“You’re going to drop me off there and drive Ciara to the hospital. In the meantime, call Kieran, send him the location, and tell him to bring backup. I think we’re going to need it.” My eyes never leave Ciara as I speak, but if she feels my gaze, she makes no move to acknowledge me. “Come on, we haven’t got much time.”
We drive in silence toward the abandoned sawmill where Declan is due to meet us. The tension in the car is palpable, made worse by the fact that there’s a dead body in the trunk.
The sawmill sits at the edge of a forgotten stretch of forest. The main building is massive, with shattered windows running along the upper level and a crooked sign that readsMcNally Timber Co. Its rusted metal siding and rotting timber beams aren’t worth glancing at twice, which is exactly why I chose it. The ground surrounding it is nothing but gravel and mud, littered with old tools and rusted oil drums.
The moment I kill the engine, I glance at Brennan in the rearview mirror.
“Go and take a walk.”
He groans. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He rolls his eyes and climbs out, slamming the door behind him like he used to when he was a teenager.
Ciara’s body is turned away from me, but she makes no move to leave the car.
I think we both know we need to talk about what just happened, and I guess that time is now.
“Stephen was going to sell you to Declan. You get that, right?”
“I know.”
“And you think he deserved to live after that?”
She still doesn’t look at me. “I think… I don’t know what I think. I just watched a man die, Ronan.”
“You’ve seen worse.” My mind brings up the bloody scene at the safe house.
This death was humane in comparison.
“I’ve seen the aftermath, Ronan, not the actual killing.” Her voice is strained, as if she’s trying to keep herself from shattering.
“Do you think I liked doing it?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe part of you did.”
“You’re wrong. No part of me enjoyed ending a life. Least of all his. I thought he was my friend, Ciara, but he betrayed us all.” I shake my head. “He was working with the man who killed Max, the man who’s trying to destroy our entirefamily.”
“I know.”
I try to reach for her hand, but she pulls away.
“Ciara.”
“He asked you to protect his family, and you promised him you would, and then you shot him—” Her voice cracks, and she buries her face in her hands, overcome with emotion.
My chest tightens, and I want nothing more than to pull her onto my lap and hold her close, but I know she won’t let me.
“I did protect them. That’s why I had to pull the trigger.”
“What do you mean?” She lowers her hands, looking me in the eye.
“If he’d lived, Declan would have killed Tamara and the twins to punish him for failing. Or Stephen would have run straight back to them with a target on his back. Because Declan would’venever let him walk away. And he’d use his family against him one way or another.”
She shakes her head, her lower lip trembling.
“Trust me, Ciara, this was the better outcome. I gave his family the best shot at a normal life.”
