22. Lorcan
LORCAN
Finn dragged me through the front doors of Magdalene hard enough that the front doors banged against the wall.
Orderlies dressed in pale-blue uniforms moved quickly through the corridors beyond the reception while somewhere deeper in the building a woman screamed before the sound cut off abruptly.
Finn didn’t slow as we crossed the foyer and he slammed up against the reception desk.
His grip stayed locked around my arm as he glared at the wide-eyed receptionist.
“Nuala Mac Giolla Chríost,” he said, his voice coming out low and hard. “Tell them, Lorcan. Tell them to release her.”
Every word scraped something rawer open inside me. Finn still thought I could fix this with my surname alone.
A doctor stepped out from one of the corridors, middle-aged and immaculate in his neatly pressed coat, his face arranged into professional sympathy.
“I understand this is distressing,” he said smoothly. “When our loved ones become unwell, it can feel very sudden.”
Finn stepped toward him. “Nuala is not unwell.”
The movement caused two guards near reception to straighten sharply.
“Bring her out here,” he demanded. “Now.”
The doctor didn’t even blink. “She’s been admitted for her own safety. You’re welcome to contact her family—”
“I am her family.”
The doctor let out a soft sigh before giving the receptionist a small nod as he turned away, already dismissing us.
The receptionist snatched up the phone, her mouth moving too fast while her eyes stayed fixed on Finn.
Guards started moving into a human barricade between us and the rest of the asylum, their hands hovering over their batons.
Finn stood facing all of them, all six foot five of solid muscle, his knuckles cracked as he curled them into fists by his sides.
“Release Nuala,” he said. “Now.”
I’d never seen Finn look like this. Not even facing an entire line of angry forwards on the hurling pitch. The softness and easy warmth were gone from Finn’s face, replaced by something intense and dangerous.
Guilt dragged heavily through my body as I stared at my best friend.
I did this to her.
I did this to him.
Maybe I could end this here by announcing my name and my authority over Magdalene. Nuala would walk out those doors tonight. Liath would forgive me, and Finn would never need to know what I had done.
The fantasy collapsed almost as quickly as it arrived.
The Sons would relocate, reorganize, and disappear deeper underground.
And Liath would hate me even more for destroying the operation before we could finish it.
I swallowed hard as I looked at Finn. “I’m sorry.”
Finn ignored me completely.
Movement flickered deeper in the corridor beyond the guards. Orderlies dragged Nuala between them down the corridor.
Finn’s body went rigid at the sight of her.
She fought wildly against their grip while her pale hair hung tangled around her face.
“Nuala!” Finn’s voice broke apart around her name.
“Finn!” She twisted toward the sound immediately, her eyes huge and unfocused. “Finn, please—”
One of the orderlies tightened his grip around her arms.
She cried out.
Finn moved so fast he was almost a blur.
One second he stood beside me and the next he slammed the nearest guard into the wall, hard enough to crack plaster.
Shouting rang out through reception as the guards surged forward, Nuala’s screams echoing from somewhere behind them.
If Finn didn’t stop, somebody was going to die.
I stepped toward him where he had another guard lifted halfway off the ground by his shirt, his fist drawn back.
“Stop, Finn.” My words cut through the chaos. “She needs you alive and out of jail.”
Finn froze, the guard’s collar still twisted tight inside his fist.
Then he looked past the guards toward Nuala.
She had gone strangely quiet in the orderlies’ grip while her eyes stayed fixed on Finn, his name forming silently against her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks.
His fingers yawed opened, the guard stumbling free.
Finn staggered backward a step without taking his eyes off Nuala.
I rested a hand against his shoulder, pulling him back.
“I swear to you,” I said quietly, “we’ll get her back. Just… not today.”