Chapter 19
SLOAN
Sweat dripped down my forehead, along my temple, and down my cheek.
I swiped my face with the back of my wrist and stared at the building foundation in front of me.
It was the first day without Conall, and my mood had soured the moment he’d left.
My fingers tingled with the urge to hurt and kill and destroy.
My men steered clear of me, sensing how on edge I was.
No one wanted to be in the line of fire, and I didn’t blame them.
It took all my effort to keep myself together.
Being in control was something I prided myself on, but it almost seemed like I’d lost that skill in jail. My anger and frustration engulfed any restraint I had before, leaving me in a cesspit of rage, simmering right below the surface.
A night in bed without Conall had been torture.
I’d kept reaching for him, only to be met with emptiness.
It was worse than in jail because this was our bed.
Sleep never came, and eventually, I’d dragged myself out of the blankets at six.
I’d helped the contractors on the greenhouse all day, distracting myself from the hole in my chest with Conall not around.
“Boss?” Cillian’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned as he and Aspen approached, Lorcan Lee clutched in their hands by his elbows as they hauled him across the yard toward me, his feet dragging along the grass.
Lorcan struggled against their hold, but Cillian and Aspen were both strong men and there was nothing he could do but accept his fate, especially while his wrists were tied tightly in front of him with a piece of sturdy rope.
I’d finally decided to end this short saga with Lorcan, and if anyone deserved my wrath, it was this man. His actions could’ve killed Conall and that was unforgivable. A death sentence.
Cillian and Aspen came to a stop in front of me and dropped Lorcan to the ground.
He glowered at them before his icy eyes slid to me.
He was a coward and didn’t deserve to have the Killough blood running through his veins, so by the time I was done, he’d have none of that blood pumping through his body at all.
“Is this what you wanted?” I asked, gesturing at him on the ground. His suit was wrinkled and marred with dirt. “Was betraying me really worth it, Lorcan?”
His nostrils flared and a flush of anger stole across his face. “I’m a Killough, too. Do you think I wouldn’t have discovered the truth?”
I snorted. “Of course I expected you to find out eventually, but instead of doing the rational thing and asking to be part of this family, you went and tried to betray me. This was your test and you failed. You’re no Killough.”
“I deserve to sit on the throne with the rest of you,” he spat. “I deserve it.”
I growled and crouched in front of him, pinching his face between my fingers.
“We never deserve anything, regardless of our last name. We make our own fate. Even though I was born a Killough, I had to prove my worth to my father. I bloodied my hands for that man. I didn’t only kill other men, but I murdered a part of me for him, too.
” I shook my head. “You, though? You expected everything to be handed to you just because you found out our father stuck his dick in your mom.”
I rose and stretched my back, glancing at the hole in the middle of the dirt of the greenhouse.
The contractors asked me what it was for and I hadn’t lied, telling them it was to bury my mistakes.
They’d laughed it off and hadn’t questioned me any further, but what they didn’t know was that a body was going down there.
By the time they came back tomorrow, it’d be covered in dirt again.
With the help of Cillian and Aspen, I’d put a coffin down there.
It wasn’t anything fancy, but it would do the job of giving Lorcan space to die.
I waved my hand at Aspen and Cillian, and they grabbed Lorcan again, pulling him toward the hole. The moment Lorcan’s gaze landed on it, he began to struggle.
“Boss, Boss! Please! Fuck. It was a mistake. I’m your brother.”
I laughed. “I take family very seriously, Lorcan. If you’d come to me with your discovery and asked to be a Killough, I would have considered it.
I would have given you something. A real chance to prove yourself.
But instead, your betrayal nearly killed my pet.
That’s unacceptable and cancels out your blood. You are no Killough.”
Lorcan struggled harder, but with his hands tied, and Cillian’s and Aspen’s strength, there was no winning for him. They threw him into the deep hole, and he grunted as he landed on the hard wood of the coffin. Beside him was a silver cylinder and a handheld radio I’d thrown down there, too.
When he finally wormed his way around to his back, I pointed at them.
“That’s an air tank. It’s the only air you’re going to get.
” I grinned. “It’s supposed to last seventy-two hours, but that depends on you and how much you want to drag this out.
