Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
RONAN
The second we pull away from The Blackthorn, I put my foot to the floor as I head toward Mila’s apartment. Horns blare as I swerve through the traffic, but I don’t care. A speeding ticket is the least of my worries when my wife is god-knows-where.
My chest tightens as I think of Ciara’s fate if I don’t find her.
She might be a pain in my ass, but she’s also the woman who has thawed my ice-cold heart.
Cormac sits in the passenger seat, glued to his phone, and he checks in with some of our guys posted all over the city.
I want as many eyes on Ciara as possible, and they’re all under strict orders to look for her.
Cormac adjusts the brightness on his screen. “She couldn’t have gone far. It looks like she left the house on foot.”
“She thinks she can find Mila on her own.”
My jaw aches from clenching it so hard, and my knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel, but I know the only thing that will ease the pain in my chest is to hold Ciara in my arms, to feel her warmth against me, to taste her on my tongue.
How did this all go so wrong so quickly?
Cormac looks at me sideways. “I can’t say I blame her. I’d do the same for you.”
“Now is not the time to go soft.”
He huffs a laugh as he shuts off his phone. “What do we do when we find her?”
I don’t answer at first because I don’t know. I’m beyond pissed at her, but I know that, no matter what I say, Ciara will continue to do what she wants because she’s just that fucking stubborn. And I might love her for it.
My phone buzzes in the cupholder, cutting through the silence with a call from Kieran.
I hit the speaker button. “Yeah?”
“We’ve got him.”
Cormac frowns. “Callum? That was quick.”
Kieran chuckles. “I’m that good, brother. We pulled him out of some dive bar near Hell's Kitchen. He didn’t even see us coming.”
I look at Cormac for a second before focusing back on the road. “Where are you now?”
“We’re almost at the warehouse.”
“Rough him up a little while you wait. We’ll be there in twenty.”
Cormac shoots me a look, but I ignore him.
Having some one-on-one time with Kieran will be enough to break Callum so that by the time I get there, it won’t take much to get a full confession out of him.
Kieran scoffs. “You sure you haven’t got your hands full chasing after your wife?”
I swear, the promise of bloodshed always puts him in a good mood.
“She’s not the one I’m about to break in half.”
I hang up the call before he can mouth off again and turn my attention back to the road.
Cormac shifts in his seat, and I roll my eyes.
“Spit it out.”
“We’re turning around?”
“We have to.” I take a sharp U-turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic. Horns blare as cars screech to a halt around us, but I don’t care. “If Callum is involved in this, it will likely buy us some time.”
“How so?”
“He might be an ass, but he’s not the kind to go murdering his sister.”
“Do you really want to test that theory?”
“We don’t have much of a choice.”
Ten minutes later, I pull up outside the warehouse, which sits at the far end of a forgotten industrial strip, tucked away between rusted shipping containers and sagging chain-link fences topped with coiled barbed wire.
The metal paneling is old and rusted, and most of the windows are shattered.
A dented roll-up door hangs off its tracks, and piles of older machinery and metal lay discarded outside.
It’s one of many my family has owned for decades. On paper, they’re abandoned and sitting empty, but in practice, they’re used to deal with the most… problematic issues. Like Callum. This is the perfect place to teach lessons, whether temporary or the everlasting kind.
I kill the engine and climb out of the car, adrenaline already pumping through my veins as I stalk toward the side entrance with Cormac following close behind me.
Kieran greets us at the door, wiping his knuckles with a rag already soaked with blood. “He’s alive. But he’s not talking.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” I brush past him.
Inside, the air is thick with dust and oil and the faint tang of rusting metal mixed with blood. Crates are stacked in one corner, some still stamped with faded shipping labels, and a forklift sits abandoned near a cracked concrete pillar.
It’s a miserable place, which is exactly why I’ve brought Callum here.
Bolted to the concrete floor a few feet from the center of the room is a singular metal chair, where Callum is bound with chains around his wrists and ankles. His body sags as blood pours from his nose onto the ground, and one of his eyes is already swollen shut.
Brennan stands off to the side with his arms folded across his chest and a cold expression on his face. His hands look clean, which means this mess is all thanks to Kieran.
When I approach, Brennan dips his chin, and I offer him a nod in return before turning my attention to Callum.
“You look like shit.”
Callum winces as he tries to lift his head to look up at me. His hair is caked with blood, and a decent bruise is already starting to blossom across his cheekbone.
“Is this how you treat family?”
“Family? Who the fuck are you to lecture me about family? Do you want to tell me why the fuck you killed Max?”
“I didn’t do it. I swear to God, Ronan.”
I crouch in front of him, giving him no choice but to meet my gaze. “Where’s Mila?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try again.”
“I swear, I don’t know.”
I thought Callum McCarthy was pathetic before, but seeing him like this almost makes me feel sorry for him.
