Chapter 52

As we pull ourselves into the back window I watched Enya sneak into all those years ago, I can’t help but think about how everything has come full circle. As soon as Nessa’s foot clears the window and we’re in, Lev cuts the power.

We take a minute to let our eyes adjust to the darkness as the sound of guards running outside the door filters in, sticking to the back of the room with weapons drawn just in case, but no one so much as cracks open the door.

We have three minutes left to get to Ronan’s office, if my plan doesn’t backfire.

It helps that the only light in the house comes from the same room where I watched Enya, my sister in all the ways that counted, bleed out in Nessa’s arms.

“One minute,” I whisper as we approach the door.

Glancing in, we can see Kai tied to a chair while sitting on a box that looks oddly familiar. He is gagged but awake. I feel proud when I catch sight of him wiggling his fingers in the rope tied at his back.

We trained him for this, now we just have to trust him.

With thirty seconds left, I push the door open the rest of the way and walk in with Nessa. Boris stays in the hall, waiting for his moment and acting as back up in case our team misses any of the guards. Everyone is using silencers, in the hope that Ronan will be none the wiser to his team falling around him while we put on a show.

“Ah, there she is,” Ronan says with a broad smile, ignoring my presence. He moves to hug her, but she raises her gun and presses it to his chest.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to get consent before touching someone?” Nessa sneers.

I see his jaw tick as he glances at Kai. “Careful there, Little Doll. You can shoot me, but I’ll still have time to press this.”

He holds up a small trigger, and that’s when the box registers. It’s the same one that was under Nessa’s father when he was blown to smithereens.

I step towards Kai, but he shakes his head and Ronan grins as if he just won a prize. “See, that’s better now. How about you put that gun away and we have a little chat ?”

Nessa lowers her weapon, her hands shaking slightly as she realizes our son is sitting on a fucking bomb.

Right on time, Ronan’s phone rings. He glances at it, then back at Nessa, ignoring the call.

“You might want to get that,” I suggest, causing him and Nessa to look at me skeptically. The ringing stops, but then starts right back up again. “Could be important.”

Lifting the phone, he presses the answer button. I know what he sees as soon as the video pops up.

“Checkmate,” I say just as Sullivan starts to speak.

“Hey there, Ronan. How’s it going, eh?”

Ronan’s brows pinch as he looks from his phone to me and Nessa. My goal is to keep his attention on me as long as possible.

“Where have you been?” Ronan asks.

Sullivan laughs. “You know me, a little bit of everywhere. But you should really be asking where I am right now.”

There is a pause before some light music comes from the phone, no doubt showcasing the extravagant gala his parents are putting on.

“You know, Ronan. I never really did like you, but I truly began to hate you when you took Enya away from me.”

Ronan rolls his eyes as if Sullivan is just being a petulant child.

“She was never yours to own.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Ronan. She was never anyone’s to own. She was a person, a free spirit with the talent of a true ballerina. She had skills, a presence that could move people. She was going to do great things, change people's lives.”

“How does being a ballerina change someone’s life?” Ronan asks arrogantly as I step up and take Nessa’s clammy hand.

“She had the ability to make you see art in a new way, to see beauty in things that force you to pause and question your existence.”

Sullivan clearly gets lost in thought when Ronan starts to laugh at him.

“Is that why you’re calling me right now? Because a stupid girl who has been dead for nearly four years made you question your existence?”

Sullivan clears his throat. “No, I’m calling to show you this.”

He holds up a piece of paper that I already have the original copy of. “My parent’s estate, everything they owned is to be signed over to me in their death. In the case of my death, everything falls to Nessa.”

She gasps beside me, squeezing my hand tighter. “But that’s not all, Ronan.”

Ronan waves Sullivan off. “She will be my wife, and what’s hers is mine.”

“You’re wrong,” I say then. “Sullivan, why don’t you show him the other papers you have there.”

Nessa watches as Ronan goes from the picture of calm and poised to red in the face. A creak of the door behind me signals Boris walking in, the picture of the cool, confident ex-mafia don.

“She cannot be your wife if she is already ours. There is also a stipulation in our marriage certificate,” Boris says, handing him a copy. “Due to the size of the estates, Nessa would inherit from her two legal husbands and her dear friend, she has agreed to never marry again to keep the money in our family. Money which can only be allocated to our son. Kai Kelly-Mikhaus and his heirs.”

Nessa looks between the two of us, then to Kai before turning to face me. “We’re married?” The stunned look on her face would make me laugh in any other situation. Nah, I’m still laughing .

“If you will have us,” Boris says right as I say “It’s official.”

“How did you do that without my signature?” She gawks at him as if she hasn’t seen this man do the impossible for her on a weekly basis.

Boris shrugs, placing a hand on Nessa’s back. “I have connections. We were planning to surprise you with a wedding on the beach at our new house in Italy, but Cillian thought we needed to make sure Ronan knew he would never see a penny from Sullivan’s family or yours.”

A coughing sound comes through Ronan’s phone, bringing us back to the tense situation at hand. “I was going to blow the place up,” Sullivan says. “But that seemed too messy. So, I went with poisonous gas instead.”

Ronan sets the phone down on his desk, his face a mask of shock as Sullivan flips the camera to show that everyone on the first floor of the party has dropped dead. More coughing ensues as Sullivan falls over, the last words leaving his lips a muttered apology.

“I’m sorry Nessa. If I see her, I’ll take care of her.”

The silence is heavy around us, and I feel like we have had enough of these tense moments to last several feckin’ lifetimes.

“You said you wanted a distraction,” I say. “I texted him when we were in the car chasing Kai. Sorry I let him go without telling you, but he proved to be useful.”

Nessa hits me in the chest, making me laugh just as a booming sound goes off outside, followed by another. Then another. One final blast erupts, sending every inch of this property up in flames beside the one room we are in.