Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
KIERAN
The house is silent as I enter through the front door, which immediately sets off alarm bells in my head.
Not again.
I draw my gun as I cross the foyer, checking the rooms as I go, but the house appears empty.
“Riley?” I call out, but there’s no answer. “Riley!”
My pulse spikes as I sprint from the lounge into the kitchen, trying to find any signs of life. But there is none.
“ Ronan!”
I’m once again met with silence.
“Where the hell are you…” I mutter under my breath as I pull out my phone, ready to send a string of abusive messages to my brothers when I find my screen flooded with calls and texts. I ignore them all except for one that stands out like a punch to the gut.
Ronan: Ciara is in labor.
“Holy shit,” I breathe.
Somehow, this news causes me to feel more panic than I did when I found a dozen of my men shot dead on the lawn.
I quickly dial Riley, my heart hammering in my chest as I feel that helpless feeling starting to tug at my insides.
“Kieran?”
“Riley? Where are you?” I tuck my gun back into the waistband of my pants.
“Kieran! Hurry!” Her voice is light with laughter. “There are two little people dying to meet you. The most beautiful babies you’ve ever seen!”
She rambles on and on, but I barely hear her over the ringing in my ears.
Even though I can hear her voice and I know she’s all right, it takes my body a second to catch up to the fact that she isn’t chained up in a darkened room with an infection that is slowly killing her and our child.
“Kieran? Are you there?”
“Riley, you can’t just disappear like that.” I try to swallow my panic. “I thought you had been taken.”
“I’m sorry, but it all happened so quickly.
One minute I was asleep, and the next I was in the ambulance with Ciara on the way to the hospital.
Kieran, you need to get over here and see these babies.
All I’m going to say is that it’s luck you’ve already got me pregnant; otherwise I would be jumping your bones right about now!
What if we end up with twins too? Can you imagine? ”
“Let’s just focus on one baby at a time, little dove. Two sounds…terrifying.”
“Get over here so you can meet your niece and nephew,” Riley demands. “God, that’s so weird to say! You’re officially an uncle.”
“But I’m officially the coolest uncle!” Brennan yells in the background.
“Don’t let Brennan hold the babies, he can’t be trusted,” I warn Riley, and she chuckles.
“Get your ass over here, Kieran!” Brennan calls.
“Don’t swear in front of my kids,” Ronan snaps.
“Shit, sorry.”
I catch the sound of Ciara’s muffled voice in the background, which is quickly followed by a high-pitched wail.
“Oh no, they’re going to set each other off.” Riley laughs. “Kieran? Are you still there?”
“I’m still here, little dove.”
“Do you think you can bring a few extra outfits for the twins? According to Ciara, we severely underestimated how many outfit changes they were going to need.”
“Uh…”
“Elena should be around. Just ask her.”
“She is?” I frown as I glance down the hall.
I thought the house was empty, but then again, Elena is like some sort of fairy godmother who only seems to appear when you need her the most.
“I have to go, Ciara wants me to take some more pictures of her and Ronan.”
“Make sure that miserable bastard at least cracks a smile.”
Riley laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ronan smile so much as he has in the last hour.”
“I heard that,” I catch Ronan grumbling in the background.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Oh, and, Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Riley is quiet for a beat before whispering down the phone, “I love you too.”
I’m not sure I’m ever going to get tired of hearing her say that.
Grinning to myself like a lovesick idiot, I pocket my phone and head down the hall to the nursery where, as expected, I find Elena kneeling on the floor sorting through piles of tiny socks.
She jumps when she sees me, holding a hand to her chest as she pulls out an earbud.
“You scared me. I didn’t realize you were home. These things don’t lie when they say they’re noise-canceling.” She laughs.
I go to speak, but I’m suddenly hit with another wave of panic as I glance around at the piles of tiny onesies that are barely bigger than my hand. “
“Is everything okay, Kieran?” She arches a brow.
I flinch slightly at the sound of my name.
“Uh…yeah, I’m fine.” I run a hand through my hair. “It’s just…the clothes are so small, you know? It’s terrifying.”
