30. Death Is Not The End

Chapter Thirty

DEATH IS NOT THE END

S he chased Liam through the door at the top of the stairs. It led into the hallway on the third floor.

"Li! Get the fuck back here!" she shouted while watching him blatantly ignore her.

Her brother rounded a corner and she heard a door slam shut. Quick to make the turn, she noticed a door that looked different from all the others. Panting from the pursuit, she pushed through it and saw a steep set of stairs that led to a single metal door that was just drifting closed.

Layne steeled herself as she followed, prepared for whatever showdown was going to happen with her brother. When she made it out the door, she got blasted with a gust of freezing air that whipped her ponytail around erratically. He had led her up to the roof.

The visibility of the night air was shitty thanks to all the fat snowflakes that kept swirling around as they descended from above. Each flake that fell, stuck to her chestnut hair and contrasted against the black of her clothes.

He couldn't have gone too far, and the moment she thought as much, he crashed into her side, knocking her to the snow-covered ground.

Without hesitation, she rolled and began swinging her fists at his face. Scrambling, she fought for the upper hand as they exchanged hits. Eventually, she was able to use leverage from her foot to create enough space between them so she could push herself onto her feet.

Liam got to his feet and stared at her with intense hatred. "You fucked up this family, Layne!"

Each of them was panting from the scuffle, their warm breaths visible when meeting the extremely cold winter air.

"Get the fuck over it," Layne shook her head and with every step closer he took, she took two away from him. "You have always been the one with the problem!"

Trying to keep tabs on each movement her brother made down to the flexing of the muscles in his arms, she reminded herself to also be aware of her surroundings. Her eyes stole quick looks at what was there on the top of the roof. Other than weathered patio furniture and HVAC systems, she had little to work with in the open space.

Liam angrily roared at her, "You've always tried to hold me down! Dad spoiled you and made you the fuckin' favorite when it should have been me! You don't deserve shit!" His hands wildly flailed as he shouted.

"You're a goddamn spoiled brat, Li! You could have had everything! I overlooked so many of your faults in hopes that sometime you'd grow the fuck up!" She had always been willing to maintain what should have been a steadfast alliance with him, but his destructive behaviors ultimately obliterated any chance of that ever happening.

He charged at her, and when she turned to get out of his way, her foot caught on an old broom left buried under the snow. The trip sent her down onto her hands and knees, giving Liam just enough opportunity to grab her by the back of her jacket and yank her back onto her feet.

Forcefully, he shoved her forward into a large condenser unit. Layne yelped out as she felt the unyielding impact of the metal casing against the front of her body.

When he pulled her back to slam her back against it one more time, she extended her foot in front of her to prevent another collision. She pushed back with just enough oomph that she could duck and turn under his arm, forcing his grasp on her jacket to break. Her elbow jabbed into his side, eliciting a grunt from him as he stumbled.

Layne and Liam continued wrangling with one another, both their feet sliding occasionally against the slippery snow underneath their shoes. The ledge of the roof was getting closer and Liam's hand had found its way to her throat, latching onto it like the jaw of a rabid dog.

Fighting against the slowing oxygen and blood flow to her brain, her spine was suddenly bent backward over the partially raised wall that separated them both from a four-story free fall. Snowflakes fell into her eyes as she clawed at Liam's hand on her neck.

"Go burn in hell, sis! Don't worry, your shithead manwhores will be joining you shortly!" Liam's other hand was gripping the front of her jacket and despite her struggles, her lighter body weight was getting eased off her feet as he began shoving her over the wall.

If she was going down, she was going to try and drag Liam with her. No longer fighting his chokehold on her, her hand fumbled until it found the pocketknife she had used to free Joey earlier. Without a second thought, she flipped open the blade and jammed it home into Liam's chest. It would have been sweet justice if she had struck his heart, but with her vision struggling under his choking grasp, she didn't get that lucky.

As the blade drove into her brother, his hands released her before she hit the point of no return over that wall. Layne gasped and coughed for air as her feet hit the ground on the side of the wall she was grateful to be on.

Drawing the short blade out of him, she angrily punched him across the face while he was still stunned. Her eyes stared at her ultimate betrayer as he slipped and fell to his knees with a hand grabbing at the wound in his chest.

Layne walked behind him, grabbing a fistful of his auburn hair. She jerked his head back so he was looking up at her. "I should thank you for hating me so much. You've made this so much easier." In a smooth motion she slashed the edge of the blade across his throat, blood flooding from the critical arteries that she just severed.

There were some gurgling sounds before enough of Liam's blood stained the snow around him and he fell into permanent unconsciousness. Seeing that he was well on his way to hell, she released her grasp on his hair and watched his lifeless body fall forward onto the ground.

She let out a relieved breath that it was over. Part of her mourned that it had to come down to this, something that could have been unavoidable if Liam had chosen a much different path in life. The other part of her was just happy to live another day without his constant attacks on her happiness.

Getting pulled from her thoughts, she heard the roof access door open up as Joey and Gage pushed through. Her gaze softened as she looked at them both, seeing the relief evident on their faces seeing she was ok.

"It's over." She sighed and gave a small smile.

