Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
KIERAN
I sit in the chair beside Cormac’s bed with my gun resting on my knee, feeling nothing but guilt as I listen to the constant beeping of the monitors.
The room is dark, lit only by the light peeking in beneath the door. Even though my body feels heavy and in dire need of sleep, someone had to be here to watch over him, and seeing as I can’t seem to shake the guilt gnawing at me for what has happened to him, I insisted on taking the night shift.
If only I had trusted Cormac rather than letting my own anger and pride cloud my judgment, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up like this. Maybe everything would have been different…
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, squinting as the bright light stings my eyes.
“Seriously?”
Brennan has created yet another group chat.
You have been added to the group chat ‘Team Cormac’
Brennan: Any update?
Me: Still the same. How’s Riley?
Brennan: She’s officially overtaken Ciara as the most annoying out of my brother’s wives.
Ronan: Watch it.
Brennan: She’s making me watch some ridiculous dating show, and there is a significant lack of naked women.
Me: It’s two in the morning, she should be asleep.
Brennan: That’s what I told her.
Me: Let me guess, she told you to go fuck yourself?
Brennan: Pretty much.
Me: Remind me never to put you on babysitting duty again.
Brennan: Riley wants me to tell you to go fuck yourself too.
Brennan: Okay, I like her again.
I roll my eyes at the screen and tap out of the chat and open up my thread with Riley.
Me: Go to sleep, little dove x
Riley: I can’t :(
Me: Why not?
Riley: Because I miss you.
Me: I miss you too, but I’m not going to let you see the twins until you’ve slept…
Riley: You can’t keep my niece and nephew from me!
Me: Try me.
Riley: Fine… Does a power nap count?
Me: If it’s eight hours long, then yes.
Riley: You’re annoying.
Me: Sweet dreams, little dove, I love you x
Riley: I love you too!!
I smile at the message before shutting off my phone and pocketing it.
My eyelids feel heavy, so I settle back in the chair and close my eyes for a moment, listening to the rhythmic beeps of the machines.
Each sound is a tiny reassurance that Cormac is still alive, but it’s not enough to stop my mind from racing.
I should have seen this coming. I should have realized Lorcan was double-crossing us. I should have acted faster—
The door opens with a soft click, and I jolt upright, my heart hammering in my chest.
Relief floods me when Ronan slips inside, cradling one of the twins against his chest. I can’t tell which one it is, considering they’re both impossibly tiny and fragile.
“You should be with your wife.” I sink further down into the uncomfortable chair.
“I couldn’t sleep, and neither could Nico, so I thought I would check in. Do you want to hold him?”
“Sure.”
I pocket my gun before Ronan carefully places the bundle in my arms.
It’s strange how the moment I cradle Nico’s tiny body against my chest, all of the fear and guilt I’ve been bottling up inside start to melt away.
I adjust my arms to hold him securely and stare down at his scrunched-up face.
It should scare me how much I already love this little baby, and he’s not even mine. It makes me wonder how it will feel to hold my own child in my arms.
Ronan leans against the wall, watching me with a rare smile on his lips.
“It’s pretty amazing, right? Wait until it’s your own child.”
“I think I could actually do this, that I could be a good dad.” I glance up at my brother.
“You’ll be an amazing father, trust me. But not as amazing as me.”
I huff a laugh. “Why has everything got to be a competition?”
“Because we’re Sullivans. It’s in our blood.”
“Good luck, Nico. You’re going to need it,” I whisper to my nephew, and Ronan chuckles.
Holding Nico in my arms helps me relax for the first time all night.
There’s something so mesmerizing about watching him start to drift off to sleep.
I never imagined I could feel so protective over something so small and fragile, and yet I do. It feels as natural as breathing which gives me hope for when my own child is born.
Ronan lingers for a while until Nico starts to fuss again.
“Someone is ready for a feed. I hope Ciara managed to get some sleep. I feel awful having to wake her up so often.”
“Who knew you were capable of so many feelings?”
Ronan scowls as he looks from me to his son still in my arms. “Just because you’re holding my son doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass.”
“Oh, yeah? Want to test that theory?”
But then Nico goes from softly fussing to full-on wailing, and I practically thrust the screaming baby into Ronan’s arms.
He chuckles. “Amateur.”
Hours pass by in silence, broken only by the quiet hum of the machines and the occasional sound of footsteps out in the hallway.
The room is still dark when the door opens, and my eyes snap open, my hand instantly reaching for my gun.
In my half-asleep state, it takes me a second to realize that it’s not Ronan coming to check on Cormac again, but rather a doctor I have never seen before.
I get to my feet. “What are you doing?”
My instincts scream at me that something is off from the way the doctor flinches at my approach. Granted, I can be intimidating, but his skittish manner does little to convince me that he’s supposed to be here.
“I’m, uh… just…”
“I asked you a question. Answer it.”
“I-I’m just checking his vitals.”
“You don’t seem so sure.” I narrow my eyes as I take in the slightly too-small white coat and the badge that is clipped to the pocket that quite clearly has a picture of someone that isn’t him.
Panic flashes across the man’s face as he realizes his error.
He bolts for the door, and I immediately go to chase after him, but then my stomach drops.
