Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Vincenzo

Rafferty Byrne was hunched in the seat; only his grimace could be seen. Each ankle was tied to a leg of the metal chair someone had bolted to the floor. His hands were tied behind him, and blood was dripping from the side of his head.

Fred regarded him with an expression one might equate to a scientist trying to figure out a new specimen.

"This is Rafferty Byrne, the sole survivor of the Byrne family of mercenaries…assassins…shitbags? What are you guys calling yourselves these days?" I asked. Of course, he had no idea who I was or how I'd have this information, but when he lifted his head I saw his eyes widen.

"I believe you know Mr. Brennan?"

"Funny, I haven't had the pleasure." Fred grinned and took a step closer to Rafferty. "So, you're the one who has decided to take it upon themselves to kill everything in the world that matters to me."

"And you have done the same to me. My brothers and cousins are dead." He spat on the floor right near Fred's feet.

Fred crouched so he was at eye level with Rafferty. "It's a pain like no other, isn't it?" But Rafferty didn't respond, so Fred continued. "Grief is the slow caress of death. It rots you from the inside and makes you feel the ache of loss in inches, for days, months, years. Grief doesn't pass—only time does, Rafferty."

"Don't act like you're a saint," the man growled.

"The difference between you and me, is that I'd never take a penny to kill someone. Ever." Fred stood and walked around the chair as he spoke. "I'm sure you did your homework on me. Any good assassin would be prepared for anything." Fred winked at me, and I could've kissed him right there.

"We are the best." Rafferty sneered.

"Well." Fred sighed. "Your family is mostly dead, and all that's left is you…but that's not the point. You know that I'm a doctor, that I've chosen to dedicate my life to saving people." He stopped by the table that was off to the side. A few instruments were laid out, courtesy of Lex Talionis.

He picked up the scalpel and stepped over to the chair. Rafferty watched Fred's every move.

"In all your research, did you discover how much I never wanted to be the head of this family? How I wanted to live my life in peace? Did you know that I never wanted any of this?"

"We were given a target, got paid, and we were executing it. It was just business. You went and made it personal!"

With a flick of Fred's wrist, he sliced across Rafferty's cheek pretty deeply. The man screamed and after a minute, he began breathing heavily.

"No, Rafferty, you made it personal without even knowing. So here's how this is going to go. You're going to tell me who hired you, every detail you know, and if you do, you'll die fast. If you don't, I'll show you what else I can cut with a scalpel."

"I die either way."

Fred's expression was blank, unreadable, he answered but only his lips moved. "Yes."

Blood sprayed across Fred's face, but his eyes were clear. Neither Rafferty nor Fred blinked.

It was fascinating to watch Fred in this situation. He despised running this family, hated killing, but he was surprisingly good at it.

As Fred regarded Rafferty, there was no way he wasn't reliving the moment he'd watched Aine and Sean fall to their deaths. I imagined it haunted Fred every second of the day. Revenge wouldn't make the pain go away, but I hoped for his sake it gave him closure.

"Keir was the one who took the call when it came in. I can't tell you the sound of the man's voice, but he went by Liam, and no, not my brother."

"Liam," Fred asked.

"Yeah." Rafferty huffed out a laugh. "That was the kick of it all. Man said he was Liam Brennan and he needed his son Fred taken care of."

Fred swallowed and there was a twitch of surprise, but he gathered himself.

"My father died years ago."

Rafferty nodded. "Which we discovered after we ended the call. We figured the person wanted anonymity, but it was sketchy, even for us, so we declined the offer."

"But…but you didn't." Fred gripped the scalpel in the palm of his hand. Anyone with eyes could see he was barely hanging on.

"We did at first, but he called again, gave a different name, but paid extra for our silence."

"Spit it out, Rafferty, or I'll show you the best way to flay someone."

Damn . Was it wrong that I found that hot?

"Thing is." Rafferty lifted himself up as best as he could and glared at Fred. "The guy would update us periodically once we arrived. Telling us where you were, what to do. All of it."

"A name," Fred growled.

Rafferty kept going, though. "The night we killed Sean and Aine, a few minutes before Murphy drove onto the street, he texted us."

I didn't need Rafferty to go on. Exactly what I'd thought was now coming to light, and I spun to where I'd last seen Aiden, but he wasn't there.

"See, we were supposed to kill you, Sean, and Aine, and make it appear like the guy who hired us was hurt in the process.…He'd be the only one to walk away."

"Who?" Fred's voice cracked. He wasn't stupid, but I understood that he needed to hear it.

I jerked my head toward the exit, and Beau and Zion raced out. I didn't need to tell them who we were searching for.

"He only gave us a first name. Told us exactly what to do to make it look like a certain street gang did it. Provided anything we needed." Rafferty chuckled. "This guy really, really wanted the three of you dead and to be able to walk away. I wonder what he'd have gotten out of it?"

Fred pressed the scalpel to Rafferty's cloth-covered dick. "I'm going to count to three."

Beau returned and shook his head. Fuck! He'd gotten out, and we'd missed it. How?

"One."

"I don't need three seconds." Rafferty grinned. His fate was sealed, and he knew he was about to crush Fred's world. Any glimmer of hope Fred had for Aiden's innocence was about to shatter.

"Two."

"Aiden," Rafferty said as he laughed. "Your own fucking driver. Your cousin, isn't it?" His laughter got louder. "The only blood you had left hated you so much, he wanted to end your life and start a war."

Fred took a step away, lifted his arm, and in one flawless move, slit Rafferty's throat. A spray of blood covered the front of Fred. His shirt and face were painted in crimson, and the scalpel dripped.

And like someone hit a switch, I watched the most amazing man I'd ever known fall apart. He crashed to the floor and screamed…a battle cry, a release. So much pain, too much heartbreak. He never looked for Aiden. It was as if he knew the man had fled. For the first time since Sean and Aine had died, Fred crumbled.

I stepped beside him and kneeled. Without thinking, without caring that I'd be covered in blood, I wrapped my arms around him and did my best to hold him together. The scalpel clanged to the floor, and his fingers dug into my arms. His sobs tore at my soul.

I felt my exercitus surround us, protecting, supporting, giving whatever they could to a shattered man.

It didn't matter how long it took. I'd pick up every piece and put my Red back together again.