The familiar sound of a gun popping off echoed throughout the air. One, two, three quick shots went off in succession.

Joey went from a moment of intense happiness that Layne had finally ended Liam's pathetic existence, to one of seeing his worst nightmare.

Layne's body jerked as all three shots landed on her chest, tearing holes in her jacket. The force knocked her down, her body hitting the ground hard.

While Joey's only instinct was to get to Layne, Gage's eyes followed the trajectory of where the gunshots came from. Standing across the way was Mick, smirking at the successful strike against the last of the O'Reillys.

Feeling the phantom pain of what it was like to have a single bullet enter his chest, it ached more painfully as three hit Layne's. With pain riddling his voice, he yelled out her name, "LAYNE!" Joey didn't give a fuck if he took a hundred more bullets, he only cared about the woman he loved that had just been gunned down in front of him.

Needing to eliminate the active threat, Gage retrieved his gun from his thigh holster and began firing at Mick, quickly working on emptying his last damn clip as he ran towards his target. "You motherfucker!!"

At least one of the bullets found its way into Mick's stomach causing him to stagger. It gave Gage enough time to tackle him to the ground, using the butt of his gun to repeatedly smash into his face. This old shitbag deserved to feel his wrath before he died.

Making sure Mick stayed dead this time, Gage used the last bullet in the chamber at point-blank range between the man's eyes. That was a moment he wished he could relive over and over again. Instead, just the memory of it would have to suffice for Gage.

Arriving at Layne's body lying on its side, only a few feet from her brother's, Joey dropped to his knees next to her. She lay there still, nearly looking like an angel as the snowflakes clung to her dark eyelashes.

Horrified, Joey stared down at her, paralyzed by his fears becoming reality. Hidden behind her closed eyelids were the sparkling emerald hues he had fallen so desperately in love with. The pink pouty lips he had kissed countless times were partially swollen and bruised from her altercation with Liam.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Layney!" Joey's hands grabbed her, trying to rouse her awake. His teardrops felt frozen against his cheeks as his panic set in. His hands began to tug at the busted zipper on her jacket from one of the bullet holes.

After the ringing in Gage's ears stopped from firing that bullet into Mick's shitty face, he could hear Joey behind him shouting at Layne. He got up and ran over to the two of them, kneeling on Layne's other side, across from Joey.

Losing Rosie had broken both Joey and Gage and Layne had mended that wound; losing Layne would destroy them both beyond repair. Already, Joey was beginning to lose his shit as he fought with the zipper with trembling hands. Joey's voice cracked under the emotionally charged whisper, "Layney, you can't… please ."

Gage swallowed against the lump forming in his throat, preventing him from getting any words out. Layne had to be okay, she was meant for so much more than this. Yet, he was terrified to see anything that said otherwise.

Pushing past his fear, Gage finally shoved Joey's hands away from Layne's jacket zipper and forcefully tore it open.

Joey straightened as he saw what lay underneath, sitting back on his heels. "What the…"

"Thank fuck…" Gage leaned over and laid his head on Layne's stomach as he blew out the breath he had been holding.

Underneath the jacket was a slim bulletproof vest that had a cluster of the three bullets lodged into it.

Sitting back up to look at her, Gage was grateful he had managed to convince Layne's stubborn ass to wear the vest tonight. Otherwise, he would have never forgiven himself.

Layne's eyes slowly opened as she stirred with a groan, "Fuuuck." She winced at the burning sensation against her chest. Despite the vest doing its job, it sure as hell did little to ease the sting of the impact that had stolen her breath away. She had a feeling the bruising was going to be quite the collage of colors.

Before Layne could make the effort to sit up, Joey pulled her upright and locked his arms around her. "Layney, you fuckin' scared the shit out of me." There wasn't much that frightened him, but losing her was a fate worse than death.

Her muffled voice spoke into Joey's chest, "If you keep squeezing me so tight, I'm going to die of suffocation." She groaned again as the aches and pains were screaming throughout all of her body.

Gage's arms joined Joey's as they both embraced her with the unspoken promise of their everlasting protection. "We aren't ever going to let you go, Lucky Charm."

Kissing the top of her head, Joey lovingly smiled. "You're ours, always and forever."

The priest stood between the two headstones as he spoke loud enough for all to hear, "Two young lives, lost all too soon. Liam and Layne O'Reilly, two vibrant souls who have gone home to be with the Lord."

Gage and Joey stood there next to each other in their black suits, gathering amongst the others who had come to pay their respects to the O'Reilly siblings.

Joey leaned over and whispered to Gage, "This is weird right?"

Gage lifted a brow and whispered back, "Which part? The part where both of these coffins are empty? Or the part where the woman over there," he pointed at the dark-haired woman who had introduced herself as Nicole, "has been ready to jump your bones now that you're technically widowed?"

Layne had been extraordinarily clear that there was no way in hell Liam's corpse was being buried next to her unoccupied grave, and neither of them could argue with her. She had chosen to have his remains cremated and then dumped into a randomly chosen porta potty. Joey chose to pay his respects to Liam in the most appropriate fashion afterward. A little harsh? None of them thought so.