I can’t leave Cormac.
It’s likely that whoever that guy was is being used as a scapegoat, a distraction for me to leave Cormac’s side so whoever is waiting nearby can come and finish what they started.
My teeth grind as I listen to the sound of his retreating footsteps, knowing that by the time I get someone to cover for me, he will be long gone.
“Fuck.” I look back at Cormac. “You’re being a real pain in my ass, you know that?”
I pull out my phone and call Ronan. “We have a problem. Someone just tried to—”
“I already know.”
“What? How?”
“Brennan called and told me.”
“Brennan knew?”
“I have him monitoring the security system at Sullivan Investments.”
“Wait, what? What’s that got to do with Cormac?” My mind is buzzing as I try to get a grip on what the hell Ronan is talking about.
“Nothing. It’s to do with Lorcan.”
“What’s got to do with Lorcan?”
“He’s crashed the entire security system. The whole place is in chaos right now.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit. I’ve managed to get a team already working through the night to fix it, but this is the last thing I need to be dealing with.”
“You have no idea.” I look over at Cormac, deciding to keep what has just happened to myself for now. “What about Lorcan? Do you have any idea where he is?”
“I’m pretty sure the fucker has gone underground.”
“Coward.”
“With any luck, he’ll stay there.”
“I doubt it. I think our uncle is just getting started.”
“I suggest we be ready for anything. This isn’t going to be a pretty fight.”
“It never is.”
All this time, I thought I knew who Lorcan was, but the loyalty I thought he had for our family is shattered beyond repair. There is no coming back from this. The only way it ends is with him in the ground.
“What do you need from me, Ronan?”
“Right now, I need you with Cormac. Brennan seems to have the security issue under control. Once Ciara is discharged in a few hours, I’ll send her home with the babies and head out to check on things myself.”
“Let me know if anything changes.”
“Will do.” The tiredness comes through in his voice.
I don’t think my brother has slept more than an hour or two in days, but it doesn’t look like any of us are going to be getting a good night's sleep for a while.
Once Ronan hangs up, I slump down in my chair and stare at my phone, wondering what the hell I’m going to do about the obvious security breach at the hospital.
I have a feeling the guy pretending to be Cormac’s doctor didn’t simply borrow the coat and badge, but I can’t afford to go searching for a bloodied corpse, not when it’s clear that Cormac is in more danger than we originally thought.
“You look like hell.”
It takes me a second to register the fact that someone is speaking to me, and even longer to realize that that someone is Cormac.
“Christ.” I place a hand on my chest as I look up from my phone to find my brother staring at me.
I stare at him. Either I’m hallucinating from the severe lack of sleep, or my brother is really awake.
“Cat got your tongue?” he croaks.
“You’re awake.”
Cormac grimaces as he attempts to clear his throat.
I jump to my feet and pour him a glass of water from the jug situated on his bedside table.
“Here.” I hold the cup up to his lips.
He manages to lift his head to take a few sips before collapsing back against the pillows, clearly exhausted from the effort.
“How are you feeling?”
He groans, screwing his eyes shut. “Like someone hit me over the head with a baseball bat.”
“It’s likely someone did.” I perch on the edge of the bed. “Do you…” I trail off, realizing I probably shouldn’t grill Cormac the second he wakes up from a coma.
“Remember what happened?” he finishes for me anyway.
“Yeah.”
“Not much. How long was I out?”
“A few days. Your injuries were pretty severe. It was just a precaution to give your body time to heal.”
“Doesn’t feel very healed.” He groans.
I swallow a laugh. “I should probably call a doctor.”
I reach for the call button, but Cormac manages to place a hand on my arm.
“What is it?”
“I just… I need to know.”
I really should call a doctor to check him over, but I know the second I do, it will be a while before I have a chance to talk to my brother in private again, and there are some things we really need to discuss.
“There’s a good chance that Lorcan orchestrated the attack on you.”
Cormac lifts his gaze to the ceiling as I let the words settle. Even in his weakened state, I can see that familiar determination in his eyes.
Cormac nods. “He’ll slip up, eventually. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Everyone makes mistakes.” He clears his throat. “We just have to be ready when he does.”
I nod, a mix of admiration and guilt flooding me as I look at Cormac.
I’ve never been good at apologies. I always figured sweeping things under the rug works just as well.
But now that Lorcan has betrayed us, it’s more important than ever that my brothers and I have an iron-strong bond, and the only way we can achieve that is if I apologize. So, I swallow my pride and look Cormac dead in the eyes.
“Cormac… I’m… Fuck, I’m not good at this.” I rub at the stubble coating my jaw. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry. I should have trusted you from the start. I let anger cloud my judgment, and I let it push you away, which meant Lorcan could weasel himself in.”
Cormac shakes his head, a weak but knowing smile crossing his face. “We all got blindsided.”
“It never should have happened—”
“The only thing that matters is that we now know who the snake is. What’s done is done.”
I let out a slow breath.
For the first time in days, a spark of control returns.
Lorcan may have set all this in motion, but we’re not powerless. Not anymore.
“So, can I get that apology in writing or what?” Cormac has a wicked glint in his tired eyes.
“You know, I think I preferred you when you were comatose.”