Chapter Fifteen
Rory
It’s the beginning of January, and I haven’t gotten the chance to hook up with Shai again. Things have been busy since Cillian and Ollie got back. Rian called us back to Boston twice to help with shit that’s popped off there, and we just got to Boston again for the third time.
We meet up at Rian’s place. It’s just him, Conan, and Finan there now.
Rian is a creature of habit, like his son.
Where Sloan, Tiernan’s father, had trusted in people’s fear of him, thinking that would keep them from betraying him, Rian is more cautious.
He’s a better people person than Sloan ever was, but it takes a lot for him to ever truly trust someone.
The only people who have earned his trust are all here in this room right now—he’s likely still on the fence about Dean, but he believes in Tiernan, and Tiernan will take anyone down for doubting Dean, even his own uncle.
These are the similarities between Cil and his father that I’m not sure Cil sees.
The way Cillian didn’t trust Dean at first and doesn’t trust Shai now is something Rian would do.
And though Sloan was a piece of shit, Rian was completely devoted to him, the same way Cillian is devoted to Tiernan—Sloan could count on Rian just as Tiernan can count on Cil.
Luckily for Cillian, Tiernan is a better man than his father could have ever been.
“They’re skimming off the top,” Conan says, interrupting my musings. “The question is, how long has this been happening?”
Rian is leaning against the cold fireplace, Conan and Finan took the armchairs, and the four of us—Cil, Tiernan, Dean, and I—stand next to them, completing the semicircle.
Finan says, “And some of the batch of coke we got last night was fucked. Definitely diluted. I opened two packages and it was fine, but the ones underneath…” He lets his words trail off.
“Let’s go fucking kill them,” I say, bouncing on my toes. “Who do they think they’re fucking with?”
Cillian pulls a fidget spinner from his pocket and hands it to me, then wraps an arm around my shoulders.
“I’m with Rory,” Dean says.
“Because that’s a surprise,” Tiernan adds. “We don’t just go in there guns fucking blazing without a plan. That’s how people get killed.”
“So let’s come up with a plan,” Cillian says.
Conan looks at Rian. “They’re right. This can’t stand. It will make us look weak and stupid. Do you think they would have done this if Sloan was still alive?”
We all know they wouldn’t. Rian is a dangerous man.
He has probably killed more people than anyone in this room.
He sure as shit kept this family together in more ways than people probably realize, both before and after Sloan’s death.
No one could control Sloan, but Rian came close.
Since Sloan’s death, however, some have tried to test us, wanting to see if the O’Sheas held the same power as we did with Sloan at the head.
We have passed every one of those tests, just like we’ll pass this one.
Rian runs a hand through his dark hair. “We’ll hit them tonight.”
“Do you have a plan, then, Uncle?” Tiernan asks. “Because I won’t risk them on a whim.”
“I’m not an idiot, Tiernan. I know what I’m doing.
” He pushes away from the fireplace. “Flynn has been watching them all day.” He’s another person Rian trusts.
He’s known Flynn since they were kids. “They’re at the warehouse by the docks still.
Everyone in this room knows their way around it.
Flynn will let us know how many and where they are.
We go in, take them out, send a message to anyone who wants to fuck with us, and be done with it. ”
“Let’s fucking go.” I push out from under Cil’s arm and shove the spinner in my pocket.
We’ve done shit like this a hundred times.
Hell, we did it not that long ago when we went after the guys who hurt Ollie, only these dealers will be more of a challenge.
Still, there’s nothing unfamiliar about making quick attack plans, touching base with Flynn, going over the building blueprints, and arming ourselves to the teeth.
My pulse doesn’t stop racing the whole time, this giddy, excited feeling taking root in me. I’m not blind to the kind of person this makes me. I know I’m fucked up. I’ve always known I’m broken, and there’s no changing that now.
“You good?” I ask Cillian as he loads one of his guns. He has Ollie to think about, a new factor for him. At least with Tiernan, Dean is always by his side.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
I shrug. “Because of Bunny.”
“He knows who I am.”
He does. And he’s still here because he loves Cillian. “But that doesn’t mean you never worry that one day he won’t be…or that something will happen to you and he’ll be left alone. It won’t. I promise you, Cil, you will always be the one who makes it home. I’ll make sure of that.”
He curses, grabs me and tugs me close, pressing our foreheads together. “Don’t say shit like that. Your life is just as valuable as mine. You think I’ll ever let you get hurt? You know I won’t. We’ll both always make it home. I refuse to allow even the possibility of anything else.”
I nod. There’s another secret I’ve been keeping from Cillian—I know he considered walking away from it all for Ollie, and if Ollie had let him, he would have.
I’m not upset with Cillian for that. He was willing to do for Ollie what his father could never do for his mom…
what mine would never have done for my mother.
I can’t be upset because I know Cil would have hated it, it would have killed him to leave this behind, to leave me behind.
I guess that too is what love is, being willing to sacrifice your happiness for someone else’s, and because of that I’m even more determined that Cillian will grow old with Ollie.
“Then let’s fucking kill these sons of bitches so you can get home to your boy.”
He grins, the fire I’m familiar seeing blazing in his eyes.
He slides the magazine into his handgun. “Yes. Let’s fucking do it.”
*
I hear the water lapping at the shore in the distance. Other than that and the occasional bird, the docks are silent, the buildings dark and abandoned hours ago, all except one. Two men guard the front door.
Cillian and I give it a wide berth, each one of us coming at it from the sides of the building.
