Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
RONAN
Kieran’s study has started to feel like a war room, and for good reason. There’s new security stationed outside the door, and I nod at them as I approach, noting the guns hanging at their hips.
They’re two of Kieran’s guys I trust enough not to break under torture if it comes down to it, but I still scan them on instinct. We can’t be too careful anymore, not with everything going sideways this fast.
After scanning my thumb to unlock the door, the usual scent of whiskey and stale cigars hits me, and I wrinkle my nose.
My brothers are already seated around the old poker table Kieran dragged in here after our last meeting turned into a night-long strategy session, and it seems they’ve all been locked away in here ever since.
Brennan’s nursing a tumbler of something, his boots kicked up on the table like he doesn’t have a care in the world, though I know that’s a lie. He just hides it better than most.
Cormac’s leaning against the bar, scrolling through his phone with a deep crease between his eyebrows, and Kieran is fiddling with a soundproof panel on the wall.
“I think we need to make showers mandatory between meetings. It fucking reeks in here.”
Brennan chuckles under his breath, and Cormac rolls his eyes.
“Fuck off,” Kieran mutters without looking at me.
I swallow a retort when I eye his clearly sweaty workout clothes and the backwards hat that is keeping his sweat-soaked hair off his face.
Case in point.
“Is everything definitely secure?”
Even with the two guards outside and the soundproofing, I’m still on edge.
There’s a mole within our ranks, and with each second that passes, information is being leaked to our enemies. I can’t afford to take any risks.
“Triple-checked, and there are no bugs. If anyone’s listening to us now, they’re doing it from hell.”
I nod and take my usual seat at the table across from Brennan. “Good, because we’ve got a problem. A big one.”
Brennan lifts his glass in a mock toast and finishes off his whiskey. “Just one? That’s a relief.”
“Cut the sarcasm. This isn’t a goddamn joke. In the last four days, we’ve had two shipments rerouted, one buyer pull out of a deal mid-contract, and three crews go dark on comms for hours at a time. You know what that tells me?”
Cormac doesn’t miss a beat. “Someone’s stirring shit.”
“More than that. This is coordinated. Whoever’s behind it is organized and patient, and they’re sending a message.”
Kieran glances over his shoulder at me and frowns. “The payoff that led us to Liam Kelly, that was just the beginning, wasn’t it?”
I nod. “Looks like it.”
Brennan leans forward, setting his empty glass down on the table. “We’re bleeding out, and if we don’t plug the hole fast, we’re going to go down.”
“Which is why we need to stop relying on third parties. This stays internal from now on. We need to investigate every person with access to our routes, our numbers, our meetings. Everyone.”
Cormac whistles. “That’s a long list. But I’ll do it. I have contacts I can trust to help.”
I glance at my youngest brother. “I want Brennan on this too. I need you to dig deep into this.”
Brennan’s expression instantly turns into one of quiet determination. “You got it.”
“I want you looking at both old and new alliances. Friends of the family. Even blood. Nobody’s exempt here.”
Kieran smirks. “Even Callum?”
I stiffen.
There it is. The question I’ve been avoiding all morning.
I drag a hand down my jaw as I exhale slowly, leaning back in my chair.
“He’s not behind this, but Ciara told me something that makes me nervous. He said he was planning something before Max’s death.”
Brennan frowns. “What kind of something?”
“She doesn’t know except that he was looking for a way to get her out of her marriage to me.”
Kieran climbs to his feet and brushes his hands over his shorts. “He’s got some fucking nerve. He was the one pushing for it in the first place, and now he wants out?”
“I was the one to propose it, but yes, he jumped at it. Now it seems the payout hasn’t been to his liking.”
Cormac looks at all of us. “If he’s scheming against us, we need to get ahead of it.”
Kieran grabs a fresh bottle of Jameson eighteen-year and two glasses before taking a seat at the table. “We should have just taken him out when we had the chance. The guy is really starting to be a pain in our asses.”
I shoot him a look. “He’s Ciara’s brother and her only living family.”
He opens the bottle and pours us both a glass before topping up Brennan’s drink. “From what I’ve heard of their relationship, your wife will likely be pleased that he’s gone so she can put the McCarthy name behind her for good.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”
Kieran slams his drink down on the table so that some of the liquor spills onto the worn baize. “Fuck the deal! It’s only causing a distraction at this point.”
“No. Even if that was your decision to make, brother, which it fucking isn’t, we are Sullivans. Our word still matters.”
“So, now this family is a dictatorship?”
“It is when it comes to my wife.”
I don’t miss the look Cormac and Brennan share across the room, which only annoys me more.
I look at each of my brothers in turn. “This is exactly what this mole wants: to break us apart from the inside. We need to present a united front, which means no one touches Callum McCarthy.”
