Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
RONAN
I don’t want to leave Ciara’s side this morning because I know the moment I do, I’ll be pulled right back into the darkness and violence of my world. Right now, I just want to hold my sleeping wife in my arms and listen to the sound of her steady breathing.
It’s going to take some time for us to move past the events of last night. Ciara might say she’s fine, but the reality is she witnessed me kill two men without so much as flinching.
I’m terrified that she’s going to wake up and look at me differently now that the adrenaline has worn off.
When the sun finally starts to seep in through the curtains, I know I can’t put off my duties any longer. I gently slide my arms out from around Ciara, making sure not to wake her, and get dressed before heading downstairs.
I find Brennan and Cormac in the kitchen, huddled around the island drinking espressos. Neither of them looks like they’ve slept, though I’m sure I don’t look much better.
“Where’s Kieran?”
Cormac looks up at me. “He’s with Finn.”
“That traitor better not be dead by the time I get there.”
Brennan nods. “Kieran knows what he is doing.”
I straighten my jacket.
It’s going to be a hell of a long day, but the sooner I get it started, the sooner I can get back to Ciara.
“Brennan, I need you to stay with Ciara. Cormac and I need to head out.”
Cormac frowns. “Where are we going?”
“We need to go and tell Stephen’s wife that he’s dead.”
Brennan takes a sip of his espresso. “Suddenly, I’m grateful for babysitting duty…”
Cormac and I head through to the garage and climb into the Range Rover. Neither one of us speaks on the drive to Stephen’s house, and the silence settles between us with the weight of what we’re about to do.
Tamara doesn’t know her husband’s dead, and I have no idea how I’m going to tell her.
The air is heavy when Cormac and I step out of the car, both of us looking out of place on the quiet suburban street.
I can’t imagine Stephen living somewhere with perfectly manicured hedges and station wagons parked in every driveway. But that’s probably why he chose it. It’s peaceful and unassuming, a stark contrast to the world he was caught up in.
Cormac hesitates as we approach Stephen’s house. “Do you know what you’re going to say?”
“No idea.”
The porch light flickers above us despite the daylight, and I knock once on the front door.
It instantly opens, and Tamara stands there. She takes one look at me, then at Cormac behind me, and her face crumples.
“No. No, no, no—”
“Tamara…” I say quietly.
She shakes her head, her eyes wide and her chest rising and falling fast, as if she can’t get enough air. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
I don’t answer. I don’t need to.
Tamara lets out a broken sob as she turns and walks back into the house, her legs looking like they’re about to give out at any moment.
She doesn’t invite us in, but Cormac and I follow her inside anyway.
The living room is warm and welcoming, with toy cars and stuffed animals scattered across the floor, and countless family photos dotted about the shelves.
Fuck. This is going to be so much harder than I thought.
She collapses onto the couch. “I knew it. The second I saw your faces, I just knew. Why else would you be here?”
Cormac hovers by the doorway while I take a seat beside Tamara on the couch, resting my forearms on my knees as I try to think of what to say.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, Tamara… I’m so sorry. There was an accident, a car crash. It was sudden but… quick.”
It might be a lie, but it’s a necessary one. There’s no good in her knowing what really happened to Stephen. The betrayal and the mess he left behind is for me to deal with, not her. Right now, she needs to grieve the loss of her husband.
Tamara shakes her head again, her eyes glassy with tears.
“How can he just be gone? H-how do I tell the boys their father’s gone?”
Tears stream down her cheeks as she looks at me as if I have the answer.
I want to offer her comfort, but nothing I say will fill the void that Stephen has left behind. So, I give her the only thing that I know I would want to hear if I were in her position.
“I need you to know something. Stephen talked about you and the twins all the time, about how proud he was to have you as his wife. He was loyal and brave, and in his last moments, he made me promise to take care of you. All of you.”
Tamara looks up at me, her eyes red and raw. “He made you promise?”
I nod. “He knew what mattered most.”
“I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“I meant what I said, Tamara. I’ll make sure you and the twins are looked after. Anything you need, whether it’s money, security, or help with the house, it’s taken care of.”
Her lip trembles as more tears stream down her cheeks.
“You don’t have to—”
“I do. Because I gave Stephen my word.”
Tamara swallows hard and nods. “Thank you, Ronan.”
“I’ll be in touch soon.” I rise to my feet. “And Cormac will be around for the next few days just in case you need anything.”
She nods again, almost mechanically now, as if her grief has shifted into shock.
We leave her sitting on the couch, staring at the pictures on the mantel as the soft whimper of one of the twins comes through the monitor on the coffee table.
The moment I step outside, I exhale slowly as another weight is added to my shoulders. But this one I’ll carry, for Stephen’s sake and for Tamara’s.
Cormac pulls into the forgotten industrial strip where one of our warehouses is located. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
Kieran’s car is parked a few yards away behind an old shipping container, the sleek black exterior looking out of place among all the rust and debris.
“I want to handle this one myself.”
Cormac nods. “Give him hell, Ronan.”
Two of my men are waiting at the entrance to the warehouse, and I give both of them a curt nod before stalking inside.
The place reeks of sweat and blood, but the smell helps to clear my head as I make my way down the damp corridor toward Finn’s cell.
As much as I want to open fire on the bastard who’s been giving me hell for the last few months, I need to be strategic.
Finn has information that I want, and I’ll be damned if he takes it with him to the grave.
The door to Finn’s cell is open, and when I enter, I find him strapped to a chair in the center with Kieran circling him like a vulture. From the bloody knife in my brother’s hand, I know he’s had a head start.