Elena chuckles softly as she scoops up the pile of socks and dumps them into a drawer.
“Is Kieran Sullivan afraid of a couple of babies?” she teases.
I don’t bother denying it.
“It’s ridiculous. I’ve faced down armed men, watched people get torn apart limb from limb, but the idea of holding something so tiny and breakable is what gets my heart racing.”
Elena tilts her head as she looks up at me. “You know, it’s okay to be scared. It means you care. Besides, babies are tougher than they look.”
I pick up a tiny yellow onesie off the dresser and unfold it slowly.
I can’t believe that in a few months, Riley and I will have a child of our own who will be able to fit into such tiny clothes.
“What if Riley and I end up with twins too?”
Even just the thought of two babies has a cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck.
Elena laughs, shaking her head.
“All I can say is if that happens, you’ll have one hell of a team around you to help.”
I nod, trying to steady the tight coil of nerves in my stomach. “I guess.”
“So, was there something you needed, or did you just come in here to freak yourself out?” Elena holds back a smile.
“Riley called and said something about needing extra clothes, but I have no idea what to bring.”
“It seems you’re already on the clock, Uncle Kieran.” Elena gets to her feet.
“It seems I am.”
I find Riley hovering outside the delivery room, her cheeks flushed as she bounces up and down on her toes. I barely even have a chance to press a quick kiss to her lips before she’s grabbing my hand and tugging me inside.
“They’re here!” she squeals.
“They sure are,” I say at the sight of the tiny, swaddled bundles in Ronan’s arms.
Despite the fact he has just watched his wife go through hell and back, he looks surprisingly composed. But then again, I wouldn’t expect anything else from Ronan.
I look around and frown. “Did you scare Brennan off?”
Ciara laughs. “I went to feed Addison, and he looked seconds away from puking, so he decided to go and check on Cormac.”
“Amateur,” Ronan mutters.
Riley tugs on my arm. “Do you want to hold them?”
Even though I’m perfectly happy admiring my niece and nephew from a distance, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this excited, so I don’t have the heart to say no.
“Sure.” I force a smile, though my stomach flips as Ronan crosses over to my side and offers me one of the babies.
“That’s Nico.” Riley peers over my arm at the tiny bundle in my arms. “I think he looks just like Ronan.”
“What? All wrinkly and bald?” I joke, and Ciara chokes on a breath.
“Ouch,” she moans, clutching her stomach. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“Never thought I would see the day where Kieran Sullivan is holding a newborn.” Ronan smirks. “It suits you, brother.”
“He better get used to it.” Ciara gives me a knowing look.
“Okay, I think that’s enough baby stuff for me right now.” I hand Nico off to Riley, who seems to be finding great pleasure in how uncomfortable I am.
“I checked in on Cormac,” Ronan says under his breath as he watches Ciara closely.
Riley climbs onto the bed beside her, and the pair of them start fussing over Nico.
“How is he?”
“He’s banged up pretty bad, but the doctors expect him to make a full recovery.”
I exhale slowly as I lean against the door, admiring the sight of Riley cradling Nico. She really is a natural with him, which makes me feel better about the thought of having a child of our own.
At least our kid will have one parent who vaguely knows what they’re doing.
“What actually happened?” My voice tightens as I glance at my brother. “Do we know who was behind this?”
Ronan’s expression hardens.
“Cormac sent me evidence before he was captured,” he says quietly so that the girls can’t hear. “I found an envelope in my office that was full of photos and bank accounts.”
His voice is hard, and his jaw is clenched.
“Are you serious? When was this?”
“I only found it today, right after I got the clue about Cormac. God knows how long it’s been there…” Ronan runs a hand through his hair, and I can see the guilt written all over his face. “Everything in that envelope, it all traced back to one person. You’ll never guess who.”
“Fuck, that sounds bad. I’m even afraid to ask.”
“You should be, I couldn’t believe it myself, but it all adds up.”
“Who is it?”
He takes a deep breath, and his eyes meet mine. Pain and anger are at war with each other.
I want to hide, to block my ears, I know whatever he is about to say will crush me.
But the one word he utters implodes my whole world.
