“You’re a horrible excuse for a brother, always demeaning me in whatever way you can. Well, I’m not going to take it anymore, Bran. God, I’m not some brainless wench. I’m your bloody sister, and you act like I’m not.”
I find a bit of enjoyment in Keeva smashing her fist into Bran. He’s been hit for less, but he really deserved it this time. “And you, you lied to us when you could’ve just been honest with us. Like, what the hell is up with that?” Keeva proceeds to reprimand me and yanks her arm back, then shoves it full force against my shoulder. The same shoulder where I was shot. Pain rolls down my arm in loose waves, but I’m a tad bit surprised. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would.
Eamon’s cackling from where he stands in the foyer, but he should learn to be more careful. Keeva turns on her heel and marches right up to him. “And you! Keenan tells you every damn thing that he ever does, or that ever happens to him, so I don’t believe for a second that you weren’t aware of all this. Hell, I bet even Bran knew something because neither of you looked surprised. The only one who looked as shocked as I was is Delaney.”
“You two were left in the dark while Keenan figured things out,” Bran comments, and Keeva’s eyes find mine.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, but only because I needed to figure things out my own way. Learning all this wasn’t exactly something I expected. I needed to find my place, to understand my duties before I—”
“Save me the shite, Keenan. You’re only telling us now because I’m sure one way or another it would come out.” Keeva rolls her eyes and huffs before walking out the front door. It slams shut with a thud, and Delaney chases after her, but before she passes through the door, I clear my throat.
“Make sure you take someone from the security team with you.”
“I will,” Delaney comments before she shuts the door behind her.
“Well, that was a clusterfuck,” Eamon comments, and Bran nods in agreement. It sure was, but it was something that needed to be done.
“Sir, Luca’s here,” Regis, one of our men, comes into the foyer to tell me. “He was just allowed through the gate.”
“Luca? As in Luca McCarthy?” He’s my cousin as well, and he’s also Liam’s top security man in Ireland. Though, Liam didn’t inform me he was sending Luca my way. I’m not aware of anything happening, so there must be some reason for him to be here.
“Thank you, Regis.” I give him a nod, and he walks off to stand by the door.
A knock comes on the door, and Luca walks in. He still wears a suit just as Liam does, which tells you how highly regarded he is within the infrastructure. “You have a minute to talk?” is the first thing out of his mouth, and I scoff.
“If you wanted to talk, you could’ve called.”
“I could’ve. Liam sent me, and I think it’s best if we take a moment to speak privately.” Luca’s tone is utterly serious, and I motion for him to follow me. I walk through the living room, down the hallway behind it, and take Luca into a room that I’ve barely been in. The walls are lined with built-in shelves, with books that look like they could be ancient. I flip on the light switch ad Luca closes the door after he’s inside.
“What’s going on? Must be serious if you didn’t call.”
“Liam told me everything about Cormac. I found a lot of information for him myself, and I thought you might want to see this.” Luca opens his suit jacket and hands me a manila envelope. I reluctantly take the envelope, open it and what I have in my hands makes me violently ill. I fight back the urge to vomit, but the disgust rolling through me can’t be helped.
What he’s doing is sickening, and he’ll pay for it gravely.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
DELILAH
Tapping my heels impatiently as I wait for the elevator, I check my watch. I glance at the elevator, and I purse my lips thinly in aggravation. Shuffling my armful of materials to my other side, I run my hand through my hair and sigh sharply.
Come on. What’s taking this thing so long? It’s been a hell of a few days. Between gathering all of the materials to save my ass and the call with my mother, I’m drained. Hell, even having to do all of this is exhausting in itself. At least the call I had with my mother went somewhat decent. I don’t expect either of us to have a relationship overnight, but Keenan was right, I’m an adult, and it’s up to me to put some effort in as well. Still, I’m frustrated because of things that happened in the past. But I’m hopeful that things can get a little bit better with time. If they don’t, at least I tried. Sometimes all you can do in life is that—try.
The elevator still hasn’t arrived, so I look around at the empty office floor and groan. Screw it, I'll take the stairs. I take a step away from the elevator before it pings, announcing its arrival. Scowling as the doors open, I rush in to punch the floor button multiple times with my thumb.
I finger through the pages of my report and lean against the wall of the elevator as the doors slide closed. A mechanical jostle ripples up my legs. But the stupid box starts going up, and I roll my eyes. Of course, it had to be today.
I left Delaney to her own devices, for the most part, and our first meeting started approximately . . . two minutes ago. Frowning at my watch, I shuffle from foot to foot in aggravation. I know there’s no use in doing this, but at least if I’m moving, I feel a tad bit better. The elevator stalls again, and several people pile on. Standing in the front corner of the elevator, I close my eyes and take a calming breath.
Finally, I reach the conference floor and step off the elevator, leaving everyone else behind as I focus on my meeting. Gripping the knob of one of the doors to a smaller room, I exhale a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and roll back my shoulders. Shouldering into the room, I can’t help but smile when Delaney jumps up from a chair. Apprehension drenches her face. She smiles when she sees me.
Delaney’s excited chattering rings in my ears, and I smile faintly. She’s so eager to accomplish, to assist, and I turn my gaze to the files in my hands. When I asked her to present these to me, Delaney had practically danced her way out of my office. Her lively attitude is much appreciated. Especially after the last few weeks. It’s a breath of fresh air to have someone so jolly and positive in the office. She came in a bit late this morning because she worked late the other night, and she mentioned one of her cousins was in town. She said it’s Luca, but I really wasn’t paying any attention to her, not with this meeting we have today.
The vast array on the conference table is what draws my attention, and I tighten my grip on my arm. My eyes boggle slightly in shock. Delaney’s been in charge of a small auction. It’s nothing too crazy, and it’s nothing like the one we had at her house a few weeks ago. I have Delaney pretty much managing the entire thing, as a test of sorts. I want to see where her strengths are and where her weaknesses lie.
I purse my lips thinly as I scan the flower arrangement samples, the silence ringing in my ears. Setting my bundle on the edge of the table, I cup my chin thoughtfully as I scan over the arrangements. “It seems like you’ve been quite busy, Delaney.”