Kieran scoffs. “So, what, then? We wait until he makes a mess big enough for us to clean up?”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
Cormac finally joins us at the table. “Then what are you saying?”
“I think we should toss him a bone to keep him close as well as occupied. It needs to be something important enough to keep him from getting restless, but not so critical that he can cause damage.”
Brennan nods. “A decoy job. It’s not a bad idea.”
Kieran chuckles darkly. “So, we treat him like a misbehaving dog? Give him a toy and hope he forgets to chew the furniture?”
“If it works, he’s off our radar, and Ciara stays happy. If it doesn’t… Well, we’ll know soon enough.”
Kieran lifts his glass as a shit-eating grin spreads across his face. “To family, then. Or at least, the trustworthy part.”
I clink my glass against his, but I don’t smile because the truth is, I’m not sure we’ve got any of that left.
I step into the house and exhale, feeling the storm that’s been raging in my head all day start to quiet. It’s been a long few hours, but after the meeting with my brothers, I finally feel like things are moving in the right direction, and any progress, however small, still counts.
Shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it onto the chaise in the foyer, I head into the living room in search of Ciara.
As expected, I find her curled up on the couch with her bare legs tucked beneath her, flipping through a book she doesn’t seem all that interested in.
Her sweater is slipping off one shoulder, and her checked pajama shorts are barely doing their job of covering her ass.
Adding in her messy blonde hair, she has created a very dangerous combination.
I swallow a groan as my cock instantly thickens. Not only does she look sexy as hell, but seeing her perfectly at home stretched out over the cushions like she owns the place has my chest swelling with pride.
She’s becoming more of a Sullivan with every passing day, and I fucking love it.
She doesn’t look up from her book. “You can rest easy, Sullivan. I haven’t left this damn room all day.”
I shift on my feet as the irritation in her tone sends a rush of blood straight to my dick.
No matter whether she’s mad or tired or challenging me until I want to rip my hair out, this woman never fails to have my mind in the gutter.
I have to have her. Now.
Stephen shifts near the window, as if he can read the intention on my face and is subtly reminding me that we’re not alone.
I barely glance at him, my attention too preoccupied with how sexy my wife looks. “Take the rest of the night.”
“Boss,” he says quietly before leaving the room.
As soon as he’s gone, I stride toward Ciara and make no attempt to be subtle about the way I adjust myself.
Not that Ciara’s paying any attention to me, of course, but for some reason, that only makes me harder. She might think she’s punishing me by making me work for her attention, but in reality, it’s going to end up the other way around.
When she finally looks up at me, her green eyes briefly widen as she finds me towering over her curled-up body.
“What are you—?”
I don’t give her time to finish before I scoop her up into my arms and throw her over my shoulder.
She gasps as her book drops to the floor with a soft thud, sinking her fingers into my shirt to steady herself.
She squirms in my arms. “Ronan! What the hell are you doing?”
“Proving a point.” I carry her out of the room and up the stairs.
“What point?”
“That you don’t get to walk around my house looking like that.”
Ciara huffs, but her heart is racing in her chest as I head toward the bedroom.
My hands grip the back of her thighs, and I dig my fingers into the soft flesh a little harder as I kick open the bedroom door before tossing her down onto the bed.
She lets out a cry as she lands among the pillows, and the sound sends a rush of blood straight to my cock.
The noises this woman makes have me absolutely feral with need.
“And what now?” Ciara props herself up on her elbows.
Her cheeks are flushed, and her breathing is shallow as her gaze rakes over me, lingering a little longer on my crotch.
I make a point of reaching down to squeeze my erection, and her breath catches, which makes my lips twitch. Knowing how turned on she is when we haven’t even gotten naked yet has all sorts of ideas forming in my mind.
The tension crackles between us like a live wire as I step to the end of the bed and start undoing the buttons on my shirt.
“Strip.”
Ciara’s cheeks turn even pinker, but she does as I ask, slowly lifting her sweater over her head and shimmying out of her shorts until she’s left in nothing but scraps of pink lace.
“That’s what you wear when I’m not around?” I growl as my cock thickens.
“Why? Is that a problem?” She bites her lip as she looks up at me under her lashes.
I eye the pale pink bra that barely contains her breasts and is so sheer that I can see how hard her nipples are, and I swallow a groan. I want to wrap my lips around those tight little buds and suck on them until she’s begging for me to fuck her.
She moves her body just enough so that her tits sway. “Would it help if I told you I wore it just for you?”
“You really shouldn’t have done that.”
“What? This?” She reaches up to cup her breasts over her bra. Her head falls back as a quiet moan spills from her lips while she rubs her thumbs back and forth over her nipples.
“Do you think you can tease me, Tine Bheag?” I palm my cock through my pants. “Because you and I both know that teasing me doesn’t end well for you. So, I suggest you do as you’re told and strip.”