I don’t miss the way Callum’s face pales as his eyes flick to my brother, and I don’t need to look at Kieran to know he’s smiling.
I get to my feet, my glass of whiskey forgotten on the table, and turn to leave.
Callum gets up too. “How’s Ciara?”
“You haven’t heard from her?” I glance back at him over my shoulder.
Callum shakes his head, the hurt written clear as day on his face.
“Not since Mila’s brother died. I thought maybe she would come home.”
Is he being serious right now?
I clench my teeth. “She’s fine.”
That flicker in his eyes, something like pain, lasts half a second and then it’s gone, and I feel it again. That certainty that she’s choosingme.
Every day she stays, every word she doesn’t send to her brother, is proof of that.
Whatever storm we’re in, she’s not jumping ship, and maybe that shouldn’t carry as much weight as it does, but I can’t deny that it feels good.
It means I’m right in knowing that I can trust her.
Back in the car,Kieran is silent for a few minutes as I turn it around and head back down the weed-covered drive.
“You believe him?”
I shake my head. “No. But I believe he’s desperate.”
Kieran nods as he drums his fingers on the armrest.
“Desperate people are dangerous.”
Before I can respond, an incoming call from Cormac flashes on the center screen, and I quickly click answer on the steering wheel.
“Talk to me.”
“We’ve got a problem. Walsh’s warehouse was hit this afternoon.”
Kieran looks at me. “Walsh? As in…”
“Declan Walsh,” Cormac confirms.
I frown. “What’s that got to do with us?”
Declan Walsh is head of a rival mob family and a constant thorn in my side, so hearing news that one of his warehouses was hit shouldn’t be a problem. If anything, it should be the opposite.
Cormac hesitates, and I brace myself for whatever is about to come out of his mouth.
“Because whoever did it… made it look like us.”
“Say that again.” My voice is ice cold.
“It was a masked crew in an SUV, the same model as the ones we use. They spoke just enough to give the right accent to match our guys. Walsh thinks we’re starting something.”
My heartbeat rings in my ears.
This hit is strategic. Someone is playing a very dangerous game of chess, and they’re trying to make my family the fucking pawns.
