26. Cormac
Chapter Twenty-Six
CORMAC
The plan is decided. The only thing left to do is execute.
I find Fiona upstairs in the nursery, rocking Aubrey to sleep, the room lit only by the soft orange glow of the nightlight.
I pause in the doorway as a thought sneaks into my mind.
What if that could be us?
I choke it back instantly, because even thinking it makes my chest tighten.
That future isn’t promised, but knowing what I’m about to ask Fiona to do only makes that vision burn sharper and more painful.
However, every second Lorcan lives, that future drifts further away.
I can’t believe I’m about to send the woman I love into the firing line, where a single wrong breath could get her killed.
But there’s no other play left. I’ve turned this threat over and over in my head, analyzing every angle with my brothers, chasing every possible lead.
Lorcan is like smoke. He’s completely untouchable, except through her.
“This little girl has definitely inherited the Sullivan stubbornness. She is refusing to sleep,” Fiona says when she catches me hovering in the doorway. But when I don’t reply, she stills as her eyes lift to mine. “Cormac, what’s wrong?”
“Can Riley put Aubrey down?”
It’s less of a question and more of a subtle order.
Fiona’s brows pinch together as she studies me.
“I forced her to go take a nap.”
“Ciara, then.”
“Cormac, what’s going on?”
“I need to speak with you and my brothers, urgently.”
Fear flickers in Fiona’s eyes, but she nods without asking any more questions.
She knows what this is about. She knows it’s time to finally make our move.
“Uh… Sure, let me go find Ciara, and I’ll be right down.”
I dip my chin and step out of the room before I do something stupid like abandon the plan.
I have to pause at the top of the stairs and brace one hand on the wall as I try to breathe through the tightness in my chest.
This is the part I hate the most, the moment before the order is given when you still have the illusion of choice.
Risky doesn’t even begin to cover how badly this plan could backfire.
It feels like balancing a blade on my fingertip. One wrong move, and it’s all over.
But it’s the only hand I’ve got left to play.
I could call this off. I could tell my brothers to keep digging and chasing false leads to keep Fiona out of this, and I could pretend Lorcan won’t strike again if we just wait him out.
But waiting is how we’ll all end up dead.
I roll my shoulders and neck, trying to ease the tension, before heading downstairs.
My brothers are already waiting for me in Kieran’s office. The four of us have barely left this room over the past few days, and it shows.
Every available surface is covered in papers as we desperately try to search for Lorcan’s weak point; but from the shadows coating each of our jaws and the circles under our eyes growing darker by the second, we’re not getting any closer.
“What’s this big plan of yours?” Kieran asks as I enter the bunker.
He’s standing behind the bar, and lining up rocks glasses beside an unopened bottle of whiskey he’s chosen for the occasion. It’s one of his nicer ones. Perhaps my older brother is feeling optimistic for once.
“I want to wait for Fiona first.” I brace my hands on the poker table and roll out my neck.
Every muscle in my back and shoulders is coiled tight.
I’m desperate to hit the gym to try and expel some of this tension, but we don’t have time.
Lorcan is already on the move, and the fact that we’re still sitting around making plans makes me want to flip the table.
Kieran scoffs. “Don’t you think it’s more important to run it by us than her?”
“When are you going to stop biting my head off every time she comes up?”
“Ask me that once I’ve got a higher blood-alcohol level.”
Ronan’s voice is calm but laced with control. He’s perched on the arm of the couch, his tablet balanced on his knee as he continues to scour through security footage. “Every time you argue, you’re giving Lorcan what he wants. Cut the crap. You’re both on the same side.”
Kieran scoffs. “I know that. It’s her side that I have a problem with.”
I’m moving before I realize it. One minute, I’m leaning against the door, and the next, I’m behind the bar, my fist knotting in Kieran’s shirt as I slam his back against the wall hard enough to rattle the bottles. “Say that again. I fucking dare you.”
“Am I interrupting?” Fiona’s voice slices through the room, and I release Kieran instantly like I’ve been burned.
Kieran adjusts his collar. “Pussy.”
I want nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, but I won’t show that side of myself to Fiona. Not now. Not when I need her trust more than ever. So, I force myself to walk away from Kieran to where Fiona still hovers nervously in the doorway and slide my hand into hers.
I lead her over to the table. “We need to make our move against Lorcan.”
She chews on her lower lip. “Okay…”
I pull out her chair, and she slowly lowers herself into it.
“Everyone, sit,’ I order.
Kieran scowls at me as he snatches up the bottle of liquor and comes to take a seat on the couch beside Ronan. He doesn’t even bother with a glass. He pulls the stopper out with his teeth and knocks back a few fingers’ width.
Brennan grins, rubbing his hands together, as he comes to take the vacant seat beside Fiona. “It’s game time. Are you ready for this, Callahan?”
“That depends on what Cormac is about to say.”
I take the seat on her other side.
I don’t bother sugar-coating it. Instead, I jump straight to the point. “You’re going to lure Lorcan out of hiding.”
The room goes still.
Kieran lets out a short, incredulous laugh. “You say that like you’re asking her to run an errand.”
Fiona doesn’t speak at first. She just looks at me, her blue eyes searching my face, like she’s trying to decide whether I’m serious.
“Explain,” she says finally.
I brace my hands on the poker table. “You’re going to tell him you have hard evidence on us, something he can use to finally take us down.”
Her color drains immediately.
Brennan shifts in his seat. “Destroy us, how? Are we talking financially? Politically? Bodies in the closet?”
I nod. “All of the above.”
Fiona is staring right at me. “I don’t understand.”
Ronan exhales slowly, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that, brother.”
