Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
RONAN
When the car flipped and started smoking, I thought Ciara was dead.
It was nothing short of agony as I raced toward Stephen’s car, so the last thing I want to do right now is let go of her.
But the sooner I take care of Declan, the sooner I can have her back in my arms where she belongs.
“Stay with Brennan.” I kiss her forehead and let go of Ciara’s trembling body to walk over to where Stephen lies in a bloody heap.
His breathing is labored, and there’s a nasty wound on his temple. I have no doubt he’s got some broken ribs and a concussion. If I got him to the hospital, he would likely make a full recovery, but unfortunately for him, that’s the last thing I plan on doing.
I strip the gun from his waistband and hold it steady as I aim it right between his eyes.
“Call Declan.” I click off the safety. “I want you to tell him you’ve got Ciara and ask for him to meet you at the abandoned sawmill on Route Nine. If you dare say anything else, I will end you now.”
Stephen swallows hard as his eyes flick between the barrel of my gun and my face. “Not until you promise me something.”
“You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“It’s not for me.” He winces as he tries to move, his hand clutching at his side. “It’s my wife and kids. They had nothing to do with this.”
“You should have thought of that before you got involved with Declan Walsh.”
“Please, Ronan… I don’t care what happens to me, but I want you to swear that they’ll be safe.”
I stare at him, my finger tightening on the trigger.
But then I think of Ciara and our child and know that I would do whatever I could to keep them safe.
My eyes flick to my right, where Ciara is standing, huddled next to Brennan with her blood-stained hands resting on her abdomen.
The baby.
“Why were you going to the hospital?” The edge in my voice has nothing to do with Stephen now.
Ciara blinks, like she’s forgotten where she is. “I… I had some cramps earlier tonight.”
My gut twists. “Are you still in pain?”
“No, I feel fine now.”
I’m not buying it.
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Really, they’re gone.”
Even if she truly was feeling no pain, I have no doubt it’s because of the adrenaline coursing through her body. But I don’t want to argue with her about this here, not when I’m pointing a gun at someone’s head.
“Brennan, take her to the hospital.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ciara snaps before Brennan can even move an inch.
I turn back to her, my jaw clenched as I try to keep a lid on my anger.
“Ciara—”
“I said I’m fine. I’m not in pain anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter; you shouldn’t be here.”
“I need to be here, Ronan. You’re not doing this alone.”
I stare at her for a moment, but the fire in her eyes doesn’t dim, and I don’t have time to waste arguing with her.
“Fine. But the second something changes, you tell me.”
She wraps her arms around her body. “I promise.”
I take a breath and look back down at Stephen.
His eyes are still fixed on my gun, but I can see that he’s in a lot of pain. It wouldn’t take much to just leave him here for Declan to take care of, but the reality is that I need him to lure Declan to me.
I want to finish this. Tonight.
I nod at him. “Fine. Your family won’t be harmed. I give you my word.”
His relief is immediate, but I don’t lower my gun, even as he reaches into his jacket with a trembling hand and pulls out his phone.
All of us wait in tense silence as it starts to ring.
The first call goes to voicemail.
“Try again.”
He dials again, but Declan still fails to answer.
I grind my teeth.
I look over at Brennan and jerk my chin in Stephen’s direction.
I need to talk with Ciara.
Brennan pulls his own gun out of the holster hidden beneath his jacket and steps up to take aim as Stephen redials Declan’s number for the third time.
Despite learning that one of my own men has been actively feeding information about my family and business to one of my rivals, the fact that we are waiting around has granted my mind time to catch up, and there is something nagging at me.
I holster my gun as I approach Ciara. “Were you going to tell me?”
She blinks, confusion flashing across her face. “About…?”
“The baby.”
She freezes, and her gaze falls to the ground. “How did you find out?”
“Kieran told me. And I had to force it out of him.”
“I was going to tell you. I even tried a few times, but we always got interrupted. And even if I know it’s not an excuse, I didn’t try harder because I didn’t want to drop it on you in the middle of everything.”
I step closer to her, caging her body between my own and the car. “You lied to me.”
Her eyes flick back up to meet mine. “I didn’t lie.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You kept it from me.”
“I was scared, Ronan. Scared of what this would mean for us, scared of how you would take it.”
Her eyes shine with unshed tears, but there’s no fear there, just brutal honesty.
And then I get it. I get that all she’s seen from me is the loose gun, the man who boils in cold water, the man who can’t be trusted to be there.
And as my frustration at being kept in the dark threatens to build in my chest, I push it down.
It’s not her fault. Not totally. This is on me too.
I wasn’t someone she thought she could count on. Someone that she could talk to.
And I want to be the safe place she comes to, not the bomb that might explode that has her running in the opposite direction.
“You should have told me. I wanted to be there for you.”
“I know.”
We stare at each other for a moment until I finally drop my arms to my sides as I exhale slowly.
“I’m going to be a dad?”
She nods, and I run a hand over my face.
This baby changes everything.
I thought I knew what it meant to protect Ciara, but now this situation is bigger than just us. It’s about what we’re building and what we might lose if I don’t take care of this threat.
Ciara steps toward me, “Ronan—”
A phone rings.
I whirl around as Stephen holds out his phone to show me the screen.
“It’s him. It’s Declan.”
Brennan widens his stance as he keeps his gun pointed at the side of Stephen’s head.
I pull out my gun once more and take aim. “Put it on speaker.”
“Stephen?” Declan’s voice has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “What the hell’s going on? You were supposed to check in an hour ago.”
Stephen glances at me. “I’ve got her. I’ve got Ciara. I picked her up and managed to get away without anyone tailing us.”
