“We’re not—” Hyde started, but Ewan took one step forward, and he stopped.
“You two just left a house that Ronan Healy entered last night,” Ewan said softly. “And I’ve heard the fucking rumors. Don’t play games, Hyde.”
“Just tell him,” Franz croaked. “Fuck, tell him whatever he wants to know.”
“That’s the spirit.” Ewan showed his teeth. “I only need to know one thing.”
“What?” Hyde asked, suspicious, and glanced toward me.
“Where’s Colm been staying?” Ewan asked.
Hyde shook his head. “I’ve got no fucking clue,” he said. “I’m a nobody. You know that. I’ve got nothing to do with leadership.”
“He’s not lying,” Franz said, and leaned his head against the wall. “Fuck, Ewan. You think we want to lie to you?”
“I think you’re afraid of me,” Ewan said. “But you also know that the Healys will kill you just as easily as I will. Got to be real careful, right?” He stepped forward and raised the gun, and pressed it against Franz’s gut.
“Ewan,” Hyde said. “Come on. What the fuck?”
“Where has Colm been staying?” Ewan asked.
“I don’t—”
Ewan pulled the trigger.
It was loud, shockingly loud, though muffled by Franz. I gasped and had to cover my mouth to stop myself from screaming. I instantly felt like I was back in my father’s house, watching him get executed. Ewan had the same cold, dead eyes, like he didn’t give a damn what he did.
The big man grunted in shock and stumbled to the side before hitting the ground. Blood burst out from his wound and leaked onto the ground. The big man moaned in pain and weakly patted at the hole in his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding, and Hyde stood horrified and transfixed, his hands against his mouth, not moving an inch.
Ewan turned the gun to Hyde. I knew he’d kill Hyde if he didn’t talk, and I wanted to beg him to tell Ewan everything he knew, but I was terrified. I kept scanning the block and the windows, looking for a witness, but the place was quiet, like gunshots were common. It was insane, so insane.
“Where has Colm been staying?” Ewan asked.
“Breakfast,” Hyde barked.
Ewan hesitated. “Talk.”
Hyde squeezed his eyes shut, trembling. “Breakfast. I don’t know where he’s staying, but I know where he’s getting breakfast.”
“Where?” Ewan asked.
“Place called Baby May’s,” he said. “It’s right near Drexel. It’s a fucking college place normally, but he likes their food, so shit, he goes there in the mornings real early, right when they open.”
“Are you lying?” Ewan asked.
“No,” Hyde said. “Fuck, Ewan, let me call an ambulance. He’s really bad, man.”
Ewan glanced down to where Franz lay bleeding. “Better call fast,” he said, and shoved the gun into his waistband. “Next time, tell me what I want to know the first time.” He turned and walked toward me, and I stared at him.
There must’ve been fear in my eyes, because I saw his expression shift into something like pain, then soften. He reached me and put a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“You shot him.”
“I know,” he said. “Would it make you feel better if I said that he’ll probably live?”
“Not really. Maybe. I don’t know.” I sucked in gasping breaths and realized I was panicking.
He took my wrist and steered me away. We walked out onto the sidewalk again and I heard Hyde yelling into his phone, begging the 911 operator to send an ambulance as fast as they could.
Ewan didn’t hurry. He had blood splattered on his chest and arms, but he smiled, and looked like he wanted to whistle. I felt like I needed to scream, but his hand was hard on my wrist, and we made it back to the car without any issues.
He started the engine and looked at me.
“If you want to freak out, now’s the time,” he said.
I started crying. It burst out of me, big fat fears, hot on my cheeks. Ewan drove back to the apartment, smiling the whole time. It took me most of the car ride to finally calm down, but when I did, he leaned over and wiped away a tear.
“We got a lead,” he said. “Cheer up. We’ll kill Colm and all this will be over.”
I only nodded, because that wasn’t true, not even a little bit, because I still had to marry him, I had to marry the killer, and it scared the hell out of me.
17
Ewan
I gave Tara space. She was messed up from watching Franz get shot, and I couldn’t blame her. It was an intense thing to do, but I couldn’t waste time interrogating those scumbags, not when it felt like each second was precious. The Don could die at any moment, and I couldn’t let him go before I took revenge on Colm for him.
“What’d you find?” Dean asked over the phone the next morning. Tara stayed in her room most of that day and all night, and I wasn’t going to force her to come out before she was ready.
“Ran into our old friends Hyde and Franz coming out of a Healy safehouse,” I said.
“No shit?” Dean laughed. “God damn, those two are real pieces of shit. Remember that girl?”
He didn’t need to specify which one. I knew who he meant. She was one of Hyde’s girlfriends, and one night Hyde got so messed up on speed that he beat the girl’s face until half her teeth were missing.
Franz wasn’t much better. He knocked the rest of her teeth out for crying too loud.
In retrospect, I was happy I shot the asshole.
“You might be pleased to know that Franz might be dead,” I said.
“Might be?” Dean sounded amused. “That’s not like you, to be uncertain.”
“Tara was there,” I said. “I didn’t want to do anything to intense, so I only shot him in the gut.”
“Oh, god,” Dean said. “What happened?”
I gave him the quick version. “I think I know where I can find Colm though,” I said.
“How sure are you?” Dean sounded on edge, and I thought I