” I crouched beside the hole. “Do you want to die quickly, Lorcan, or do you want to try to talk your way out of death?” I nodded at the radio.
“I’m the only one who gets to hear what you have to say, but only when I want to. ”
If he was a true Killough, he’d tell me to go to hell, but Lorcan was the type to beg and make excuses. It’d be interesting to see what he chose to do.
I stretched to a stand when he wrestled with the ropes around his wrists.
“Boss, come on. We’re blood. Family. Think of my son.”
I laughed again and crossed my arms. “At this stage I’m surprised you remembered you had one. Lor is a Killough. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him and carve him into the man you should’ve been.”
Lorcan bared his teeth angrily. “He doesn’t know who you really are. If he knew you did this, he’d never forgive you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Clearly, you don’t know your son well enough.
Yes, he’s soft-hearted, but he’s also sharp and knows who he’s dealing with.
He’s loyal. When you should’ve been a father and honed his natural skills, you ignored him.
That’s on you.” I turned to Cillian and Aspen.
“You can help me put on the lid of the coffin and then leave.”
Cillian frowned. “Sir? We’ll help you with the dirt.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “No, Mr. Shaughnessy. This disappointment was my father’s burden, and now mine. I will bury him myself.”
Lorcan screamed, but no matter how loud he was, no one would hear him.
I’d dismissed my soldiers earlier, leaving me alone in the backyard.
While it would have been a better show to have them watch, this was for me.
I wasn’t just burying Lorcan Lee, my half brother, I was entombing my failures.
I should’ve done this a long time ago when he proved to be useless.
I’d held on because of my promise to my father, giving Lorcan more chances than he deserved, and it nearly resulted in Conall’s death. Now it was my time to finish this.
Cillian and Aspen helped me place the lid of the coffin back on before they left. I grabbed the shovel and set about my task. With each scoop of dirt, my mind emptied for the first time since I’d left jail.
There was a pleasure in taking revenge on someone who’d betrayed me.
A rightness that seemed to set the world back on track, at least, for a short time.
There would always be more people who thought they were smarter than me.
Once you were on top, the only way to go was down, and men—and women—would try to make the collapse happen quicker.
Lorcan banged against the top of the coffin. The dirt I’d thrown on top dampened the sound until there was nothing. Pure silence.
After he was buried, I smirked as I brushed off my hands. I dropped the shovel and grabbed my radio, switching it on. “How are you feeling, Lorcan?”
There was silence for a moment, and I suspected he was freaking out. Then, he finally spoke. “Please, Boss. Sloan. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“Would you kill your son for me? Let him take your spot instead?” I stepped away from the fresh dirt and rolled my aching shoulders.
“Yes. Fuck, yes. He’s weak. He should be here instead.”
I stared down at my radio, half surprised by his reaction.
I’d expected him to try to weasel his way out of his death but not to agree to replace himself with Lor.
Would my father have done the same? He was a proud man who put importance on blood, so I wasn’t entirely sure.
He made a lot of blunders in his life, but I didn’t think he’d sacrifice me, Eoin, or Rosie for himself.
When I’d been taken and tortured as a teenager, he’d risked his life to find me.
“So, if I dragged Lor here to replace you, you’d sacrifice him for yourself.”
“Fuck yes.”
His words were the final nails in his coffin. I shook my head. “You’re a terrible father, Lorcan. Have fun spending the night in your deathbed.”
“Wait! Boss—”
I switched off the radio. He would never have made a good Killough.
I stared down at the loose soil, at the spot where my last blood brother lay.
Eoin would never have done anything like this, but he never had the heart of a boss.
Though, he certainly wouldn’t have forgiven Lorcan for trying to save himself by surrendering his son, either.
Eoin was a family man. I never understood how he married Annabelle.
She was all about money. Fionn had survived her, but I wasn’t too sure about Diarmuid and Bellamy. Were they safe?
It didn’t matter any longer. She would’ve poisoned them against us. That’s what Annabelle did. I’d lost two nephews to her selfishness, just like I’d lost a brother because of Lorcan’s cowardice. Blood or not, they had to prove their loyalty and whether they deserved a spot at my side.
Conall never liked Lorcan.