Page 13 of Keegan: The Murphy Family
I went up to Connor, standing over him with my gun pointed at him.
“Fuck you Murphy!” I heard Braden’s voice and looked up to see he was going to shoot me, but I shot him first.
I looked down at Connor again, who was bleeding on the ground.
“This is for killing Michael Donovan.” I hissed and I pumped my last bullet into his chest.
The world seemed to stand still around me. I’d never shot so many people in one night. Who had I become? What was I capable of doing to protect Fallon?
I couldn’t even see her anymore. She’d dragged herself away from the site. When I turned to her, she was sitting on the ground, rocking herself with her arms around her knees.
“Keegan…Keegan…” she was mumbling my name. I loved this woman. I would do this all over again if I had to, to keep her safe.
I went to Fallon. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I pulled her up and tangled my arms around her. She buried her face in my chest, holding on to me like she never wanted to let me go.
“Keegan, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” she sobbed as I stroked her hair.
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Fallon. None of this is your fault. I’m the one who led the Gallaghers to you. It’s my fault!” I spoke to her tenderly. My face was buried in her soft chestnut curls.
She shook her head, drawing herself from me.
“I shouldn’t have come back. I should have listened to you and stayed away from Chicago,” she cried. I stroked her soft cheeks with my thumbs.
“If you hadn’t returned, we would never have found each other again. I love you, Fallon. I’ve always been in love with you.”
I didn’t want to waste another moment in telling her the truth. I wanted to tell her exactly what I’d always wanted to say. Fallon’s mouth fell open. She was peering into my eyes.
“I love you too, Keegan. I came back for you, because I wanted to see you again,” she said.
I kissed her then, holding her tightly in my arms. She sank into me, kissing me back as wildly as I was kissing her. My fingers were in her hair, my mouth was everywhere. It didn’t matter where we were, what had happened before this moment. All I cared about was having her in my arms right now.
When Fallon drew herself away from me, she was breathless but her eyes were bright.
“It’s over now, Fallon,” I told her and she nodded her head. Her eyes were watery again, and I could see she was struggling to stay brave and not cry.
“Thank you, for everything you’ve done. Finally, my father’s soul will rest in peace.”
I kissed her forehead and she smiled weakly at me.
“We should get your shoulder looked at, you’re bleeding, Keegan,” she said, looking at my bullet wound. I hadn’t even felt it all this while that she was in my arms.
“I’ll be fine. Are you okay?” I asked and she nodded.
“I’m fine now,” she replied and sank into my arms again. I couldn’t get enough of holding her. Of finally having Fallon in my arms. I never should have forced her to leave Chicago. I should have taken care of the problem right away. Connor Gallagher and Braden should have been dead a long time ago.
“Fallon!” It was Connor’s voice behind us.
She slowly drew herself away from me and looked at my brothers. Callum, Eamon and Seamus were standing there—staring at her like she was totally unreal.
“Hello boys!” she exclaimed and I watched as a wide smile broke out on her face.
Seamus threw his arms wide open and she ran into them. I stood back as I watched them hug her tightly.
“We had no idea where you were. Are you okay? We’ve all been so worried for you!” Callum said, still holding her. She was like a baby sister to them. They’d watched her grow up with me, and then she’d disappeared. And I’d always known they were worried for her.
Fallon looked at me.
“I sent her away, to get away from the Gallaghers ten years ago,” I replied and my brothers looked at me, shocked.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, little brother!” Eamon said and thumped my back. We were all wounded, but not severely. The others who my brothers had brought with them were clearing up the mess around us, taking care of the Gallagher possessions inside the warehouse.
“I’ll explain everything,” I told them with a smirk. “Why did you follow me?”
Callum shrugged.
“We knew something was up. We went to Paddy’s Pub and beat up Finn some more till he told us what he told you,” he explained. I shook my head. Poor Finn. He was probably the only half-decent Gallagher, even though he was a useless junkie.
