Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
KIERAN
I sit in the driver's seat of the Hummer, patiently waiting in the underground parking lot beneath Sullivan Investments for Sean’s men to appear.
The glow of the fluorescent overhead lights flickers against the windshield.
Every shadow has my adrenaline spiking, but my focus is sharp.
Ronan might not agree with my plan, but it’s the only way we can ensure Sean backs off. We need to remind him of the price to be paid by messing with the Sullivans, and if I have to take a few lives to do that, then so be it.
My hands are already stained with blood. What’s a little more?
Brennan sits beside me with his Glock resting on his thigh as he stares out of the passenger window.
Our men are spread out around the lot, their weapons aimed and ready.
Cole is positioned outside to give the signal when he sees movement. But so far, it’s been quiet.
I’m getting restless, but if we move too early and blow our cover, Sean might decide to retaliate.
I think of all the people in the offices upstairs innocently going about their day. They don’t deserve to die because of my lack of control.
My family made a promise to protect them, and I intend to do good on that promise.
“Any word on Cormac?” Brennan breaks the silence.
“Still nothing. Same as yesterday, and the day before that.”
Brennan shakes his head, frowning. “He can’t have just vanished. He has to be working with someone, Kieran.”
“Looks that way.”
But so far I have no leads on who could be the one helping him.
Brennan bounces his knee up and down as his eyes scan the lot. “Maybe we’ve been looking at it wrong.”
“How else would you suggest we look at it?”
My words come out harsher than I intend, but my patience is wavering. I’m already on alert by the fact that Riley chose today of all days to leave the safety of Ronan’s estate to visit with her friend.
Of course, I could have forbidden her from leaving, but I was unwilling to drive another wedge between us. It already feels as if our relationship is hanging by a thread as it is.
“We keep focusing on enemies,” Brennan explains. “But what if the person helping Cormac isn’t someone with a grudge against us?”
I study him out of the corner of my eye. “You mean, like an ally?”
“Maybe.”
“But why? What would they gain from helping Cormac of all people?”
“Who knows, but you have to admit it would be one hell of a power move.”
I nod slowly, my mind already turning over possibilities.
It would be obvious to expect someone outside of our family to betray us like that, and it could be that whoever is helping Cormac is expecting us to think exactly that. What if we’ve been overlooking a whole cohort of people who up until now have been flying under the radar?
“Start digging. From now on, everyone is a suspect. I don’t care if you have to pull every phone record and bank statement from here to Chicago, we need to find out who Cormac is leaning on.”
Brennan nods once, determination etched across his face.
Before we can talk further, the radio in my hand crackles softly, and I tense as Cole’s voice fills the silence.
“They’re coming.”
“Let’s move,” I order our men over the radio.
Brennan and I slip out of the Hummer and crouch low.
Every muscle in my body coils tight as the glare of headlights slices through the shadows. Black vans, one after the other, roll into view and within seconds, Sean’s men spill out of the backs of them, armed to the teeth.
I raise my hand, holding it steady. Our men grip their weapons tighter, but no one moves.
Timing is everything. If we move too soon, we lose the element of surprise. If we move too late, the innocent people upstairs might pay the price.
Sean O’Keefe wants blood. He wants to stain the Sullivan name in the press, on the streets, and in history books.
But I’ll be damned if he thinks he can waltz into my father’s legacy and shatter it with just a few bullets.
I wait.
One second.
Then two.
Their voices are too low for me to hear what they’re saying, but I catch the loud clicks of safety being turned off.
But still, I hold back on giving my men the signal. I want to wait until the last possible moment to ensure maximum casualties are inflicted on Sean’s army.
It’s not until they’re halfway across the lot, heading toward the elevators that lead to the office floors, that my pulse steadies and my focus sharpens.
This is the moment.
I drop my hand, and gunfire erupts.
It’s deafening in the enclosed space.
My men rise from their cover and unleash hell, cutting down the first wave of Sean’s men before they even know what hit them.
The rest try to scramble for cover like the cowards they are, but there’s nowhere to go.
They weren’t expecting resistance, and it shows.
Their formations are sloppy, and the lack of teamwork means backs aren’t covered.
A couple of men drop behind parked cars, firing blind over the hoods.
Bullets spark against metal near my head, but I don’t flinch.
I squeeze the trigger and take down one, then shift my target before the body even hits the ground.
“Push left!” Brennan yells, already moving.
Our men fan out, corralling what’s left of Sean’s crew toward the corner of the lot.
A few throw down their weapons and bolt, but I let them run.
Why not send a few of them back to Sean with a message?
“This is just a taste of what to expect if you fuck with us again!” I yell.
The rest of Sean’s men don’t get that mercy. We finish them off in minutes.
Only when smoke hangs thick in the air, and my ears ring from the gunfire, do I take a look around at the bodies littering the ground.
Blood soaks into the concrete, staining it red, but leaving them bleeding is not enough.
I’m not leaving here until every last remaining man is dead.
“Check for survivors!” I call out.
