“Ronan?”
“He’s…the one who killed Max.”
I inhale sharply as I look over at the man now being dragged toward a car by Brennan.
He doesn’t look much older than me.
“Are you sure?”
“He used to work with my family. Apparently, his loyalty didn’t run deep.”
“What are you going to do to him?” I don’t know why I ask; I already know the answer.
Ronan reaches for my hand. “That’s need-to-know information.”
I swallow hard as I take our intertwined hands and rest them on my stomach, feeling the weight of everything that’s happened, of the future we almost didn’t get a chance to experience, settle around us.
“I’ll protect you,” Ronan’s voice goes rough. “Bothof you.”
“I know. I’ll never complain about how overprotective you are again.”
Ronan smirks. “We both know that’s bullshit.”
I laugh, the sound a little breathless from the relief flooding through me.
Ronan leans in to kiss my forehead, and I sink into his touch like it’s my lifeline.
My whole body relaxes at the feel of his warm lips, the tension in my muscles that have been coiled so tight starting to unravel.
When Ronan pulls away, he glances over his shoulder at Brennan and Cormac before looking back at me. “Any more pain? Cramps?”
I shake my head. “Nothing since earlier.”
He nods. “That’s good. But I still want you checked out tonight.”
“Okay.”
Tonight could have ended so badly, and yet somehow, we’re still here. Every decision he made, every shot he fired, stemmed from the fact that I’m carrying his child. Me and this baby are his whole world, and I know he would do anything to keep us safe, and I have to fight back another wave of emotion at the thought.
“What about Brennan and Cormac? Shouldn’t you stay with them?”
Ronan glances back at his brothers. “Finn’s secured, and Brennan has briefed Kieran, so we should be done soon.”
“Then—”
“—we go directly to the hospital.” He squeezes my hand again before reaching across to fiddle with the buttons, lowering the seat until I can stretch out and adjusting the temperature dial so that warm air filters in through the vents. “Ciara?”
“Yeah?”
“Help me understand something…”
My heart flutters as he rests his hand on my stomach once more. “What?”
“Flipping that car…you could have been killed. I want to know why you would risk such a thing. Did you not trust me to get to you in time?”
“I do trust you, Ronan.”
“Then why? Why risk your life like that?”
