26. CHAPTER 26
CILLIAN
Moonshine:
Someone’s here. Two SUVs.
The message killed every useful thought except one. Moon. I dropped the cash on the counter and turned toward the door without waiting for the receipt or the change.
“Hey! What the fuck, man?” the cashier yelled after me. “You can’t just—”
The bell above the door barely had time to jingle before I was outside, already running for the bike.
My blood was roaring in my ears. Two SUVs. At the safe house. With Moon alone. If they—
I tasted blood. My teeth had sunk into my tongue. I swung onto the motorcycle, kicked it alive, and tore out of the lot, rain slicing across my helmet.
Hang on, Moonshine. I’m coming.
The ride back from the village should have taken twenty minutes. I made it in twelve.
I killed the engine halfway down the drive the second I saw them, two black SUVs parked at ugly, tactical angles in front of the cabin. Rain streaked down the windows. Something clenched hard behind my ribs.
Trouble.
I left the bike in the trees and moved fast, phone already in my hand. Lorcan answered on the second ring.
“Two SUVs at the cottage,” I said. “Tell me it’s you.”
“Nope. Not me, brother. Fuck. I’ll send whoever’s closest right now. I’ll be there soon. Do not go in alone, Cillian—”
I hung up. There wasn’t time to wait. Moon was inside with them.
I slipped through the trees, gun already in my hand, rain soaking through my jacket, every thought narrowing to Moon inside that cabin.
If they touched him…
The front door was hanging off its hinges. I stepped inside and the world went dead silent.
Moon was on his knees in the middle of the room.
Naked. Wrists zip-tied behind his back. Fresh red marks on his jaw.
The bruises I’d left on his hips and thighs last night were still dark and glaring under the harsh light.
Ronan Carrick stood behind him, one hand resting on Moon’s bare shoulder.
Four of his men spread through the cabin, guns lowered but ready.
Everything else disappeared. Ronan smiled when he saw me.
“Well, if it isn’t the Ashbourne pup,” he said. “Come to collect your little Korean toy?”
Moon’s head snapped up. His eyes met mine. He looked terrified, but alive.
I raised my gun and shot the guard on the left in the shoulder. He dropped screaming.
The second guard lunged. I met him halfway, elbow smashing into his face, knee driving hard into his ribs. He swung back, fist cracking into my side. Pain exploded through my ribs. Something cracked. I didn’t stop.
Headbutt. His nose shattered. Spin. Fire. Grazed his leg. He went down.
Ronan pulled his gun.
“Get the fuck off him!” I roared.
Two strides and I reached Moon. Knife out. I caught his bound wrists and sawed at the zip tie. Ronan grabbed my collar and yanked me backward. The blade slipped. Moon hissed. Blood welled along his side. Fuck.
Ronan’s fist cracked across my jaw mid-struggle. The world tilted. He shoved me straight into the next guard. Pain exploded across my ribs. I drove an elbow back, fighting to keep Moon in my sight. The second his hands were free I shoved him toward the back door.
“Run!”
But Moon didn’t run. The stubborn bastard snatched the knife I’d dropped, eyes wild, and staggered back toward the fight, still completely naked except for those stupid black socks.
“Cillian, behind you!” he snapped.
A gunshot cracked. Pain seared across my left arm, a burning graze. I spun and tackled the last guard, smashing his head into the floor until he stopped moving.
Ronan had his gun trained on me now, smile gone.
My shoulder was already screaming. One more second and he was going to take the shot.
Then the cavalry arrived.
Four Ashbourne men burst through the broken door. Guns up. Ronan’s remaining man was disarmed in seconds.
Ronan’s face twisted with fury.
A moment later, Lorcan stepped inside, rain dripping from his coat. Taller than me. Broader. The kind of face that made people step aside without being told. He took one look at the scene and laughed.
“Well, isn’t this fucking embarrassing,” Lorcan said. “You brought two cars and four men to terrorize a naked college kid because Cillian hurt your little brother’s feelings? Pathetic, Ronan. Even for you.”
Ronan’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t over, Ashbourne.”