To my left, a man clutches his leg as he groans.
Before I can take care of it, Brennan appears and without hesitation, puts a bullet between his eyes.
My crew moves quickly, checking for pulses and stripping weapons from the bodies and tossing them into the trunk of one of our SUVs to either be repurposed or dumped later.
The bodies will be dragged into another warehouse before sunrise. When the new day rises, they’ll be nothing but ash.
As I finish hauling the last body into the SUV, Brennan appears beside me.
“How do you want me to handle this? I mean, twenty guys don’t just disappear for no reason.”
“I don’t care.” I slam the back door of the van shut. “Just keep this out of the papers.”
He nods, and I can see that he’s already mentally listing the cops and detectives we own.
My phone starts buzzing in my pocket with a call from Lorcan, so I step away and leave Brennan to deal with the last of the cleanup.
“Seems the foil went to plan?” he says when I answer.
“It went as well as can be expected. We didn’t lose any men.”
“What about Sean?”
“He didn’t show his face, but that wasn’t a surprise. He thinks he’s too good for dirty work. But I made sure to send a couple of his men back with a warning.”
“Of course, you did.”
“It won’t be enough to stop Sean from retaliating, but it might buy us some more time.”
“It might…”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“You can never be too careful.”
“That’s why we still need to be proactive and stay on top of this.”
“And I think I know how you can do just that.”
I frown. “How?”
“With the date and location of Sean’s next weapons delivery.”
My grip tightens on the phone. “How the hell did you get that?”
“Let’s just say I’ve got an insider who owed me a favor. This is your shot, Kieran. I suggest you make it count.”
My uncle understands me. Understands the need to show the world I’m not second best. Like him, I was born a little too late to be of importance, but that doesn’t mean I’m not as worthy.
“I’ve got it under control.”
“Good.” He hangs up.
I stare at the screen for a long beat.
Could this finally be my chance to show my family that I’m an asset rather than a liability?
I barely get the front door shut before Riley launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and clinging to me like she’s been starved of touch for days.
Her mouth finds mine in a rush of warmth, and I can’t help but smirk against her lips.
“What’s all this about?” I brush a strand of hair back from her face.
Her smile turns coy as she looks up at me under her lashes.
“I missed you, that’s all.”
I chuckle low in my chest as I pull her tighter against me.
“Yeah? I missed you too. More than you know.” I dip my head and kiss her again, but slower this time. “Maybe I can take you upstairs and show you just how much?”
She laughs, breathless already. “I like the sound of that.”
My hand has barely skimmed the curve of her hip when my phone buzzes in my pocket.
The timing couldn’t be worse, and Riley groans loudly, dropping her forehead against my chest. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Glancing at the screen, I swallow a curse as I see Brennan’s name.
I almost let it go to voicemail, but I know my brother. He wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important.
“I’m sorry, dove.” I press a kiss to Riley’s hair before stepping out of her arms to answer the call. “This better be good.”
“Did you know Oscar and Cormac knew each other?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I ran facial recognition on the CCTV from outside Cormac’s place in New York,” Brennan says, calm but edged. “Guess who popped up, twice?”
My gut twists as I glance at Riley.
She’s chewing on her bottom lip as she watches me with concern on her face.
Of all the people I thought were involved with Cormac, Oscar Walsh was not on that list.
“When?” I ask.
“Once about four years back, and again just a few weeks before Dad was murdered.”
For a moment, all I can do is stand there, my hand tightening around the phone until my knuckles ache.
The irritation I was feeling at having my time with Riley interrupted yet again is soon replaced by a rush of anger and disbelief.
Of all the things I expected to hear tonight, this sure as hell wasn’t on the list.
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. I checked it three times. It’s him.”
My mind races, piecing together the implications of this unexpected alliance.
If Brennan’s right, then I’ll have to make choices Riley might not forgive.
“Put a tail on him.”
Riley’s eyes are still fixed on me, but I can’t find it in myself to meet them.
“And keep digging. I want every detail you can find.”
“Already on it,” Brennan replies. “I’ll update you as soon as I have more.”
The line goes dead, and I shove the phone back into my pocket before finally looking at Riley.
“Everything okay?” she asks softly.
I force myself to relax my shoulders and to keep my expression neutral.
She doesn’t need to carry the weight of this news, especially when it involves her brother.
“Everything’s fine.” I take her face in my hands and brush my thumbs over her cheeks. “There’s something I need to take care of.”
Her lips press into a thin line, but she doesn’t push, even though I can tell she wants to. “When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll be as quick as I can,” I add before leaning down to kiss her.
She doesn’t kiss me back immediately, but when I brush my tongue along her lower lip, she relaxes into my touch.
“Just…be careful, okay?” she whispers against my lips.
“Always.”
I have to force myself to step away and out of the door before the guilt has a chance to choke me.
Keeping Riley in the dark feels wrong, but dragging her into this truth about Oscar could destroy her before I even have the full picture, and that’s not something I’m willing to risk.