Two bullets to the back of their heads, quick and easy, thank fuck for silencers.
We grin at each other, and Cil uses his comms to tell the rest of the guys the front is clear.
Seconds later Dean and Tiernan give the okay for the back.
The cameras have been disabled by Finan, so we don’t have to worry about that.
Cillian opens the door, and we rush inside. A guard goes for Cillian, but I jump on his back, pull out my knife, and stab it into the side of his throat. Blood rushes out, spilling all over my hands before he drops to the ground.
“Really?” Cil asks. “Couldn’t use your gun?”
“What if I accidentally hit you?” I tease, and he chuckles.
It’s a madhouse inside, but they didn’t have many men with them here, so it doesn’t take us long to kill who we want and capture the rest. Rian wanted Alex alive, so the guy’s currently sitting in the middle of the warehouse floor, his arms and legs tied together, surrounded by us.
Dean has a black eye, Cillian bruised knuckles and a cut on his hand.
I took some nasty kicks to the ribs, but other than that, we’re fine.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?” Rian asks, a coldness to his voice deadly enough to scare anyone.
“What are you—” His words are broken off by Rian kicking him in the face. Alex falls onto his back, blood pouring from his nose.
“Don’t fucking play games with me. You thought you could take advantage of us, and now you’re going to die.”
Tiernan joins Rian, and they kneel beside Alex. “I may have hated him, but I am my father’s son.”
Rian’s gaze shoots to T, clearly surprised by his words.
Tiernan shouldn’t have mentioned hating Sloan, not in front of Rian, Finan, and Flynn.
Conan will lose his shit, but then, just hating him doesn’t mean he had anything to do with his death.
Anyone in this room would have to be suicidal to accuse Tiernan of that.
In the swiftest of movements, Tiernan pulls a knife from his sheath, grabs Alex’s hair, and slices the knife across his throat—thick, red blood staining Alex’s clothes and the ground instantly.
Tiernan smoothly rises to his feet, wipes the blood from his blade, and slides it back into place.
“Make sure this gets cleaned up. We’re going home.
” He walks straight over to Dean, clasping their hands together.
While he’s likely killed more people than either Cillian or I have, it affects Tiernan in a deeper way than it does us. It will never stop him from doing what needs to be done, but it does something to him that I’ll likely never understand. And Dean…Dean soothes that.
The two of them walk out of the building together.
Cillian gives his father a look, nods, and follows, with me behind them.
“I need to clean up first,” Cil says. He can’t go home to Ollie this way.
“We’ll go to my mom’s,” T answers.
Fia was clearly asleep, but after checking our wounds, she insists on making us food while we all shower. We have clothes here to change into, and I make it downstairs at the same time as Cil, but Dean and Tiernan are nowhere to be seen.
“Eat before you go,” Fia instructs. It’s just sandwiches and soup, but it smells incredible.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I say, Cillian and I joining her at the table. I immediately begin shoveling food into my mouth.
“No one was hurt?” she asks.
“No, Aunt Fia. We’re all good,” Cillian replies. She hates this lifestyle, but she knows there’s no changing it.
Fia nods. “So, tell me about this girl Ash likes,” she asks, and we fill her in on Ash and Zuri. She asks about school and about Ollie, all the things a mom is supposed to ask.
Would my own mom have been this way? I’ll never know.
Just as we’re finished eating, Cillian pulls his phone from his pocket. “T and Dean are staying here tonight.”
“I’ll drive them to Ashford tomorrow,” Fia assures us.
She packs some food to go, again one of those mom things I’ve never experienced outside of her and Moira, then hugs and kisses us both goodbye.
It’s an hour drive back to Ashford, and when we get there, I tell Cil, “Drop me off at Shai’s.”
He groans. “What the fuck is it with you and this guy? I don’t like him.”
“You don’t fucking know him, and you don’t like anyone new.”
He grumbles in response. “If you want to fuck, you can fuck someone else.”
“But I want to fuck him. He has a big dick. I like it.”
He shoots me a glance.
“It’s pierced.”
“No shit?”
I laugh. “No shit.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s at least a good fuck. I’m still watching him.”
I give Cillian the address, and he drives me to Shai’s trailer.
“Did you tell him you’re coming?” Cil asks.
“Nope.”
“What if he’s not home?”
“He will be.”
“What if he’s with someone else?”
I grin. “He won’t be.” I open the door and get out. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Go lose yourself in your kitten.”
That changes the look in his eyes. They go all soft the way they only do for Ollie. “I will. Be careful. Call me if you need me.”
“Always, brother. Always.”
I walk away from the car and toward my pet.
Cillian doesn’t pull away until I’ve finished picking the lock and I’m safely inside.
There’s a small lamp on. Kat is passed out on the couch, but her eyes flutter open when she sees me. “Rory?”
“Yes.”
“Come here.” She takes my hand and tries to pull me to the couch with her.
“I’m here to fuck your son.”
“Why, when I’m right here?” she slurs, clearly on something.
I frown, pulling my hand free. I teased Shai about his mom before, but I don’t like the way she treats him, don’t like that she would sleep with me and not consider him.
“Because I want him. Don’t make me dislike you, Kat.
He’s a good son who takes care of you. I wouldn’t do the same if I were him. ”
Her eyes flutter closed. I don’t know if she’ll remember this conversation, but I hope she does.
With a sigh, I cover her with a blanket, then turn out the light, the whole time wondering what the fuck I’m doing here.