Page 103 of Little Fury

“Please, Harry.” I sob.

“Ava, I’m sorry it lands on you. I’m sorry it's always been on you, so much of the shit of this life. As much as I wish your life had been different, I can’t seem to make a wish to change it. Raising you and training you was the best thing I ever did. I love you, Ava.”

“I love you. Thank you for the life you gave me.”

I hear the screen door open and close.

“Promise me.”

“I promise,”I tell him as another sob leaves me. Liam’s arms are around me as I crumple to the ground. He takes my phone from me and puts it on speaker. He holds me tight, rocking me slightly in his arms.

“Hey, Harry,”I hear Marcus shout in the distance.

“Marcus,” Harry says.

“Where is she, Harry? Tell me where she is, and we’ll turn around and head back home,”Marcus tells him. His voice gets louder the closer he gets to him.

“I can’t do that, Marcus. But you feel free to go back home anyway.”

“I wish I could, Harry. But you gotta understand something. She won’t engage with me. She’s decided to go back to work, and just let bygones be bygones. While I’m sure that sounds like a great plan to her, I disagree. I started something, and I will finish it even if I have to burn the entire fucking world down to find her. She’s mine. She has always been mine, and she will always be mine. And she will die how I want.”

“Why Marcus? You loved that girl from the moment you met her.”

“I did. I loved Ava. I still love her. But she never loved meback. Sure, she fucked me. She let me use her body however I wanted for years. But she never gave me her heart.”

“You were her best friend, Marcus. She loved you so much. She only wanted you to be happy and find peace in your life.”

“Ha! She moved on from me, Harry. I didn't want to move on from her.”

“Marcus–”

“Enough. It's done. Tell me where she is.”He notices the phone in Harry’s hand.

“Is that her on the phone, Harry? Has she been listening to us this whole time?”Marcus sounds giddy, knowing I’m right there listening.“Put it on speaker.”

Harry puts the phone on speaker.“Ava, Ava, Ava. Tell me where you are. Tell me where to find you, and I’ll let the Scotsman live. You for him. Fair trade. One for one.”

“Marcus, please don’t hurt him. He fucking raised us. Loved us!”

“I know that, Ava. I was there. I know he raised us. He loved you; he raised me out of obligation, not being able to just let Enzo put a bullet in my head. Sometimes I wish he had just let him kill me.” That last part is said barely above a whisper. “But none of that matters. You tell me where you are, or he dies. It’s that simple.”

“Why Marcus? What happened? When did you decide you hated me so much?”

“See, that’s just it, Ava. I don’t hate you. I fucking want to hate you. I want to hate you so badly, but I don’t. I still fucking love you.”

“Then why are you doing this? This will hurt me, Marcus. This will break my heart.”

“Why? Aren’t you supposed to have a genius-level IQ? How are you this stupid? The day you caught me with that woman in our bed, you just looked at me and her. I figuredyou would kill her when you caught us. It's why I fucked her in our bed. I wanted you to kill her for fucking what was yours. But you didn’t. You just walked in and watched her ride my dick for a minute, looked at me, and left. It was the look you gave me, Ava. That look? That look started all this.”

“What fucking look did I give you that could deserve all this as payback?”

“Relief Ava. You looked relieved when you saw us. And then you left me. No fight, no argument. You just left me.”

“I didn't leave you, Marcus. I just stopped fucking you! I was still there with you every day. I was still there talking with you every day. The business was still us. Nothing changed except you could no longer stick your dick in me. That's it!”My anger is so overwhelming right now that if Liam wasn’t holding me, I think I would have passed out. I can feel Liam breathing. I can feel his breath in my hair. I can feel his heart beating against my hand. And it’s keeping me here, keeping me grounded.

“You changed after that, not me. You stopped talking to me. Alexi was the only person whose opinion you cared to hear after that. You started using all the time. Fuck. Marcus, do you realize that you sent me to a job that didn’t exist? There was no target. It was never a contract. And another time, you sent me on a job alone where I almost died because the intel you gave me was so bad that there were an extra eight guys on the property! Eight! Fuck, Marcus! But sure, I stopped letting you cum in me, so it's all my fault. My body was no longer yours to use whenever you wanted; that’s what fucked us.”

“Enough Ava! Tell me where the fuck you are, last warning.”

“Ava, remember your promise.”

“Fuck you, Harry. I love you.”

“You did this, Ava. Remember that when you tell Beth why Harry is dead, tell her you decided your life was more important than his. You let the man she loves die because you were a fucking coward.”

A sob leaves me that is full of nothing but anguish. Liam tightens his arms around me like he’s trying to give me his strength. Tears are running down my face, and my breathing is painful and ragged.“Please don’t, please don’t, please,”I whisper like a chant in Liam’s arms as he rocks me. I hear him murmuring. I feel him kissing my head. I raise my head to him, looking into his eyes, pleading for him to stop it.

“I’m so sorry, Mo Ghrá,”I hear him whisper as a single gunshot goes off, and a thud follows as body and phone hit the ground.