“Lorcan.”
“No, it can’t be.”
My uncle, my father’s younger brother, a man who I have looked to for advice and guidance ever since I was a boy, could he really be our biggest betrayer?
If Ronan is right, and he really is behind this, then everything I knew about loyalty and family is a fucking lie, and Lorcan is about to learn just how far I will go to make him pay for turning his back on this family.
“How sure are you of this?”
“The address I gave you where we found Cormac, it came from one of Lorcan’s old contacts.”
“So, he was in the loop all along?”
“Yeah. There were also frames taken from surveillance footage of Lorcan meeting with Sean.”
“What the fuck—”
“Shh,” Ronan hisses as Addison starts to stir.
“Lorcan has been scheming with Sean all this time?” I hiss through my teeth.
“There were photos taken three weeks before the attack at Sullivan Investments.”
I shake my head slowly. “No. No way. Lorcan wouldn’t—”
“I thought the same thing. But the evidence keeps stacking up. The bank statements showed transfers from his shell companies to Sean’s crew. He’s been in this from the start.”
My mouth goes dry.
“He’s our uncle, Ronan. Him and Dad taught us everything we know.”
“Yeah. But he also taught us how to cover our tracks.”
I can’t breathe. “Why would he do this? What does he gain?”
“Control? Power?” Ronan shrugs. “He’s been playing the long game, Kieran.”
“He used Sean.”
“Exactly. Sean thought he was calling the shots, but Lorcan was feeding him everything. Our schedules, our security codes, when Riley would be left unguarded. Every move Sean made, Lorcan orchestrated. And when Sean outlived his use…”
“He sent us after him. To clean up the mess he created and to tie off any loose ends.”
Ronan nods grimly. “That’s exactly it.”
“Jesus Christ, man. We trusted him.”
“I know.” Ronan’s voice softens as he glances over at the girls. “We both did.”
The silence that follows is thick and heavy. A dull ache is starting to build behind my eyes as I try to process what this means.
“Cormac is going to make it.” I clap Ronan on the shoulder. “I should go and check on him.”
“You should both go,” Ciara chimes in, which makes me wonder if she was secretly listening in on our conversation. “He needs his brothers.”
“Are you sure?” Ronan asks. “Kieran can go alone—”
“Cormac needs to be surrounded by family,” Ciara says firmly. “We all do.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Riley assures Ronan.
“Fine, but I’ll be back soon.”
We take the elevator down to the ICU, both of us not saying a word.
I try to push thoughts of Lorcan aside, but my mind keeps returning to the betrayal.
He is my uncle, the one person after our father died who we were meant to be able to trust the most.
“So, Lorcan figured out Cormac was onto him,” I mutter as the doors slide open, “and decided to pin everything on him?”
“Exactly, and he almost pulled it off, too.”
I run a hand through my hair.
My stomach knots with a mixture of rage, fear, and guilt.
I took my eye off the ball and let Lorcan slip through my fingers, which is what he wanted. He wanted me distracted by Cormac, and look where it left us?
Riley almost died, and Cormac could be facing the same fate.
I take a deep breath, letting it settle into a cold determination.
I’ve lost time; I’ve let mistakes happen, but I will fix this. I will protect my family. No one else will pay for Lorcan’s betrayal.
“What’s the plan now?” I ask as we step off the elevator. “If he hasn’t already worked out we know, he will soon enough. We need to be prepared for him to try something while he still thinks he’s ahead.”
“I have men watching him.”
“You mean, like you did for Sean?” I say before I can stop myself. “Fuck, sorry. It’s just, it feels like we keep taking one step forward and two steps back, but the stakes keep getting higher now that kids are involved.”
“I’m well aware.” There’s a cold edge to Ronan’s voice. “And we will take care of him. But until then, Cormac can’t be left alone. Not even for a second.”
I nod, clenching my jaw.
There’s no going back from this.
Lorcan might share our blood, but his betrayal has severed any last threads of loyalty between us.
As of right now, we share nothing but a last name. Beyond that, he is just another target that I have my eyes set on. And I’m not going to stop until I’ve taken him out once and for all.