The silence that follows is thick and heavy. A dull ache is starting to build behind my eyes as I try to process what this means.
“Cormac is going to make it.” I clap Ronan on the shoulder. “I should go and check on him.”
“You should both go,” Ciara chimes in, which makes me wonder if she was secretly listening in on our conversation. “He needs his brothers.”
“Are you sure?” Ronan asks. “Kieran can go alone?—”
“Cormac needs to be surrounded by family,” Ciara says firmly. “We all do.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Riley assures Ronan.
“Fine, but I’ll be back soon.”
We take the elevator down to the ICU, both of us not saying a word.
I try to push thoughts of Lorcan aside, but my mind keeps returning to the betrayal.
He is my uncle, the one person after our father died who we were meant to be able to trust the most.
“So, Lorcan figured out Cormac was onto him,” I mutter as the doors slide open, “and decided to pin everything on him?”
“Exactly, and he almost pulled it off, too.”
I run a hand through my hair.
My stomach knots with a mixture of rage, fear, and guilt.
I took my eye off the ball and let Lorcan slip through my fingers, which is what he wanted. He wanted me distracted by Cormac, and look where it left us?
Riley almost died, and Cormac could be facing the same fate.
I take a deep breath, letting it settle into a cold determination.
I’ve lost time; I’ve let mistakes happen, but I will fix this. I will protect my family. No one else will pay for Lorcan’s betrayal.
“What’s the plan now?” I ask as we step off the elevator. “If he hasn’t already worked out we know, he will soon enough. We need to be prepared for him to try something while he still thinks he’s ahead.”
“I have men watching him.”
“You mean, like you did for Sean?” I say before I can stop myself. “Fuck, sorry. It’s just, it feels like we keep taking one step forward and two steps back, but the stakes keep getting higher now that kids are involved.”
“I’m well aware.” There’s a cold edge to Ronan’s voice. “And we will take care of him. But until then, Cormac can’t be left alone. Not even for a second.”
I nod, clenching my jaw.
There’s no going back from this.
Lorcan might share our blood, but his betrayal has severed any last threads of loyalty between us.
As of right now, we share nothing but a last name. Beyond that, he is just another target that I have my eyes set on. And I’m not going to stop until I’ve taken him out once and for all.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
RILEY
“It’s official,”I whisper. “You and Ronan make the most adorable babies in the world.”
Ciara lets out an exhausted laugh as she looks over at where I’ve curled myself into a chair with Addison bundled in my arms.
