So there you have it. Liam selflessly gave his life to save me. My father selfishly brought him back to protect me. It put a strain on their relationship for a while. Yes, Liam agreed to my father’s plan to raise him should he die protecting us and don’t think for a minute that my dad didn’t struggle with the ramifications of the oath. But becoming a zombie was never a part of Liam’s Life Plan.

No, he always thought he would serve my family, as his father and his father’s father had, until he met the right woman. Then he would propose, marry, have kidlets – perhaps a son who could carry on the family biz of keeping my family safe – and then grow old and die peacefully in his sleep surrounded by everyone he loved.

But the O’Connor line is dead now. Liam can’t wed because zombies have no rights, and even they did and Liam could marry, he physically can’t have children of his own. He was the last O’Connor son and he will be that until the day my father dies.

It’s a lonely way to live.