Chapter Twenty-Two
KIERAN
I haven’t been back to Sullivan Investments since Sean decided to attack it, and soon enough, our employees will start wondering if I’ve abandoned this side of the business altogether.
The truth is I almost have. Boardrooms and balance sheets don’t exactly hold my attention when Sean is out for blood and Cormac is nowhere to be found.
The lobby is quieter than usual when I walk in, but the ripple of awareness spreads through the building the second someone clocks me.
A few employees straighten in their seats as I pass their cubicles, suddenly very invested in their screens.
I don’t stop to chat.
We came too close to losing this place. If I hadn’t intercepted Sean’s men in the parking garage, they would have stormed the boardroom upstairs and painted the walls red.
Since then, we’ve had extra security stationed in the lobby as well as doubled the number of security cameras just in case Sean decides to pay us another visit.
“Mr. Sullivan.” Colin Dougherty, one of the senior board members, gets to his feet the moment I walk into the boardroom, offering me a tight smile that I don’t return. “We weren’t expecting you.”
I don’t miss the way he glances around at the other men sitting around the table.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment visit.” I take the seat at the head of the table, making a point to look each of them in the eye. “Thought I would remind everyone I still exist.”
A few men chuckle, but it’s more out of nervousness than amusement. I wave a hand to signal to Colin to continue with his presentation on a few new partnership proposals.
I nod whenever he glances my way, but in truth, I barely hear a word he says over the roar of everything else that is fighting for space in my head.
Sean.
Cormac.
Riley.
The walls feel too close, the lights too bright.
Talking about budgets and projections feels hollow and a complete waste of my time.
A few months ago, I would have killed for Ronan to let me step up and take on a bigger role at the company. But now?
Every minute I spend sitting around this table is time I should be using to intercept Sean before he turns Riley’s life into a nightmare, time I should be using to track down Cormac.
By the time Colin finally pauses, my patience has snapped. The first pinch of a headache creeps across my temples, the kind that only something stronger than coffee can ease.
I push back from the table. “Send me the minutes. I’ll look them over.”
It’s a lie, but they don’t need to know that.
I leave the room without waiting for anyone else to stand.
The elevator ride back down is mercifully silent, giving me a brief moment to breathe.
But the moment is short-lived as I step out of the elevator and spot Aiden, my private investigator, leaning against the reception desk holding two coffees.
“Thought I’d find you here.” He hands me one as I approach. “Double shot. Figured I would soften the blow before I ruined your afternoon.”
I take a sip. “Bad news?”
He grimaces. “Depends how you define ‘bad’.”
I grunt, already knowing what’s coming. “You’ve got nothing.”
“Not nothing.” He falls into step beside me as I head toward the exit that leads to the parking garage. “Just nothing useful. Every trail on Cormac either ends in a dead end or loops back to information we already had.”
“Someone must be setting him up.”
Aiden stops in his tracks. “You think so?”
“I think that everything we’ve found points too neatly in one direction. It’s almost like someone wants us focused on Cormac and only Cormac.”
Aiden is quiet for a moment as we take the steps down to the garage. It’s only when we reach my car that he speaks again.
“So, all this digging, and you think he’s innocent?” He leans against the trunk.
“I’m saying I don’t know, and I don’t like not knowing.”
Aiden takes a long sip of his coffee as he studies me.
“What?”
“You’re wound tight, even for you.”
I shoot him a look that only makes him smirk.
“If you want to try juggling Sean O’Keefe breathing down your neck, a missing brother, and a target on your wife’s back, be my guest.”
He raises a hand. “Fair enough. Look, I’ll keep digging. There are a few sources I haven’t used yet. Maybe one of them has something worth hearing.”
“Do that. And, Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t care if he’s dead or alive, I just need you to find him.” I get in the car and drive away.
By the time I pull into the driveway at Ronan’s estate, my body feels heavy with exhaustion.
The day has been long, with each hour spent poring over files, records, and intercepted messages, trying to make sense of Cormac’s disappearance.
Every lead feels like a trap. But what worries me the most isn’t the paperwork or the missing pieces. It’s my brother.
If I’m right and it turns out the evidence we’ve been chasing is part of some larger plan, then Cormac isn’t just missing. He’s in danger. Or worse, dead.
I push the thought away, knowing it won’t help to dwell on it. I need to stay focused if I want to try and get ahead of whoever is trying to set Cormac up.
But for now, I can’t stand the thought of sitting behind a screen for another second without at least taking a shower and seeing my girl, preferably at the same time.
Following the soft glow of the living room light, I find Riley curled up on the couch, fast asleep.
