Declan disappears into the fog without another word, and just like that the battle is over, but the war?
That’s only just begun.
Kieran’s apartmentis a mess of blood-streaked shirts and empty rocks glasses as my brothers and I regroup.
Brennan is sitting on the couch, hunched over a tablet as he reviews the security footage, and Cormac is on the phone with Jace, who is in charge of the cleanup.
I haven’t stopped pacing since we got here.
It was a goddamn miracle none of us was injured, but I can’t say the same for some of my men. We lost more than we should have, considering we were the ones with the upper hand, which only adds to my bitter mood.
I’m yet to get the final count along with names, but the moment I do, I’ll have to reach out to their families.
I always make sure the wives and children are taken care of, but I know they would much rather trade all the money in the world for another chance to see their loved ones.
I never wanted to be part of this fight, and now I’ve lost good and valuable men because Declan considers me a weak link. It’s ironic, considering he was the one who bolted in the opposite direction.
Kieran tosses back another glass of whiskey and slams it on the kitchen counter. “We shouldn’t have let Declan walk away.”
I’m too tired to deal with Kieran’s tantrum. “You can keep saying that all you want, brother, but it’s not going to change anything.”
“I could go back there right now and put a bullet in his skull, which is what you should have done when you had the chanc?—”
I whirl around to face my brother. “You think I didn’t want to kill him? Do you really think I didn’t want to have his blood on my hands?”
Kieran’s expression is cold as he looks at me. “Could have fooled me.”
“You got something to say?”
Brennan’s eyes are on me as I stalk toward Kieran. I guess he is assessing if he needs to step in.
Kieran’s eyes darken as he surveys me. “I’m just wondering how long we keep playing defense, Ronan. How long until this blows up in our face? We keep reacting, but it’s about time we go on the offensive.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you questioning how I’m handling this?”
Kieran doesn’t even flinch. “I’m questioning if you evencanhandle this.”
Silence drops over the room like a bomb.
No one moves or even dares to breathe as Kieran and I glare at each other.
If it wasn’t bad enough hearing from Lorcan how whispers are circulating about my ability to run this business, now my own brother is questioning me too.
He might as well have put a knife in my back.
“Do you think you can do a better job?”
“Yeah, I do, actually.”
I can’t help but snort. “Your hot-headedness would get you killed in a matter of minutes.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Ronan.”
“Really? Because you’ve given me no reason to think otherwise!”
“Fuck you.”
“Spoken like a true leader.”
