ISABELLA
Oh wow.
It’s been such a long time since I’ve been home.
Not just in my New York apartment, homehome.
I inhale deeply, breathing Ireland in, instantly smelling my father’s Sunday roast cooking in the kitchen.
My stomach growls, but I’m not headed into the family room just yet.
I haven’t been here for so long… I just want to explore.
I walk up the stairs, running my fingers over the family photos as I do. I’ve passed these pictures a million times and never really taken much notice of them, but now everything is different. Now all I want to do is study them, to remember everything.
Cillian.
My oldest brother, the sternest guy I have ever met. He really takes after my father in every single way. But I have always felt safe around him.
Loch.
We were never close. He was one of my biggest tormentors, but also my biggest defender whenever I had any trouble in school. I looked up to him, whether I wanted to or not.
Keegan.
I smile when I think about Keegan; Patrick’s younger twin by a minute. About when he became the target of our other brothers, and it was up to me to defend him for a change. Nowadays though, I have heard terrible stories about what he does in the mob.
I can’t even begin to imagine.
I don’t want to. I would much prefer to think of him all sweet, like this.
Fionn.
I sigh heavily. Fionn has such a great brain, he could have gotten out of the family business and done something else with his life as well.
But he didn’t.
He wanted to stay and fit in.
I see a photo of my mother and father, looking more in love than any other couple I have ever seen. Before Mom passed away, that is. This, next to a family photo reminds me of everything good. Everything that we used to stand for when we were young, and I thought our family life was normal.
We have had some incredible times.
There has been a lot of love.
If crime wasn’t a part of our life, I wonder what life could have been like…
With a smile playing on my lips, I head down to the kitchen, eager to see everyone now. I know I’ve been avoiding everyone, but things have changed now. I need to see their faces.
“Dad, I’m back,” I cry out as I head into the kitchen. “Are you good…”
A scream ricochets through the room, so loud I have to press my hands to my ears to stop the sound from giving me a head ache.
It’s blood curdling, sickening, and I can understand why.
Blood.
So much blood.
My family kitchen is bright red and the further I tiptoe into the kitchen, the more I can see the source of the blood.
Dad.
Cillian.
Loch.
Keegan.
Fionn.
They are dead, all of them.
Their life of crime has come back to haunt them and they have been executed.
“Mine,” a sinister voice whispers, dragging my eyes off the mess on the floor. “You’re all mine now, Isabella. No one can take you away from me.”
Dominic.
Covered in blood splatter.
With that God damn gun in his hand and an evil looking glint in his eyes.
It’s at that moment I realize the scream is coming from me…
Sweat covers me as I bolt upright into a sitting position. I feel like I’ve been swimming in sweat because it’s covering me that much.
Shit.
The image of Dominic covered in my family’s blood with that sinister grin remains firmly in the back of my mind, sickening me.
I grab under the pillow to check for the gun.
I still have it.
He can’t do anything to me if I still have it.
But that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to keep it forever.
I need to act soon.
Sooner rather than later.
That dream… It was a message. A warning. If I don’t act quickly, then who knows what will happen to me.
Much as it’s going to be hard to go to him now, I need to get to my father quickly.
I don’t want anything to happen to my family, and I really don’t want anything to happen to me, either.