Almost.
“I hope you are happy, now that Ciara’s missing, too. I swear to g—”
Callum’s eyes widen. “Ciara’s missing?”
“Everything I’ve seen so far points to you. So, you better start talking before I let Kieran break your kneecaps.”
“I wasn’t even near Max when he died.” He spits as blood trickles down his chin and onto the white collar of his shirt, staining it red. “I can prove it.”
I frown as I glance up at Brennan.
“He’s been saying that since we dragged him in here.”
Callum coughs again, drawing my attention back to him.
“You better have some fucking iron-tight evidence.”
“Check my phone. It’s in my pocket.”
“Cormac.” I get to my feet and take a step back as Cormac moves to stand in front of Callum.
He digs around in his pocket and pulls out Callum’s phone. The screen is cracked, but it seems to still be working. “Passcode.”
Callum rattles off the code, and Cormac unlocks the phone before handing it to me.
I narrow my eyes at Callum. “Where’s this proof, then?”
“P-photos,” he gasps, wincing as he shifts in his chair.
Knowing Kieran, Callum’s been left with a few broken ribs, perhaps even some internal bleeding.
I open up the photo app and immediately come face to face with a video thumbnail. “Is this it?”
“It’s security footage. It’s a… brothel off East 12th. I was there when Max died.”
Kieran scoffs. “A brothel? Seriously?”
My eyes fly to my brother. “Kieran…”
“It’s truly pathetic if you have to pay to get some puss—”
“Enough!”
Kieran finally shuts his mouth, and I press play on the video.
Callum stretches his neck as if trying to see the footage at the same time as me. “The timestamps line up, Ronan.”
I hold up a finger to silence him as I watch the footage.
Sure enough, I spot Callum walking in, sitting at a table, and being greeted by a half-naked woman.
“This is how you spend your time?” I watch the woman slowly climb onto Callum’s lap.
Kieran chuckles behind me as the video continues to play.
Callum spits some more blood. “Do you believe me or not?”
From the looks of it, the timestamps on the footage are clean, which means there’s no way he could have been at Max’s apartment when he was killed.
So, who the hell was?
I shut off the phone and stare at the blank screen as my mind races. “Son of a bitch. Someone clearly put a target on your back. They’re gunning for you.”
“Ding, ding, fucking ding,” Callum groans.
This fucker is no help. My girl is out there, probably in danger and I’m wasting my time with this piece of shit.
I toss his phone to the ground.
This warehouse has a frequency blocker, the phone is useless inside.
I had no problem being off the grid while I thought this got me somewhere. But now that I know better, I need to be connected to the outside world in case anyone has news about my wife, so I head to the door of the warehouse, leaving Callum still bound to the chair.
My brothers follow me.
Cormac steps up beside me, a deep crease between his eyebrows as he tucks his hands into his pockets. “Who do you think it was?”
“I don’t know. But it’s clearly someone who wants to frame the McCarthys.”
Brennan looks between us. “Is it worth bringing Lorcan into this? This might be bigger than us, Ronan. He could have some insight.”
I step outside and my phone buzzes several times in my pocket
There are a few messages from my men with the hourly reports I demanded and a couple of messages from an unknown number.
As soon as I’m done replying to everyone else to keep an eye out for both my wife and Mila, I open the message.
It’s a screenshot of a location I don’t recognize. But it’s the texts that come after that make my blood cold.
Unknown
Hi, It’s Ciara. I found Mila. This is our location.
Unknown
OMG, there was a gunshot. I can’t wait any more. I’m sorry. I’m going in. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m out with Mila. Please hurry.
My stomach drops, and I fight the urge to throw up. “No, no, no.”
Cormac frowns. “What is it?”
“It’s Ciara.” I look at the time stamp. The second message was sent a minute ago. Why did I waste my time with her fucking brother?
I click on the contact info and dial the number. “She’s using a fucking burner phone, and it looks like she’s found Mila.”
Cormac curses under his breath.
“Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere,” I order Kieran as I hold the phone up to my ear. “I’m not finished with him yet—”
“Hello?”
The sound of Ciara’s whisper almost brings me to my knees.
“Sweetheart. You’re alive. Where the hell are you?”
“I sent you the location. Please hurry. They have Mia, they—.”
My blood turns cold. “Who’s they? Ciara, do you know who took her?”
“No, but—”
“I want you to stay right where you are, do you hear me? I’m on my way—”
A scream sounds in the background.
Ciara’s whispers turn frantic. “I’m sorry, Ronan, I have to go.”
“Ciara, baby, please, listen to me. You don’t know what you’re walking into. I can be there in twenty minutes with backup.”
“She might not have that long. I’m sorry and I—”
The line goes dead.
To Be Continued
Ronan and Ciara’s story continues in Avenged Vows…