Lorcan stepped closer, towering over him, voice dropping to a whisper.
“It is for tonight. Take your dogs and crawl back to whatever hole the Carricks are hiding in. Touch the boy again, or even look in his direction, and I’ll personally deliver your head to your mother in a gift-wrapped box. Tell Declan the Ashbournes still run this game. You’re just playing in it.”
He nodded at his men. “Escort them off the property. If they resist, shoot them.”
Ronan glared at me, then at Moon, but he backed off. Slowly. The Ashbourne men forced them out into the rain.
The second they were gone I dropped to my knees in front of Moon, ignoring the burn in my arm and ribs. I pulled him hard against my chest, hands steady while I checked him for new injuries.
“I’ve got you.” Fury boiled under my skin. “They’re gone. You’re safe.”
Moon’s breath hitched against my neck. His hands clutched at my shirt.
“They took photos,” he whispered, voice cracking.
“Of everything. The bruises. Me. On my knees. They said they’d send them to my father.
To the Court.” His fingers dug painfully into my back.
“He can’t see this, Cillian. If he sees those pictures…
I lose everything.” His voice shattered completely.
Rage exploded, gasoline on an open flame. They humiliated him. I would kill every last one of them. I held him tighter, my hand cupped the back of his head, pressing his face into my neck.
“I’ll handle it,” I said.
A hard smack landed on my head.
“Ow—fuck!”
Lorcan stood behind me, rain still dripping from his coat, watching me as though I were the biggest disappointment in the Ashbourne bloodline.
“You absolute fucking eejit,” he growled. “Running in here alone like a fucking lapdog in heat. I told you to wait for backup, you thick-headed bastard. And what the fuck were you thinking leaving him here alone in our own safehouse?”
“Food run. Checking for tails,” I said. “Didn’t think the bastard would walk straight through the front door.”
He sighed heavily, then crouched down beside us, his expression softening when he looked at Moon.
“You alright, lad?” Lorcan sounded surprisingly gentle. He shrugged off his own coat and handed it to me. “Here. Get him properly covered. The boy’s freezing.”
I took the coat and wrapped it around Moon’s shoulders, pulling him tighter against my chest. Moon didn’t look up. He just stayed buried in my neck, trembling.
Lorcan watched us for a moment, then shook his head.
“We’ll handle the photos,” Lorcan said, more to Moon than to me.
“Phones are already being collected. We'll find out what was sent and where. Anything that hasn't spread dies tonight. Declan and Ronan won’t be breathing easy for a long time. You’re under Ashbourne protection now. Nobody touches what’s ours. ”
Moon gave the smallest nod against my skin, but I could feel how hard he was still shaking.
I pressed my lips to the top of his head, breathing him in. “No one touches what’s mine. Never again.”
Nothing I could say would undo what they’d done. I pulled back just enough to look at Moon.
“Declan Carrick is fucking dead,” I growled. “I’m going to put a bullet in his skull myself. Him and Ronan. I’ll burn their entire fucking bloodline to the ground for this.”
Lorcan let out a tired sigh behind me and smacked the back of my head again, harder this time.
“Easy, ya mad bastard,” Lorcan growled. “You’re the one sitting at the head of the table one day. I’m the one who has to bury the bodies. So calm the fuck down and let me handle it.”
He crouched down, looking at Moon with a surprisingly gentle expression for a man known for breaking bones.
“You did good, lad. Staying alive. That’s what matters.” Lorcan’s voice softened a fraction as he looked at Moon. “If you ever need anything, a safe place, a chat, whatever, call this number. It’s my wife’s. She’s a real sweetheart. She’ll look after you, no questions asked.”
Then he turned back to me, eyes hardening again.
“As for the rest, the family won’t love this.
Especially Nathaniel Moon’s son from Aster Court.
Old guard will call it weakness. Others will say it paints a target on your back.
” Lorcan’s voice dropped. “This is a fucking mess, Cillian. You’re running this family one day.
Decide now. Is he worth the noise? Claim him publicly and there’s no taking it back.
The Carricks already smell blood. Don’t give them more. ”
I looked down at Moon. He was already looking up at me. Everything else disappeared. Just him.