“I know. Which is why the evidence has to look real enough.”
Kieran’s eyes narrow. “Are you planning to hand him our real dirt?”
“Fuck, no. I’m not sacrificing my family to bait a trap. I’ve drafted documents, transactions and various movement logs that are close enough to the truth that he recognizes the shape of it, but wrong enough that it collapses if he tries to use it.”
Brennan whistles under his breath. “So, your plan is to weaponize misinformation.”
“Exactly.”
I look to Ronan then for approval, and when he nods, I exhale a breath.
Ronan rubs his chin. “If it mirrors things he already suspects, he’ll bite.”
Fiona’s fingers curl into the fabric of her sweater. “And when he asks where I got it?”
“You tell him what he already believes. That you had access to me, but that you waited for the right moment.”
Her throat bobs. “You want me to sell him the idea that I betrayed you?”
“I want you to sell him the idea that you would do anything for your family.”
“And if he asks why now?”
“Because you want this debt paid so you can leave this all behind.”
Ronan looks from her to me. “Fiona’s going to need to understand what she’s handing over. At least enough for it to sound convincing.”
I nod. “But not too polished that he’ll get suspicious. Tell him you only copied what you could, and that accessing more information would have tipped me off.”
“Cormac… If he tries to scare me—”
“You don’t fill the silence. You let him do the talking. Let him still think that he’s the one in control.”
Fiona exhales. “I can do that.”
Brennan looks around at us. “So, how are we going to get this evidence to him?”
I look into Fiona’s eyes. “You’re going to call Lorcan now and tell him to meet you.”
“Now?” she asks, panicked.
“We can’t waste any more time.”
Fiona nervously runs her hands up and down her thighs, and I give her shoulder another reassuring squeeze.
“I’ll be here the whole time,” I remind her.
Kieran shakes his head. “That’s nothing short of a suicide mission.”
Fiona flinches, and I shoot Kieran a glare.
“We’ll bring backup,” I state.
“So will Lorcan.”
Fiona’s eyes lower. “And if he decides killing me is easier?”
The room goes very quiet.
“Then I fail,” I say plainly.
Fiona’s eyes widen in panic, but I don’t let it settle.
I take her hands in mine, running my thumbs back and forth along her knuckles. “But I won’t fail.”
“How can you be so sure?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
“I know Lorcan, and he’s not ready to let go of the strings he thinks he’s pulling.” I hold her gaze, letting her see just how serious I am.
She searches my face until finally, she lets out a breath and nods.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
She looks at me, and I offer her a small smile.
If I let her see even a hint of the storm that is brewing inside my head, it could make her bolt. Right now, I need her calm and focused.
Ronan shifts in his seat. “Fiona.”
Her head snaps in my brother's direction.
“If you have even a hint of a doubt that you can’t handle this—”
She nods. “I can handle it.”
Ronan stares at her. “Because it’s not just you who would pay the price for this going sideways.”
“She knows the stakes.” I shoot Ronan a warning look, but he ignores me.
“I need to be certain.”
“You can trust me, Ronan,” Fiona says.
“Then I suggest it’s time we lure our uncle out of hiding.”
The room seems to collectively hold its breath as Fiona pulls out her phone and dials Lorcan.
“What is it?” Lorcan barks the moment the call connects.
“I have something of interest for you,” she says without missing a beat. “But I need to show you in person. Cormac has people monitoring the computers, and I can’t risk it.”
Kieran catches my eye from across the table.
I can see his thoughts as if they were written across his face.
She sounds fucking convincing. Perhaps a little too convincing.
“What kind of information?” Lorcan asks.
“Enough to bury them.”
“If this is a trap, I won’t hesitate to end you.”
“Trust me, I’m not stupid enough to try and play you. All I want is for my debt to be paid so I can get on with my life and never look back.”
Lorcan huffs a laugh on the other end of the line, and I ball my hands into fists.
“If this evidence is as useful as you make it out to be, I will consider your debt to be paid in full.”
Fiona’s throat bobs. “Then we have a deal?”
“We have a deal. Meet me tomorrow night. I’ll send you the location.”
The call ends, and everyone lets out a collective breath.
Brennan runs a hand through his hair. “Fuck, this might actually work.”
Kieran gets to his feet. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a lot of the game left to play.”
“So, what now?” Fiona asks.
Ronan gets up. “We should all get some rest. I think we’re going to need it.”
Kieran stalks from the room without a backwards glance, and Ronan follows closely behind. Brennan picks up the discarded tablet and gets straight back into work mode while Fiona pushes back her chair.
She brushes her hand over my arm. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
She hovers for a moment longer before deciding to give me some space.
Once the door closes behind her, I brace my hands on the table and hang my head, needing a second to decompress.
This could actually work. If my brothers and I manage to pull this off, in less than twenty-four hours, this nightmare will officially be over.
“Are you thinking it too?” Brennan suddenly asks.
I lift my head. “Thinking what?”
“That Fiona is one heck of a convincing liar. When she was talking with Lorcan, I almost believed what she was saying.”
“Me too,” I mutter.
Brennan leans against the edge of the table, folding his arms across his chest.
I reach for the discarded bottle of Macallan on the table and take a long swig from the bottle.
The whiskey burns my throat as it goes down, but it does the trick of clearing my head.
He frowns. “Doesn’t that worry you?”
I take another long swig, trying to convince myself that it doesn’t, but I know my face gives me away.
I set down the bottle harder than I mean to. “I can’t fuel the doubts. Because if I let them grow, this plan falls apart, and so does our family. Her life depends on me not hesitating.”
I trust Fiona one hundred percent.
I have to.