35. Fiona
Chapter Thirty-Five
FIONA
I jolt awake to the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. I don’t remember climbing into bed, let alone falling asleep, but one glance at the time on my phone tells me it’s well past midnight.
I quickly scramble out of bed and race into the hallway to find Cormac stalking up the stairs. I don’t know what makes me panic more, the blood staining his hands and shirt or the wild look in his eyes.
“Cormac, what?—”
He brushes past me and disappears into my bedroom without a word.
I hurry after him but stop short when I notice him yanking my suitcase out of my closet and tossing it on the bed.
Oh God, he knows.
He wants me out.
It’s all over.
“Cormac—”
“I need you to pack.”
He’s still refusing to look at me, but the expression on his face mixed with the blood on his hands tells me everything I need to know.
I stumble as the air gets knocked from my lungs.
I need to buy myself some time. We can’t end things here, not like this. Not when he can barely look me in the eye.
“Cormac, y-you’re bleeding?—”
He shakes his head as he unzips my suitcase. “It’s not mine.”
“Then whose is it?—”
“Fiona, please.”
I snap my mouth shut as I stare at Cormac.
His head hangs forward as he braces his bloodied hands on my suitcase. “I’m sorry, but there’s no time to explain everything now.”
No time to explain?
When a man like Cormac Sullivan says something like that, I can’t help but feel like we’re in real trouble. The kind that we might not walk away from.
I flatten myself against the wall as I hold a steadying hand to my chest. I can barely breathe, and from the looks of it, neither can Cormac.
“I need you to pack. For you and for Scout, but only the essentials. Don’t worry about the rest.”
“We’re leaving?”
His jaw flexes, but he still doesn’t meet my eyes. “Yes. We’re going to Kieran’s. We’ll be staying there a few nights.”
“Why? Cormac, what’s going on?”
He finally looks at me then, just for a second, and what I see nearly knocks me off my feet.
Fear.
Whatever happened tonight, it terrified him.
“Are we going to be okay?” I whisper.
His voice drops lower, steadier. “Fiona. Right now, I need you to do exactly what I ask. I promise I will explain everything once we’re safe. Can you do that?”
I force myself to nod as I don’t trust my voice not to crack. Right now, Cormac needs me to keep it together for Scout, so that’s what I’ll do.
Cormac exhales shakily, like he’s been holding that breath since the second he walked in.
“Good. Don’t wake Scout yet. I’ll tell you when it’s time to go.” He heads past me, toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To handle something. Just…pack fast.”
And then he’s gone, disappearing down the hall and into his office.
I stand in my room for a long moment, my pulse in my ears louder than my thoughts. Then I swallow hard and force myself to move.
I throw open the closet and start yanking clothes off the hangers with clumsy, shaking hands.
I grab anything that looks remotely necessary, shirts, jeans, some underwear, and toss them into the open suitcase before heading into the bathroom to pack my toiletries.
I barely notice what I’m packing, too lost in my head to focus.
Whose blood was on Cormac’s hands and how did it get there?
My first thought is Lorcan, but that would be too easy. Besides, the fear in Cormac’s eyes doesn’t add up.
The threat his uncle poses to his family is nothing new. Whoever Cormac came face to face with tonight makes me think it is someone different, someone who has slipped through the cracks…
My chest tightens as the possibilities multiply. Every scenario I imagine leaves me wanting to vomit, and yet I can’t stop thinking through them all.
Whoever it is, they’re still out there, otherwise Cormac wouldn’t be sneaking his son out of the city in the dead of night.
Clearly, the stakes are higher than anything I can imagine, and the only thing I can do is follow his lead.
I head down the hall to Scout’s room, and the second I step inside, the panic claws even harder at my throat.
He’s still fast asleep, curled under his blankets and hugging his stuffed dinosaur. He looks so small and peaceful.
To think that there is anyone outside these walls who would ever want to hurt him makes me feel sick.
“Get it together,” I whisper to myself.
I grab Scout’s backpack and start stuffing it with clothes before crossing over to the bookshelf to get his favorite dinosaur book. I have no idea when or if we’ll come back here, and I know he would be devastated to leave it behind.
When I finally creep out of his room, Scout still hasn’t stirred. I quickly gather my things, carry our bags downstairs, and set them by the elevator.
There’s no sign of Cormac, so I wrap my arms around myself, trying to breathe normally as I wait for him.
It’s nearly two in the morning, and my eyes feel painfully heavy from tiredness. I maybe got an hour of sleep because I was too busy panicking about where Cormac was going, and that feeling has only gotten worse since he came home with blood on his hands.
I’m about to go check on him when my phone buzzes in my back pocket.
I frown.
The only person who would call me at this hour is Zoe or…
I pull out my phone, and my stomach bottoms out.
Lorcan.
Of course it’s him.
I glance up the stairs, listening for any sign Cormac might be coming back down before quickly answering.