“Thanks,” I remarked and Eamon thumped my back some more.
“We will always have your back, little brother. No matter how hard you insist that you don’t need our help,” he said.
“I was just trying to keep you guys out of this. I was the one who got Fallon in this mess, and I wanted to fix it myself,” I said and looked at Fallon.
Callum was standing with his arm around her protectively.
“Well, you can give all your excuses to dad when we see him. Tell him why you didn’t call for reinforcements!” Eamon exclaimed and I grunted. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. On the plus side, I knew dad and the entire family was going to be relieved when they found out that the Gallaghers weren’t going to be a real problem for us—at least not for a while.
“In the meantime, we should take you home. Mam is going to be so happy to see you. She’s been worried sick about you all these years,” Seamus told Fallon and her cheeks flushed.
“I can’t wait to see her again,” she responded and I reached for her hand.
It was time that I introduced her to the family as the woman I was in love with. Although I suspected everyone already knew what I felt for her.
Seamus and Callum sniggered while Eamon made jokes, as the five of us made our way to the cars so we could drive back to our family home. It had already been a long night, but now that Fallon was back—I knew none of us were getting any sleep.
She looked at me and smiled. I kissed her cheek lightly and told her again that I loved her.
16
Epilogue
Fallon
Six Months later
I woke up in bed to find Keegan’s side empty. In the past six months, this had never happened before. I’d never woken up alone. Keegan was there to greet me every morning with a sleepy kiss. When I touched his side of the bed, it was cold and a sudden fear gripped me. Where was he? Had something happened?
I sat up with a start and was about to get out of bed when our bedroom door opened.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, with a grin on his face. I nearly laughed out loud. He was wearing an apron and had a tray in his hands. He came towards me and I saw he’d made me my favorite breakfast—pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup. There was a pot of steaming coffee on the tray too and a small crystal vase with one red rose.
“Happy Birthday, my beautiful,” he said and leaned in to give me a kiss.
“You didn’t have to…” my voice trailed as his kiss got deeper. He put the tray on my bedside
table and sat down on my side of the bed.
Keegan wasn’t wearing a shirt, and my hands travelled all over his torso, feeling the strength of his muscles under my fingertips.
“Did you think I’d disappeared?” he asked, tucking my curls in behind my ears.
I blushed and he kissed my forehead.
“You should know by now, Fallon, I’m not going anywhere,” he said and I nodded. I knew he worried about me. I still got nightmares sometimes. I woke up in a cold sweat, imagining that I was back in the warehouse. My hands tied and Connor Gallagher smiling at me.
But Keegan was always there to calm me down when that happened. All I needed was to be in his arms and I was reminded of the happy life we now led.
He laid out the breakfast for me and poured coffee in two mugs. We shared the food, talking and laughing as we ate. Every morning I was grateful that I was with him, that we’d found each other again.
The weeks following the warehouse shootout were turbulent, but Keegan had made me a promise that he would bring normality to our lives. And he had.
With Connor and Braden dead, the remaining two brothers of the Gallagher family were powerless. One of which was Finn, the junkie who didn’t want anything to do with the business. Keegan had gone to speak to him soon after the shootout, and made a deal with him. The Murphys were going to leave him and his brother alone, as long as they didn’t retaliate and plan another revenge.
Finn Gallagher had quickly agreed to that deal.
After that, there was the business of settling the remaining score with the Gallagher family and their associates. Order was soon restored as everyone in the circle quickly agreed that the Murphys ruled the land now. I saw how much everyone respected the family. People looked up to them and they were glad that the Gallaghers were out of the picture.
Within a few weeks; things had settled down and it seemed like Keegan and I could finally begin our life together.
He bought a house, close to the Murphy family home and we moved in together. He wanted me to go back to college and finish my teaching degree. So, I enrolled myself in classes and in the evenings, visited Keegan’s mam and spent time with the family.