I nod at Kieran and then focus on Finn. “Ready to talk?”
Finn scowls at me. “Why would I? I don’t work for you.”
Under the dim overhead lighting, his face looks drawn and pale. His hair is matted with a mixture of dirt and blood, and he’s sporting an impressive black eye, which must be courtesy of my brother too.
Kieran steps forward and presses the tip of his knife into Finn’s cheek. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
Finn’s eyes flicker.
Even when the kid worked for our family, I never got the impression that Finn was particularly intimidated by me. Kieran, on the other hand, had him practically pissing his pants any time he dared look his way, which is exactly why I left Finn in his charge overnight.
If anyone could break Finn, it’s Kieran.
Finn focuses his attention on me. “I’m no one’s pawn.”
“Sure about that? Because from the looks of it, you had Declan Walsh pulling your strings.”
Finn swallows hard but stays silent.
Kieran digs the knife deeper into Finn’s cheek until he breaks the skin.
Finn hisses through his teeth as blood starts to trickle down his face.
“Try again.”
An hour passes without Finn giving me anything other than a headache. Part of me is impressed by how hard it is to break him. I guess Lorcan trained him well. It’s just a shame he decided to use those skills against us.
My patience is starting to run out. “If he won’t talk, I guess he won’t be needing his tongue.”
Kieran wipes his bloody knife on the back of Finn’s shirt before stepping to his front.
His eyes widen. “Wait.”
Kieran’s eyes narrow as they focus on Finn. “You have five seconds before I take your tongue and your fucking throat.”
Sweat beads on Finn’s forehead. “That attack on the safe house… It wasn’t random.”
“A fucking pigeon could have told me that.”
I cross my arms in front of my chest. “It was for Ciara, wasn’t it?”
Finn shakes his head. “It was meant for Kieran.”
Kieran stiffens as his eyes flick to mine.
My voice turns ice-cold. “Only a handful of people knew Kieran would be there.”
He smirks. “That’s all it takes.”
Kieran grabs Finn by the hair and yanks his head back. “Who is targeting us?”
“I don’t know more, I swear.”
I don’t believe him, and neither does Kieran. But if what he says is true about Kieran being the target in the safe house attack, then we need to get on damage control, fast.
Finn will just have to wait.
“Kieran, let’s go.”
Kieran looks like he wants to do nothing more than slit Finn’s throat, but he thankfully lets go of Finn’s hair and steps away.
Finn’s head falls forward, and his shoulders rise and fall as he tries to catch his breath.
“We’re not done here.” I slam the door to his cell shut behind us.
The sound echoes through the warehouse like a death knell, but not for him. At least, not yet.
I scrub a hand down my face as I walk back down the corridor toward the exit, the sound of my boots echoing against the concrete floor.
Kieran stalks along beside me, and I can tell by the way his jaw ticks that he’s fighting the urge to disobey my orders and go back in there to finish what he started. And fuck, I wouldn’t blame him.
I would do it myself. “He’s hiding something.”
“No shit.” Kieran runs a hand through his hair.
I pause at the far end of the corridor, nodding to the two men posted at the door. “Keep your eyes on him.”
One of them, Niall, straightens as he shifts his gun to his other hand. “What if he tries to make a move?”
I level him with a look. “Then you break every bone in his body. But keep him alive, for now.”
They nod, and Kieran and I move toward the back exit.
The door groans open, and we step outside into the crisp morning air. It’s not even noon, and I already feel exhausted.
Kieran looks back at the warehouse with a frown. “Why me?”
I glance sideways at him. “What?”
“The ambush. Why was it aimed at me? If someone wants to bring this family down, wouldn’t it make more sense to take you out?”
It’s not the first time that question has crossed my mind. But now, standing here with the weight of it all pressing down on my shoulders, I think I know the answer.
I tuck my hands into my pockets. “Not necessarily. They came for you, Kieran, because you’re the powerhouse.”
He scoffs. “Flattery doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not flattering you. I’m telling you the fucking truth. You’re the one no one sees coming until they’re bleeding out on the floor. You’re brutal and unpredictable, Kieran. You go down, and the rest of us are left exposed and vulnerable.”
Kieran is silent for a beat, then he lets out a dark, hollow laugh. “So, I’m the rabid dog they have to put down first.”
I arch a brow. “You should take the compliment.”
His jaw clenches. “I don’t want it.”
There’s a tension in him that wasn’t there before.
This isn’t just anger over the ambush. It’s something deeper and more personal than he’s letting on.
“They should have killed me when they had the chance.”
I turn to look at him properly, and his face is like stone, but his dark eyes burn with a rage I’m all too familiar with. It’s dangerous and unpredictable, just like Kieran.
He looks out over the city like it might offer him the answer he’s looking for.
“Kieran, we need to find out who’s behind this. This kind of hit was a warning shot.”
“Yeah, well… If Finn knows, he’s clearly not going to give it up easily.”
“I’m sure we can get him to break.”
We both fall silent again.
A low wind cuts through the alley between the warehouses, whistling past discarded pallets and rusted barrels. Somewhere in the distance, a siren wails.
His eyes turn to me. “Whoever this is, they know us and our movements. That safe house wasn’t just compromised; it was fucking scouted. Someone knew where I’d be and when.”
I nod, the familiar weight of paranoia settling in my gut. “Stephen’s been taken care of.”
“I think Stephen was only the beginning.” Kieran’s knuckles crack as he curls his hands into fists at his sides. “When I find out who’s behind this, I’m going to skin them alive.”
They tried to take out Kieran and failed, which means we still have our weapon. Now, we aim it.