Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“She called whenever she wanted something,” Queenie says. “Asked for money, mostly. Not huge amounts and she always seemed kind of apologetic about it. Once we bought her a new phone.”
“It got worse, though.” Shane shakes his head. “She started wanting more and more. More money, more stuff. I don’t make a lot here, and we were strapped at the time. Queenie was pregnant with our first son and due any day, and Megan kept saying she was going to show my dad the video she took and prove that I’m still alive to everyone. She kept threatening to tell the world if I didn’t give her a few hundred dollars. So eventually I paid, even though it hurt, but I realized when I handed over the money that it would never stop. She’d bleed me dry until one day she told people about me and Queenie, and then Queenie’s family would come hunting.”
He stops talking and takes a steadying breath. This is hard for him, but harder for me. I never imagined Megan would be capable of something like that, but if this whole nightmare’s taught me anything, it’s that people are capable of so much more than they let on.
It’s like feeling another death all over again, realizing that no, I never knew Megan, not really. No matter how close I thought we were, there was so much more she never told me. She was a web of secrets and lies, and those secrets and lies still affect the world, even years after she’s gone.
“Why do you think Queenie’s father would still want to hurt you both?” Rian asks. “I mean, the Campi mafia and the Halloran clan are at peace.”
“Shane killed one of my father’s beset guards when he took me away from my father’s house, and I stole a whole lot of money before we left.” Queenie looks a bit sheepish. “It was an immature thing to do. I’m aware of that now, though that cash bought this house. Still, my father doesn’t let go of grudges, and even though he thinks I’m dead, he still says awful stuff about me, according to my cousin. I’m hoping once he’s gone, we can come out of hiding. But until then.” She shrugs and shakes her head.
“You have to understand,” Shane says, his voice trembling slightly, his eyes flooded with conviction. “Queenie was pregnant. Our baby was on the way, and Megan was threatening to blow it all up and destroy our life. But not just ruin what we built here. If she told people about us, Queenie’s father might’ve sent men to murder the both of us. I couldn’t let that happen, not with a baby coming.”
“So you killed her,” Rian says into the tension.
“I followed her after that party. I didn’t know she had someone else in the car. I wouldn’t have done it if I knew.”
“That doesn’t really make anything better, but okay,” Rian says and puts a hand on my thigh.
“I ran her off the road. She smashed into a tree. I got out, dragged her onto the lawn, and killed her with a tire iron. I hit her in the head until she stopped moving, and I kept going even after she stopped breathing. I made sure she was dead. I made sure she couldn’t tell anyone about us and couldn’t hurt my family. I protected my wife and my child, and I’d do it again.” He’s shaking now, overcome with emotion. “I wanted to leave that life behind. I didn’t want any of this, any of the violence. I thought I could be a different man, but the clan, it doesn’t let you leave, even when you die.”
I shove my chair back and stand. I’m trembling, shaking with rage, and it feels like I’m cracked in half. Rian gets up and puts a hand on my arm, but I can’t look at him right now.
Shane did it. He killed Megan. She was blackmailing him, and he felt like it was his only option to keep his family safe.
And the horrible thing is, he might’ve been right.
I don’t know Megan at all. I never did. She could’ve told people about Shane and gotten him and his wife killed. They seem like they have a quiet life here, like they have a normal existence with a family and a lawn and a dog, all the things I’ve always wanted.
Except it’s built on a foundation of blood.
Megan’s blood. My best friend’s life.
That’s what the clan does. It takes and kills and tears and it doesn’t leave anyone.
“Thank you for telling me.” I manage the words, even though my voice is cracking.
Queenie’s holding Shane’s hands. “We’re so, so sorry, Daley. I know how close you were to Megan. If there was any other way—”
“Stop it.” I’m whispering because I don’t trust myself to talk louder. “Just stop it. You’re like all the rest of them.” I look at Shane and he’s shrinking back, grimacing. “You say you wanted to leave that life behind, but you didn’t. You’re still here, aren’t you? Still living near Philly, still hoping that one day Queenie’s father will die so you can go back to living the clan life. Go ahead, try and deny it, and I won’t believe you. This is all a lie, Shane. It’s all bullshit. You protected yourself and your wife and your child at the expense of a girl’s life, and I won’t ever forgive you for it. I hope they find you, and I hope you get what you fucking deserve.”