Brennan scoffs. “You seriously think it’s one of us?”
“Well, not you.” Kieran rolls his eyes. “You’re not smart enough.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“If it’s anyone in this room, it’s Cormac.”
Cormac narrows his eyes at Kieran. “You just want an excuse to shoot me.”
“Trust me, I don’t need an excuse. If I knew it wouldn’t piss Ronan off, I would have done so the second you showed up at Da’s funeral.”
Brennan shakes his head. “I think killing Cormac would do a lot more than piss Ronan off, Kieran.”
“Whatever.”
If this keeps up, my liver will retire soon, because a bottle isn’t enough to deal with these two.
“I hope the mole is both of you so I’ll have an excuse to shut you both up for good. You’re giving me a headache.”
Brennan smirks. “You sound like Da.”
“Now I know why he drank so much.” I reach for the bottle of whiskey and refill my glass yet again. At this rate, I’m not going to be able to drive home, but that’s probably for the best.
Ciara learning about my involvement in Max’s death is no doubt the final nail in my coffin. I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would make her forgive me, and I’m not sure I evenwanther forgiveness. I don’t deserve it, and I sure as hell don’t deserve her.
Brennan folds his arms, suddenly serious. “Do you guys ever wonder what this whole situation with Finn says about us? Especially, if it turns out he is the mole?”
Cormac frowns. “What do you mean?”
“That someone we trusted has betrayed us like this. I thought our reputation was bulletproof, and if Finn is the mole, he’s nothing but an oversized teenager. It’s embarrassing.”
I glare at Brennan, and he starts to squirm in his seat. “Thanks for the reminder. It just means we need to be smarter and more ruthless.”
“And if Lorcan starts sniffing around?” Kieran catches my eye from across the table. “I mean, that is his kid, after all. Foster kid, but still.”
“It’ll complicate things, but we need to keep him in the dark, so we all need to keep our mouths shut.”
The room falls quiet for a moment, the weight of what’s coming crashing down around us.
Brennan shakes his head. “If it turns out Finn truly is the mole and we get our hands on him, it will be one hell of a family reunion, that’s for sure.”
Chapter Thirty
CIARA
I’m curledup on the couch with a blanket tucked under my chin, watchingGilmore Girlsreruns like my life isn’t teetering on the edge of collapse.
As the dialogue buzzes in the background, I find little comfort in it. My brain is stuck on replay, running that same security footage of Ronan attacking Max over and over like some sick nightmare.
I knew what Ronan was capable of. I’ve always known. But seeing the violence in the flesh made it too real. I could separate the Ronan I knew from the one who goes out in the dead of night to ambush enemies because when he climbed into bed and wrapped me in his arms, all I felt was safe.
But everything changed the moment his fist collided with Max’s cheek, and I can’t help but think that his actions might have fractured us beyond repair.
The thought loops through my mind as I stare at my phone beside me on the couch.
It’s been painfully quiet ever since Ronan stormed out. He hasn’t called or messaged with an update on Max’s killer, even though I know he recognizes the man who pulled the trigger. I saw it in his eyes, and the least he could do is tell me what heknows, considering the part he played in all this. But instead, he’s shutting me out because he’s Ronan, and that’s what he does.
I don't even know what I'm supposed to feel anymore. Anger and guilt are battling for the top spot in my heart, yet the part of me that was falling in love with Ronan is still there. It may be buried under rubble, but it’s still there.