I swallow a laugh, considering it’s still daylight outside.
She must be sleeping just as badly as I am.
I approach her quietly so as not to disturb her, but she stirs anyway.
A sleepy smile curves her lips when she sees me, and guilt stabs at me.
The day has kept me away from her, and for what? I’m no closer to finding Cormac, and it seems Riley is the one paying the price for my lack of progress. She’s been pulling further and further away from me, and I don’t blame her.
Every meal we try to share, she ends up eating alone. Every night she stays up waiting for me to come home, sleep gets to her before I do. At some point, enough is going to be enough.
But maybe tonight I can remind her that despite my actions and lack of attention over the past few days, she is still my number one priority.
“Hey.” I lean down to lift her legs gently.
She sighs, still half-asleep, and I slide in next to her, pulling her onto my lap and holding her against me.
She buries her face in my chest. “You’ve been gone all day. I almost forgot what you looked like.”
I press a kiss to her temple. “I feel bad. Neglecting you like this… it’s not right.”
“It’s fine,” she mumbles, though I can hear in her voice it’s anything but fine.
“What’s wrong, Riley? Talk to me.” I brush a strand of hair behind her ear before grazing my fingers along her cheek.
She pulls back and looks up at me with such defeat in her eyes, it feels as if she just reached inside my chest and pulled my heart out.
“I’m just…going stir crazy.” She fiddles with a button on my shirt. “Being stuck in the house, under lockdown, it’s driving me insane.”
I pull her closer, encasing her in my arms. “It won’t be forever. Isn’t there some reading or college prep you can do to take your mind off things?”
My suggestion only seems to make Riley’s shoulders sag even more.
“I’ve done it all.”
I fight a smile. “Of course, you have. I didn’t realize I married such a nerd.”
Riley’s lips twitch, but she doesn’t give me a full smile.
“You do know why I’m doing this, right? It’s because I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you.”
“I know. And most of the time, I’m okay with it. But lately, everything’s just been too much.”
The unspoken fears and frustration come through in her words, and it makes my chest ache.
This wasn’t the life I promised her. She doesn’t deserve to be cooped up day in and day out because of my lack of progress with Sean and Cormac.
“You’re allowed to feel frustrated, God knows I do.” I sigh. “What can I do to make it easier for you, little dove?”
Riley lets out a sigh as she rests her head against my chest, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Can I…go out tomorrow?”
“Riley—”
“Just for a short while. I want to see Oscar.”
“I can’t—”
“It’s just to talk.” She pulls away so she can look me in the eye. “Please.”
I frown at the slight look of panic in her eyes.
“Is he forcing you to meet? Because if he is—”
“What? No! Why would you think that?”
“This sudden urge to reconnect… It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“That’s because it’s Oscar, and you don’t trust him.”
“You’re right, I don’t trust him.”
“But you promised you would give him a chance.”
I swallow a groan of annoyance. I did promise that, and I need to honor it, but at this moment, I’m rethinking why the hell I would make such a stupid promise.
“Please, Kieran.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Fine. You can go. But the guards go with you too, and I won’t hear otherwise.”
Relief washes over Riley’s face before she throws her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. “Thank you.”
I hold her tight, breathing in the fruity smell of her shampoo.
Somehow, she manages to calm me and ignite a fire in my chest all at once.
If she didn’t look so tired, I would insist on carrying her up to bed. But from the huge yawn she lets out, I don’t think she would make it up the stairs before falling asleep.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I suggest, but Riley shakes her head.
“I’m not tired.”
“Liar.” I pinch her waist. “But fine. Do you want to watch a film or something?”
“I want to stay right here like this.” She snuggles against me, and I chuckle.
“Whatever you want, little dove.”
The quiet settles around us, and my body slowly starts to relax as I focus on the soft sound of Riley breathing.
I never thought another person would have the ability to quiet the noise in my head, but she does just that.
“How was the rest of your day?” I ask, but when Riley doesn’t answer, I glance down to find she’s already fallen back asleep.
A quiet sigh escapes me as I stare down at her.
She looks so peaceful in my arms, and I want to keep it that way.
Carefully, I scoop her up into my arms, cradling her like she’s the most precious thing in the world. Because she is.
I tiptoe upstairs to our room and lay her down gently on the bed, tucking the blankets around her. I brush a hand over her hair before tracing my thumb along the curve of her jaw.
She shouldn’t have to live like this, waiting around for her world to fall apart. She deserves true safety, not this fragile peace that I keep trying to offer her.
So, I’ll make sure to give Riley that future, even if there’s nothing left of me by the time it’s done.