29. Ronan
Chapter Twenty-Nine
RONAN
My body vibrates in my seat from the power of the engine as I race back toward the city in my blacked-out Mercedes.
The image of Max’s body jerking from the force of the bullet as it hits his skull plays on repeat behind my eyes as I press my foot to the floor, my knuckles white as I grip the steering wheel.
“Fuck this.” I press a few buttons on my steering wheel.
A few seconds later, Kieran’s voice filters through the speakers as he answers my call.
“Gather the others. I’m on my way.”
“Should I even bother asking questions?”
“Later.” I hang up before he can argue.
The highway blurs past the window as my mind reels.
Of all the people I thought were behind Max’s death, Finn O’Toole was the last person I ever expected to see. But only because up until I watched that footage, I thought he was dead.
He was brought into the fold at eighteen by Lorcan, who had a soft spot for the kid.
I was hesitant at first, underwhelmed by his quiet demeanor. But after a while, he proved himself useful and became a valued member of our team. That was, until he was caught in an ambush set up by my father and was never seen or heard from again.
Until now.
I scroll through my caller history on the center console until I land on Lorcan’s number. If anyone can explain Finn’s sudden reappearance, it will be him. But, of course, the call goes straight to voicemail.
“Call me, it’s urgent,” I bark before hanging up.
I practically abandon my car in the underground garage of Kieran’s apartment block before taking the elevator up to the penthouse. The place is deathly silent as I step off, so I head directly through the open-plan living area toward his office, which is slowly turning into a weapons bunker.
After the security lets me in with nothing more than a stern glare from me, I find my other brothers are already gathered, looking restless.
Kieran paces around the room like a caged animal. “All right, spill. What the fuck did you find?”
“Finn’s alive.” I stalk straight over to the bar.
Brennan’s eyes widen. “Finn? I thought he died in that ambush last year.”
“So did I.” I lean over the edge of the bar and grab a half-empty bottle of whiskey, before pulling the cork out with my teeth and taking a long drink. “But he’s the bastard who killed Max.”
Brennan’s jaw drops. “You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Cormac perches on the edge of the poker table and folds his arms across his chest. “Did you hear this from Lorcan?”
“I wish.” I take another swig. “I left him a voicemail.”
Kieran scowls, swiping the bottle of whiskey out of my hand. “Stop wasting all my good shit on your bad mood.”
I shoot him a glare, and he rolls his eyes.
“Sometimes, I feel like nothing but a glorified bartender.” He dips behind the bar.
Brennan leans forward. “I’m confused about how you know Finn is the one who killed Max.”
“Turns out there were cameras in the apartment that our guys missed.”
“Shit,” Kieran hisses from behind me.
“Mila found the laptop with the footage.”
“Double shit.”
I whirl at Kieran. “If you don’t have anything useful to add, shut the hell up.”
Brennan shakes his head. “So, Mila saw the footage?”
“And so did Ciara. The guys were in balaclavas, but I recognized Finn’s tattoo.”
“The Celtic knot on his hand…”
“The very one. I’d know that tattoo anywhere.”
“You would. You were with him when he got it.”
“I thought the kid was going to burst into tears the entire time.”
Kieran scoffs. “What a pussy.”
Cormac’s eyes find mine. “So, what now?”
Kieran sets four glasses on the bar along with a fresh bottle of Macallan whiskey. “We need to talk to Lorcan. Finn is his step-kid after all.”
“Don’t fucking remind me.” I barely wait for Kieran to finish pouring the drinks before snatching up a glass and downing it in one before reaching for another.
Kieran scoffs. “Seriously?”
“Have you got a fucking liquor license you’re trying to hold onto or something? Fill the damn glasses up.”
Cormac speaks up after I’ve downed my third drink. “So, do we think Lorcan is involved?”
The room falls silent.
Kieran narrows his eyes at our brother. “Trust you to be the one to question family loyalty.”
I glare at the two of them. “I’m not having this fucking conversation every time we get together.”
Kieran’s eyes stay fixed on Cormac. “There’s an easy solution to that, brother.”
Cormac looks at me. “If we tell Lorcan and he decides to go looking for Finn, he’ll know we’re onto him, and we can’t risk that.”
Brennan takes a sip of his glass. “So, we need to keep Lorcan in the dark? That’s easy enough. He’s barely been around ever since Dad died.”
Cormac nods. “All the more reason to look into Finn.”
“Exactly. We need to find Finn first and figure out if he’s flying solo or if there’s a bigger snake in the grass.”
“Finn’s smart. No doubt he’s covered his tracks well, and we’ll need to tread carefully, especially considering his link to Lorcan.”
Kieran rolls his eyes at Cormac. “Who gives a fuck about his link to Lorcan! He’s already proved himself to be a traitorous bastard, and I don’t fancy waiting around to see if he decides to put a bullet in one of us next.”
I shoot Kieran a look. “Lorcan stays out of this until the very last second. We don’t want him possibly tipping Finn off.”
I glance at Brennan. “You and I will dig through any of the guys Finn used to be close with to see if there’s been any communication from within.”