She sat in the back of Joey's Challenger and waited patiently as she observed the funeral services from behind the dark-tinted windows. Trying to pass the time, her hands fidgeted with the hem of the black dress she had chosen to mourn her life as the head of O'Reilly Enterprises.

Layne recounted the events that transpired the night she killed Liam. After both her men smothered her with their happiness to see she had survived Mick's final effort to destroy her, they continued their extraction plans. The intention wasn't just to get the hell out of that house of horrors, but to remove them all from the insanity of her days of leading a criminal organization.

Instead, the business was left in Sammy and Ethan's capable hands. If everyone thought she had gone down in a blaze of glory, it gave the three of them a chance at something they never really had. It gave them a chance to enjoy time together without new and constant threats looming over them.

The most heartbreaking decision to make was deciding to keep as few people in the know about her survival which included Layne's bestie. Joey had been tasked with making the call to Rebecca to gently break the unfortunate news to her. However, things didn't pan out as expected when she called bullshit on him.

One would have thought Rebecca was in denial, but the reasoning for her disbelief was pretty sound. Rebecca argued that Joey would have been in prison on numerous murder charges if Layne was truly dead–she wasn't wrong. In fear for his own safety at Rebecca's hands, Joey caved and added her to the short list of people who knew of Layne's true fate.

Ultimately, Rebecca decided to stay down in Baltimore, having found her own happily ever after.

There were still a few matters to wrap up before they could ditch the city life, but things were well on the way to finding new adventures to get lost in.

When the graveside service wrapped up, Joey and Gage both returned to the car, taking up the two front seats.

"Was it a nice service?" she asked, hoping that her funeral was exactly how she pictured it.

Gage smirked as he turned to look back at her, "Baby if you're asking if shots of whiskey were passed around and everybody raised them in a toast to you…"

"Oh, come on! It's part of my final wishes and nobody had the balls to at least honor that small request?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, clearly disappointed.

Joey looked into the rearview mirror at her and smiled. "Layney, are you seriously going to be upset that your fake funeral didn't live up to your expectations?"

She rolled her eyes at the stupid question. "How else am I going to make sure that I get the funeral I deserve when I actually die?"

"Are you rolling your eyes at me?" Joey smirked and started up the engine.

Gage looked at his brother with a devious grin. "I think she is." He turned back around in his seat so he was facing forward. "We'll have to do something about that when we get back home. I have a new toy with my Lucky Charm's name on it."

They all headed back to Gage's condo in Hudson Yards. With Layne supposedly six feet under, the last thing they needed was anyone to spot her coming and going from O'Reilly Manor. It was a temporary living space, and as long as she had both De Luca brothers there with her, she didn't care where she was holed up.

Stepping inside the front door, Gage shed his suit jacket, draping it over the back of one of the kitchen stools. Joey unbuttoned his jacket as he went to the fridge, pulling out three bottles of beer.

Layne leaned back against the edge of the kitchen's center island and smirked as she looked at them both. "I have some news."

Both guys looked at her curiously; there wasn't usually anything that came as a surprise to either of them.

Joey popped the caps off of all three bottles before setting them on the counter next to Layne. "About what?"

With ease, Gage grabbed her waist and sat her down on top of the counter. His hands trailed over her hips down to the hem of her dress. Sliding his hands under the skirt of her dress along her bare thighs, he gave his boyish grin. "It better have to do with your lack of panties," he ran his tongue over his bottom lip thinking about all the ways he could have her in the kitchen right then and there.

She smiled and shook her head. "Not quite." Layne pulled a small envelope out of her purse that was on the counter next to her. "It was bothering me that Liam's creepy and cryptic note never really made complete sense. He wanted something to do with 611 and it was driving me insane that I couldn't figure it out."

Taking a swig of his beer, Joey looked at the envelope in her hand. "I assumed he was just clinically insane and making shit up."

She began to explain about the day before they all had ended up going down to the former Ellis residence, and how she had made her routine bank run. "While I was at the bank, the teller reminded me that there was a safety deposit box my dad set up in my name. It just so happens, the number of the box is 611."

Taking the envelope out of her hands, Gage took a peek inside. "And this was inside?"

Layne nodded, unable to contain her infectious smile.

Reviewing the contents, Gage got excited as he saw the small object tucked inside along with a sticky note. He handed the envelope to Joey, who also took a look and his face lit up.

"Fuck, yes." He leaned in and lovingly kissed her. Things were looking up for the future.

Gage greedily pulled Layne's face away from Joey so his lips could seize her attention.

"It's going to be a hell of a Christmas this year," Joey set the envelope down as his mind began to pour over all the possibilities that awaited.

Layne giggled as Gage began to get carried away with his kisses that were now being showered over the side of her neck. Her eyes shone with true happiness as she had everything in life to look forward to. It was a happiness that she had never known before she gave her heart over to these two great men.

Despite everything they all had endured, finally all three of them were going to get their happy ending. There was nothing more Layne could have asked for than to have her heart bursting with everlasting love, and to forever share her life with Joey and Gage De Luca.

As it turned out, she really did have all the luck.