Chapter Thirty-Four #2
I study the address scrawled on the paper and frown.
“And you believe him?”
“He’s credible.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t know, but it’s the first true lead we’ve had in weeks.”
“And we happen to get this address now? After everything that’s just happened? Seems too much like a coincidence to me, brother.”
“Maybe, but if there’s even a chance Cormac’s alive, we can’t ignore it.”
“You want me to go, don’t you?” I sigh.
“I need to stay with Ciara.”
I want to argue, but maybe this distraction will be good for me, make me feel useful rather than useless. So, I finally nod. “I’ll take Brennan.”
“Good idea. He’s out the front helping Jace install the new cameras.”
“And you’ll keep an eye on Riley?”
Ronan doesn’t flinch at the underlying warning in my words. He knows what it would mean for him if anything happened to her.
“I’ll guard her with my life.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“This place gives me the creeps,” Brennan mutters as I pull up outside the old warehouse by the edge of the docks where Cormac is supposedly lying low.
The windows are either boarded up or broken, and the metal paneling on the edges is so rusted I’m surprised the entire building hasn’t collapsed.
“Stay sharp,” I warn Brennan as we head inside.
Thankfully, the sun is still hours away from setting, as there seems to be no electricity.
The few windows that aren’t boarded up allow for the sunlight to stream through.
Brennan and I spread out to search every room we come across but as I suspected, the place seems deserted.
“This is a waste of time, let’s head out—”
“Kieran, in here!” Brennan yells.
I sprint out of the room and down the hall.
My brother has his ear pressed up against a metal door, looking slightly panicked.
“I think someone’s inside.”
“Stand back.”
Brennan steps aside as I throw my entire weight at the door.
I almost stumble as it flies open to reveal a man chained up and slumped in the corner, covered in blood.
He looks half dead, but despite all of the blood, there’s no denying who it is.
Cormac.
“Jesus,” Brennan breathes.
I kneel beside him and press two fingers to his neck.
His pulse is faint, but it’s there.
“Cormac? It’s Kieran. You’re okay.”
He groans something unintelligible.
I turn to Brennan. “We need to get him out of here.”
By the time Brennan picks at the lock on the chains and I manage to get Cormac to his feet only by shouldering most of his weight, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I shift Cormac’s weight so that I can reach into my pocket, not wanting to miss it in case it’s Riley.
“Yeah?”
“Kieran?” Ronan barks. “You need to get the fuck out of there.”
“What?”
“It’s a trap. Cormac was being set up, and someone is on the way to finish him off.”
I stop dead in my tracks and glance sidelong at Brennan.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“I know. There’s no time for me to explain, I need you to trust me. Get the fuck OUT!”
The words knock all of the air out of my lungs.
“We’re heading out now.” I hang up the call.
“What’s happening?” Brennan grunts as he adjusts Cormac’s weight.
“Ronan… He’s saying this is a trap. Cormac was being set up this whole time.”
Brennan’s face drains of color. “That can’t be right.”
“Well, I don’t feel like hanging around to find out, so I suggest we move.”
We make it to the car by sheer luck. We lay Cormac along the backseat, and I slam the door shut before quickly climbing behind the wheel and hitting the accelerator.
Gravel sprays up behind us as we tear out of there just as two SUVs screech to a stop outside the warehouse, but by the time the men exit, I’m too far away to see any of their faces.
“Where do we take him?” Brennan asks.
The best option would be back to Ronan’s place, but from the state of Cormac’s injuries, I don’t think he has that long.
“The hospital.” I push the accelerator to the floor, praying that Cormac can hold on until I can get him to a doctor.
The moment Brennan and I carry Cormac into the ER, the nurses rush him through triage, determining him as having multiple fractures and possible internal bleeding.
Before I can even ask any questions, they’ve got him on a gurney and are wheeling him into a trauma room, leaving Brennan and me to pace back and forth across the waiting room with all of the other anxious family members.
I sit in one of the plastic chairs with my elbows on my knees, staring at the floor.
“I hate this.” I feel just as out of control as when Riley was missing. “I need to do something so I can stop feeling so damn useless.”
“Then go home and be with Riley. I can call you if there are any changes.”
I lift my head. “You sure?”
“I’m good,” Brennan says as a particularly attractive nurse walks past and offers him a smile. Trust Brennan to find the silver lining no matter how fucked up the situation is.
“At least if you catch anything, you’re in the right place.” I slap him on the shoulder. “Call me every hour.”
“I’ll do my best.” Brennan’s smile doesn’t fully reach his eyes. It seems even he has his limits when it comes to pretending everything is fine.
By the time I leave the hospital, dusk is starting to settle over the city, making it look almost peaceful. But I know better.
My phone rings before I even reach the car with a call from Brennan.
“I’ve only been gone for five minutes,” I grunt.
“You told me to call if there was an update, you dickwad.”
“I meant Cormac, not your sex life.”
Brennan scoffs. “It is on Cormac. The doctor just came out to talk to me.”
“And?”
“Apparently, Cormac has a broken arm, a few broken ribs, a pretty nasty concussion, and some internal bleeding.”
“All I care about is if he’s going to die.”
“He’s not going to die. Not unless you come back here and strangle him.”
I close my eyes as relief washes over me.
“Is he awake?” I glance back at the hospital. Maybe if he is, I could ask him the truth about what happened to him.
“No, they put him into an induced coma while he heals. Shouldn’t be for more than a few days, though.”
Fuck. A coma? That sounds pretty bad.
“But the doctor thinks he’ll make a full recovery?” I press.
“If everything goes well, yeah. He’s a tough bastard; he’ll be fine.”
“Well, let me know if anything changes. I’m going to go pick up Ronan and bring him straight back here.”
“Got it.”
I tuck my phone into my pocket and lean against the trunk of the car as I take a deep breath. Even with Riley safe, it feels like this family is barely keeping its head above water.
Somehow, finding out Cormac was not the one leaking intel brings me little relief because the snake could very well still be inside the family.