Tirone (The Night Skulls MC #2)(88)

“I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done to you. Forgive me, Jo. I beg you,” he beseeched me. “I love you. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved you.”

“I loved you, too. I still do, and I forgive you.” When you were on the edge of death that wouldn’t only take you but everyone you ever cared about, too, it was easy to forgive the darkest of sins and forget the worst of pains because none, no matter how grotesque, could compare to your own in this very moment.

“Well, well, well, I’ve heard the rumors, but I didn’t think they were true.” Declan laughed. “The father and the son? Plobóg, you turned out to be more of a hoor than your mammy.”

“Fuck you!”

“I have a better idea. We’re going to play a little game,” Declan said as the second man arrived. He was close enough for me to see the patch on his cut. President.

“Laius!” I cried out.

“Jo! What the fuck did you do to my wife?!”

“I’m not going to do anything. She will.” Declan removed the bag over my husband’s head. Laius, too, was bruised and blood matted his hair. “I’m saving the whole show for you.”

“What fucking show? Stay away from my wife, you fucking son of a bitch. I’ll fucking kill you and your entire family if you lay a hand on her or my son!”

My heart shattered in pieces. “I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you. I don’t know what I was thinking. I ruined everything. I’m so sorry.”

“No, baby. You’ve done nothing wrong. No one will hurt you ever again. I promised to protect you, and I will. You just have to trust me, all right? I love you, Jo.”

“I love you, too,” I sobbed.

“Ah, how heartbreaking!” Declan mocked. “But we’ll have to cut this lovely scene short.”

Guns clicked, ready to fire. I kept my eyes on Laius, praying for a miracle to save him. I was a glad I was about to leave this life. I couldn’t live with any more guilt. Hell was far more tolerable.

“If you or your men take another step near my wife, you’re all fucking dead,” Laius threatened.

Declan switched his gaze toward him. “You’ve got big balls, Furore. You, your son, your wife and your entire crew have been captured by me. All of you are helpless and under my mercy, and you’re still making threats? I give you ten points for courage, and I’ll do you one kindness. I’ll let you keep one member of your pretty family. Who will it be?”

“What the fuck?! You want me to choose between my wife and my son, you sick bastard?”

“It’s either one of them lives or both of them die. It’s up to you.”

“No, it’s up to me,” I said fast. “Laius, you know what you have to do. Choose Tirone. Now.”

“I’ll fucking kill you if you do,” Tirone barked. “She has to live.”

“Shut up!” I screamed at him, and then my head whipped toward Laius. “Please. I can’t live with this. I just can’t. Please, Laius. Choose your son. I’m begging you.”

“Shut the fuck up, both of you!” Laius snarled at Declan. “I’ll never make that fucking choice. They’re my family. You don’t kill your family.”

“Hmmm…well, you’re no fun.” Declan pulled his own gun, and both Laius and Tirone writhed to break free from Declan’s men. “But she is.” My pathetic excuse of a father gestured for his men to untie my hands. Then he stood before me, handing me the gun backwards. “Remember this game? Let’s make it a little more adventurous. You don’t look like you care about your own life, but you do care about the men you love. I wonder if there’s one you love more than the other.”

Not this nightmare again. Please. Not again.

“If you want your husband to live, shoot the boy. If you want your lover to live, shoot the husband.”

Past visions of the horrific situation I was made to endure by the hands of the same man flashed before my eyes. I’d become that terrified, little girl again, being ordered to murder someone she loved. I’d become that girl that had made the wrong choice and ended up killing her own mother instead of saving her.

“Jo, no! Jo, listen to me. Don’t take that fucking gun. Don’t listen to him. Whatever you do, don’t take the gun!” Laius shouted.

“Take it, Jo,” Tirone said. “I know you want to. Do it. Have your revenge, little faerie. I can’t live in a world where you’re not mine anyway. Do it and save him. He’s the man you chose.”

“No, Jo, don’t listen,” Laius begged me. “Don’t let that piece of shit that doesn’t give a fuck about his own blood win again. Don’t let him put that on you one more time. It’ll eat you up. No matter what you do, it’ll eat you up. Don’t take the gun. He’s toying with you. Don’t believe a word he says. He’s not gonna let any of us live.”

The world spun as my body turned to ice. The hammering in my chest echoed in my temples, and my breaths were as sharp as razors.

If you don’t take the gun, he’ll kill the three of you. If you do as he asks, there’s a chance, even if slim, one of your men will live.

Kill Tirone. He fucking raped you. He put you through hell.