Page 98 of Dirty Legacy

“No, Deck. Look around. You know these men. You cared about them, and you killed them all.”

His snarl is fierce. “Fuck you, Connor. You always thought you knew best, you arrogant fuck, but you’re wrong. You’re wrong! I’m right! Don’t come closer or I swear I’ll shoot your fucking baby from her belly.”

“They’re dead because of you.” Another step. Another. I keep Deck’s attention fully on me. “Let Angie go. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to go all the way.”

“It’s too goddamn late for that.” Deck’s teeth grit together.

Marcus comes charging from the kitchens, smoke billowing behind him, a dozen loyal Maguire men at his back. Deck shouts in surprise as the Gallaghers react, raising their guns, and my cousin shoves Angie hard.

Another moment. Another beat. But this time I’m deep in my body feeling every inch of myself as I sprint to my wife, but it’s like wading through quicksand. Marcus and our fighters start shooting and the Gallaghers retreat with Deck in their midst and Angie’s coming to me, she’s coming, as bullets scream through the air around us⁠—

Then she’s in my arms. I shield her, wrapping my arms around my wife and my baby as I hug her to my chest, and I feel the punches slam into my back, but nothing else matters, nothing else in the world as I hold her, the woman I love, my entire reason for breathing, our future growing inside of her, and we topple to the floor in a flurry of gunfire, blood, and smoke, her name on my lips as we collapse together.

29

CONNOR

Igrunt in discomfort as Angie gingerly changes my bandage. She swats at my shoulder and chides me when I flinch. “Don’t be such a baby.”

“Your hands are cold.”

“Liar.” She kisses my shoulder and lets out a breath. “It’s already looking better. But these bruises—“ Her fingers graze over my back and she sucks air through her teeth.

“They’ll be fine, angel. Better those than dead.” After the fighting, after we escaped from Malba and ended up in another of my safe houses tucked deep in Brooklyn, a doctor tended to everyone and made it very clear that my bulletproof vest saved my life.

Like I needed him to explain that.

“Stay still.” She covers over the stitched-closed bullet wound and tapes the gauze down. “Almost done. There you go.” Another kiss to seal it. “How’s that feel?”

“Fine.” I stand and tug my shirt back on. Angie watches, trying not to seem worried. I stoop to kiss her. “Honestly, angel, I’m doing fine.”

“It’s only been a few days. Nobody’s fine in here.” Her eyes cut to the door. Beyond it, everyone’s crammed into a ten-room townhouse.

I sit beside her at the edge of the bed and take her hands in mine. “You want to talk?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Look at me.” I tilt her chin and meet her gaze. “You went through something hard. It’s okay if you need to let some of the memories out.”

Her eyes get wet but she wipes them away. “Focus on Rowan. She needs you more than I do.”

Concern turns my stomach. My little sister hasn’t said more than three words since we landed here. She spends all her time in her room and even Danielle’s starting to admit there might be a problem.

“We’ll help her, don’t worry. She needs time to process.”

“Nobody her age should witness what she saw.” Angie shivers and rests her head against my arm. “Poor Colm. And all those bodies⁠—“

“It’s over now, love.”

“But is it?”

I don’t answer because we both know the truth.

The fighting hasn’t stopped. There are street battles constantly now. Marcus is running my forces, at least when I’m not there, and we’re barely containing my cousin and the Gallaghers.

But I don’t know how long that will last.

The war’s leaking into the news. Broadcasters are talking about an uptick in gang-related deaths. Even with all our money and influence, we can’t hide the endless shooting and killing, and if we don’t end this soon, things will only get worse.