Despite the two guns pointed at his head, Stephen’s voice is calm. It seems the years of military training are coming in useful.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“All right. Where are you?”
Stephen recites the address I gave him earlier, and Declan grunts.
“I’ll be there in an hour. And don’t forget to wipe your phone.”
The call cuts off, and Stephen slowly lowers the phone, his eyes locked on mine. “I held up my end, now you hold up yours.”
“You have my word. Your family will be taken care of.”
Stephen bows his head. He doesn’t beg for his life or for my forgiveness. He simply closes his eyes, and I take my opportunity to turn to Ciara.
“Look away.”
She frowns. “What?”
“I’m not saying it again.”
Her face falls as she realizes what I’m about to do. “Ronan, wait—”
I raise the gun and shoot right in the center of the forehead, sending Stephen’s body crashing to the ground.
Ciara’s scream pierces my ears as I stalk toward the body and crouch beside it.
Stephen’s phone is still in his hand, and I pocket it and holster my gun.
“Brennan, help me.”
Ciara is sobbing now, but I can’t go to her just yet. I can’t let myself feel, not when Declan Walsh is on the move.
I can’t think about the fact that my pregnant wife just witnessed me murder the man I considered a friend. It might make me a coward, but I can’t bear to see the hatred and pain in her eyes when she looks at me.
Brennan appears beside me, and we haul Stephen over to the trunk of the SUV, both of us grunting and cursing at the weight.
I slam the trunk closed. “Get someone out here to deal with the wreckage. I don’t want Declan seeing it.”
Ciara has climbed into the passenger seat of the car and curled up into a ball, her face streaked with tears. Her silence is louder than anything I’ve ever heard, and she refuses to look at me.
Brennan looks around. “What now?”
“We go to the meeting point.”
Brennan frowns as he glances at Ciara. “I thought the whole point was to get her away from Declan.”
“You’re going to drop me off there and drive Ciara to the hospital.
In the meantime, call Kieran, send him the location, and tell him to bring backup.
I think we’re going to need it.” My eyes never leave Ciara as I speak, but if she feels my gaze, she makes no move to acknowledge me. “Come on, we haven’t got much time.”
We drive in silence toward the abandoned sawmill where Declan is due to meet us. The tension in the car is palpable, made worse by the fact that there’s a dead body in the trunk.
The sawmill sits at the edge of a forgotten stretch of forest. The main building is massive, with shattered windows running along the upper level and a crooked sign that reads McNally Timber Co.
Its rusted metal siding and rotting timber beams aren’t worth glancing at twice, which is exactly why I chose it.
The ground surrounding it is nothing but gravel and mud, littered with old tools and rusted oil drums.
The moment I kill the engine, I glance at Brennan in the rearview mirror.
“Go and take a walk.”
He groans. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He rolls his eyes and climbs out, slamming the door behind him like he used to when he was a teenager.
Ciara’s body is turned away from me, but she makes no move to leave the car.
I think we both know we need to talk about what just happened, and I guess that time is now.
“Stephen was going to sell you to Declan. You get that, right?”
“I know.”
“And you think he deserved to live after that?”
She still doesn’t look at me. “I think… I don’t know what I think. I just watched a man die, Ronan.”
“You’ve seen worse.” My mind brings up the bloody scene at the safe house.
This death was humane in comparison.
“I’ve seen the aftermath, Ronan, not the actual killing.” Her voice is strained, as if she’s trying to keep herself from shattering.
“Do you think I liked doing it?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe part of you did.”
“You’re wrong. No part of me enjoyed ending a life. Least of all his. I thought he was my friend, Ciara, but he betrayed us all.” I shake my head. “He was working with the man who killed Max, the man who’s trying to destroy our entire family.”
“I know.”
I try to reach for her hand, but she pulls away.
“Ciara.”
“He asked you to protect his family, and you promised him you would, and then you shot him—” Her voice cracks, and she buries her face in her hands, overcome with emotion.
My chest tightens, and I want nothing more than to pull her onto my lap and hold her close, but I know she won’t let me.
“I did protect them. That’s why I had to pull the trigger.”
“What do you mean?” She lowers her hands, looking me in the eye.
“If he’d lived, Declan would have killed Tamara and the twins to punish him for failing. Or Stephen would have run straight back to them with a target on his back. Because Declan would’ve never let him walk away. And he’d use his family against him one way or another.”
She shakes her head, her lower lip trembling.
“Trust me, Ciara, this was the better outcome. I gave his family the best shot at a normal life.”
“Those kids are going to grow up without a father. Because of you, Ronan.”
“No. Because he chose to put you in danger. Besides, those kids and Tamara will want for nothing.”
“Money won’t bring him back.”
“I’m not just offering them money. Despite everything, Stephen was a part of this family, and by extension, so are his boys.”
She shakes her head. “No. Don’t do that. Don’t bring them into this world. They deserve the chance at a normal life away from all of this.”
I say nothing as I watch every emotion flicker in Ciara’s eyes until finally, she lets out a long breath, and her shoulders sag.
“I hate that this is our life.” Her hands land on her stomach.
“We’re going to get through this. I’m going to kill Declan, and then we’re going to raise this baby together.”
She exhales shakily. “And if something happens to you?”
“It won’t.”
She looks up at me beneath damp lashes. “You can’t promise that.”
“No. But I can promise you that Declan Walsh will not be the reason I won’t come home to you every night. He’s on borrowed time.”
Ciara’s eyes fill with tears once again, and this time, when I reach for her, she lets me hold her tightly, but I doubt it’s because she forgives me. I think it’s because she knows if this ends badly, this might be our last chance to hold each other.