“I—I can’t talk right now,” I whisper.
“It never seems to be a good time with you lately. And I would tread very carefully with the excuses, Fiona. You work for me, not the other way around.”
Oh. Believe me, I know.
“You can’t call me this late?—”
“I can call you whenever the fuck I want. And you answer whenever the fuck I tell you to.”
I flinch at his words, but I can’t risk Cormac catching me on the phone with Lorcan, tonight of all nights. So, the sooner I find out what he wants, the better.
“What do you need?”
“I need you to get the gray laptop Cormac brought home tonight and delete a file from it. Right now.”
I frown as I try to recall seeing Cormac with a laptop. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t carrying one when he got home from Sullivan Investments… At least, not a gray one.
“A…a laptop?”
“Yes, Fiona. A laptop.” Lorcan’s words drip with irritation. “I need you to sign in and wipe a file from the hard drive. It’s a simple task. I figure even you can manage it.”
That’s it? He wants me to delete a file?
That seems like pretty inconsequential work, unless…
I suck a breath as the pieces click together like a puzzle.
The only reason Lorcan would need a file deleted is if it incriminates him. Add to the fact that Cormac came home covered in blood makes me think that Lorcan knows Cormac has access to something that can destroy him.
Could this be it? Could this be the leverage I’ve been desperately hoping for?
I don’t know if Cormac will ever forgive me for what I’ve done, but if I can help him take Lorcan down, if I can help him protect Scout, maybe he’ll at least understand why I did what I did.
The only problem is, Cormac didn’t come home with a laptop.
“Fiona. Are you listening to me?”
Lorcan’s voice snaps like a whip through my spiraling thoughts.
I jolt as I quickly glance at the stairs again. There’s still no sign of Cormac, but I can feel the invisible clock ticking with every second I spend with Lorcan on the phone.
“Y-yes, sorry.”
“I told you what to do. Now go find the laptop.”
“Cormac didn’t bring one home.”
The line is silent for a beat before Lorcan laughs, a sound so cold and humorless it sends a shiver down my spine. “Don’t lie for him.”
“I’m not?—”
“You would do well to remember that you brought your niece into this little deal, so I suggest you figure out where the laptop is and delete the file.”
The line goes dead, and I have to clamp a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob that escapes it.
If Lorcan even suspects that my alliance is wavering, he won’t hesitate to use Amber to keep me in line, which means I’m going to have to find that laptop. Even if it destroys me in the process.
Cormac’s footsteps sound on the stairs, so I quickly shove the phone into my pocket and take a deep breath.
My hands are shaking again, but at least it won’t seem odd given the circumstances.
Cormac appears, carrying a sleeping Scout over his shoulder. The way his eyes scan the living room as if he’s expecting an ambush makes my heart race.
“Ready?” he mouths, and I nod.
“Daddy, are we going for a sleepover?” Scout mumbles.
“We sure are. But it’s a surprise, so you have to go back to sleep.”
“Okay…”
I can’t hold back the tears any longer as I watch Scout cling to Cormac.
They’ve barely had a chance to be a proper family. I just have to hope that whatever Lorcan wants me to erase, I can use it to help Cormac end him for good.
“Stay close,” Cormac warns as we take the elevator down to the garage.
I bite back the questions burning at my throat as I help carry the bags.
Every instinct screams at me to find answers because I need to know what happened tonight and why he looks like he’s been through hell, but I stay silent.
I help Cormac maneuver Scout into his booster seat, and while I buckle him in, Cormac throws our bags into the trunk of the car. Neither one of us says a word.
Inside, my mind is a storm of panic, and from the look on Cormac’s face, his is the same.
I climb into the passenger seat, but I can’t buckle my seatbelt due to my shaking hands.
“Come on,” I mutter.
My eyes are so full of tears that I can barely see straight.
But then my door opens, and Cormac is there, placing his hands over mine to steady them.
“Breathe,” he whispers.
I choke on a sob, and he squeezes my hands.
“Breathe, Fi.”
I screw my eyes shut, hating the tears that stream down my cheeks.
“Just…breathe.”
I do as Cormac says, taking a long inhale and exhale, while he quickly buckles me in.
He takes my face in his hands and gently wipes away my tears. “I’ve got you. I need you to trust me.”
“I trust you.”
I don’t open my eyes again until Cormac is behind the wheel and the engine starts rumbling.
He pulls out his phone and dials Ronan.
He keeps his voice low so as not to wake Scout. “We’re ready to move. Keep an eye on the perimeter.”
His tone is calm, but there’s an edge to his voice that gives him away. He keeps Ronan on the phone as he backs out of the garage, his eyes furiously scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger as his bloodied hands grip the wheel.
I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead.
All we need to do is make it to Kieran’s house, and then we’ll be safe.
Though for how long, I can’t be sure.