepping in front of me.

Right as both guns go off.

And I scream as he crashes down to the floor.

“Torin!”

TWENTY-NINE

torin

Harry’s sobshurt my soul as she screams and grabs the gun from my hand.

It happens in seconds, and the fear and anger I’m wrestling with turns back into protection mode.

She’s got a fucking death wish.

I grab at her arm, pulling her back and rolling over her, taking out my second gun from the waistband of my pants. “I’m alive, Dirty Harry. Are you okay?”

Choked sobs erupt from her mouth. I shove her down to the floor and hold her close while I peer around the sofa to aim at Shiv.

I don’t usually carry two guns, but something made me grab an extra today. Maybe the fact we might have been going into battle. And I’m sure fucking glad I did.

My heart’s pounding almost as loud as my blood, and a tremor threatens to race through me. Something that’s a death knell to a fucking assassin.

Not because it’s Shiv. I’m not sure how I feel about her, but it’s far from love or like.

Because Harry’s vulnerable.

Fucking Harry.

My reason for living, for breathing, and every other fucking thing.

Bad enough Shiv wanted to hurt Declan. That’s a bullet, right there.

But my Harry?

If I had my way, I’d torture her until she begged me to put a bullet between her eyes. And then I’d torture her some more.

I might be inclined to rip her heart out and then shred it in front of her as she died.

If she’d have just come to me and let me know…

But the thing is, I think Shiv’s always been a little crazy, a little unhinged. It’s what made her so exciting to the teenage version of me. I adored the razor’s edge life we flirted with and dipped into.

If she’d come to me after I’d mourned her, I’d have told her it was over. If she’d done it before… fair enough, I could see our relationship limping on for maybe another year, but we wouldn’t be together after that.