“He’s worth it,” I said, never looking away from Moon. “And if they want to call him weakness, they can choke on it.”
Lorcan tilted his head slightly, studying me. “Then we protect what’s ours. Get him dressed and warm. I’ll deal with the Carricks tonight.”
Lorcan gave me one last hard look, then stepped outside into the rain, already pulling out his phone. I heard him barking orders in rapid Irish before the door clicked shut behind him.
I didn’t waste a second. I scooped Moon up and carried him to the bedroom. He was still trembling against me, face buried deep in my neck.
I set him gently on the edge of the bed and grabbed clothes, one of my thick black sweaters, sweatpants, fresh boxers, socks. I dressed him carefully, almost reverently. Pulled the boxers up his shaking legs. Sweatpants next. The sweater over his head. Guided his arms through the sleeves.
Moon watched me the whole time, eyes glassy. When I finished, he spoke, voice hoarse and uncertain.
“You sure you should have told your brother?” He swallowed hard. “Isn’t this more dangerous now? The whole family knowing about… us?”
I knelt in front of him, hands resting on his thighs, thumbs stroking slow circles.
“Aye,” I said quietly. “It’s dangerous. But it’s the right kind of dangerous.”
I looked up at him, dead serious.
“Now we have the entire Ashbourne machine behind us. Nobody touches you again. Not at Evermourne. Not anywhere. The Carricks just declared war on the wrong fucking family.”
Moon stared at me for a long second, something raw and conflicted flickering across his face.
“You really think they’ll protect me?” he whispered. “A rival court heir who’s—”
I leaned in, pressing my forehead to his.
“They’ll protect you because you’re mine,” I said. “And in my world, that’s the only protection that matters.”
Moon leaned into me.
“You’re going to get us both killed,” he muttered against my skin.
“Probably,” I admitted, kissing the side of his head. “But not today.”
Lorcan stepped back inside a few minutes later, shaking rain from his shirt. His men were already loading the Carrick survivors into the SUVs outside.
“I’m heading out,” Lorcan said. “I’m leaving a few men on the property. Just in case.”
I nodded once. “Thanks, brother.” I handed him back his coat, and he took it and put it on.
Lorcan studied me for a long second, then clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder, squeezing hard. “Watch your back, brother.” He stepped out into the rain. The sound of the SUVs eventually faded into the night.
Moon pulled my face toward him, fingers digging into my jaw. “Are you hurt?” His voice stayed controlled. The tremor in his grip still betrayed him. “Can I help you?”
I tugged my shirt off. The bruise across my ribs was already blooming dark. The graze on my arm burned like fire.
“I think I just need ice and a bandage for the graze.”
Moon stood up fast. “Where’s the first aid kit?” He disappeared into the bathroom.
“Behind the mirror,” I called after him.
He came back with the kit and pointed at the bed. “Sit.”
His fingers still shook as he opened the kit. I caught his wrist gently. Held it until the tremor eased. His eyes finally met mine.
“You’re shaking,” I said quietly.
He didn’t pull away.
***
Later the fire burned low. Front door hung crooked, but it closed. Moon sat between my legs on the floor, back against my chest, blanket wrapped around us while his tea cooled untouched between his palms.
Every small sound outside made his spine lock. He stayed alert, scanning shadows.
“We’ll stay here another day before heading back,” I said quietly, burying my face in his hair.
Moon stayed quiet for a long time. When he finally spoke, he sounded tired. “Today… seeing you like that…” A shaky breath escaped him. “Today I finally saw the version of you that exists outside of us.”
I tightened my arms around him and slid one hand under his sweater, palm flat over his heart. It hammered against me.
“That’s who I am,” I said against his ear. “That’s the world I live in. You saw all of it today.”
Moon turned his head. His eyes met mine. He looked exhausted. “I saw you,” he whispered. “The real you.”
I kissed him, hand still pressed over that frantic beat. “Yeah. And you stayed anyway.” My thumb brushed once across his skin. “Dangerous fucking thing to teach me, Moonshine.”