Brennan nods.
I look at Kieran. “I want you and Cormac keeping eyes on operations.”
Kieran snorts. “Nice of you to finally include me in the intel game.”
Brennan smirks. “Yeah, Kieran, you’re not just muscle anymore.”
“Muscle with a brain, don’t forget.” The slight smile on his mouth betrays him. “So, we find Finn, and we break him.”
“Just enough to see if there’s someone bigger pulling the strings.” I swirl my drink around my glass. “If it’s just him, then he’s all yours.”
“Good. I hate fucking traitors.”
“But if it’s not…”
Cormac scoffs. “We take them out regardless.”
We share a look from across the table, both of us silently thinking the same thing.
Can we do this to Lorcan?
The tension thickens in the room.
Brennan shifts in his spot. “Do you really think Finn could have turned from the spindly kid we brought in to a bloodthirsty hitman? It just doesn’t sound like him.”
I shake my head. “People change, Brennan. When survival’s the game, loyalty’s a currency.”
“Or…” Kieran glances at me.
“Or what?”
Kieran shrugs. “Maybe someone made him believe we were the enemy.”
“I always thought Lorcan was wrong in bringing Finn in.” I rub my temples. “He was too young and inexperienced. He didn’t grow up in the game like we did, and the power might have gone to his head.”
“Like someone else I know…” Brennan glances at Kieran.
“Watch yourself, little brother.” Kieran picks up two glasses and the bottle of whiskey and carries them over to the table, taking a seat beside Brennan.
Cormac shrugs. “There’s no point playing the blame game, Ronan. Right now, we just need results, and regardless of whether or not it’s Finn, the mole needs to be taken care of.”
Brennan’s eyes widen. “Wait, you think Finn is the mole? The guy’s been off the grid since last year, presumed dead after that ambush.”
Kieran slaps Brennan around the back of the head. “Presumed dead isn’t the same as actually dead, dipshit.”
“Fuck you.” Brennan takes a swing at Kieran, who narrowly dodges it.
God. These two…
“Enough! If Finn is smart enough to disappear, he’s smart enough to sabotage us from the inside, and we’re already running out of time. So, Kieran, I need you to set the bait, and I don’t want any mistakes, got it?”
Kieran reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out his phone. “You know me, brother. Mistakes aren’t my style.”
Brennan snorts. “Are you sure, hotshot? Because last week you set off the smoke alarm with your own damn cigar. It’s a wonder you manage to survive living on your own.”
“I left it burning because I was a little preoccupied.”
“With what? Staring at yourself in a mirror?”
“I was getting laid, little brother, a concept you’re not familiar with.”
“Taking your dick in your hand doesn’t count as getting laid,” Brennan retorts.
“Then I guess you’re still a virgin, right?”
I walk over to the table and take Brennan’s drink out of his hand before downing it in one, needing something to drown out the sound of their bickering. “God help us if the mole’s one of us.”
Kieran snorts. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Kieran glances over his shoulder at Cormac, who scowls.
Brennan scoffs. “You seriously think it’s one of us?”
“Well, not you.” Kieran rolls his eyes. “You’re not smart enough.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“If it’s anyone in this room, it’s Cormac.”
Cormac narrows his eyes at Kieran. “You just want an excuse to shoot me.”
“Trust me, I don’t need an excuse. If I knew it wouldn’t piss Ronan off, I would have done so the second you showed up at Da’s funeral.”
Brennan shakes his head. “I think killing Cormac would do a lot more than piss Ronan off, Kieran.”
“Whatever.”
If this keeps up, my liver will retire soon, because a bottle isn’t enough to deal with these two.
“I hope the mole is both of you so I’ll have an excuse to shut you both up for good. You’re giving me a headache.”
Brennan smirks. “You sound like Da.”
“Now I know why he drank so much.” I reach for the bottle of whiskey and refill my glass yet again. At this rate, I’m not going to be able to drive home, but that’s probably for the best.
Ciara learning about my involvement in Max’s death is no doubt the final nail in my coffin. I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would make her forgive me, and I’m not sure I even want her forgiveness. I don’t deserve it, and I sure as hell don’t deserve her.
Brennan folds his arms, suddenly serious. “Do you guys ever wonder what this whole situation with Finn says about us? Especially, if it turns out he is the mole?”
Cormac frowns. “What do you mean?”
“That someone we trusted has betrayed us like this. I thought our reputation was bulletproof, and if Finn is the mole, he’s nothing but an oversized teenager. It’s embarrassing.”
I glare at Brennan, and he starts to squirm in his seat. “Thanks for the reminder. It just means we need to be smarter and more ruthless.”
“And if Lorcan starts sniffing around?” Kieran catches my eye from across the table. “I mean, that is his kid, after all. Foster kid, but still.”
“It’ll complicate things, but we need to keep him in the dark, so we all need to keep our mouths shut.”
The room falls quiet for a moment, the weight of what’s coming crashing down around us.
Brennan shakes his head. “If it turns out Finn truly is the mole and we get our hands on him, it will be one hell of a family reunion, that’s for sure.”