“I’m not.”
“The hell you aren’t. You keep making excuses every time I dare to question him, so stop telling me it’s not what it looks like because, guess what, Ronan? It looks fucking bad. If Cormac is screwing us over, then he’s going down. It’s as simple as that. So, it’s up to you whether you want to go down with him.”
Ronan’s expression hardens as he takes a step toward me. “Watch your tone. I’m still the head of this family.”
“I seem to recall you handing that title over to me.”
“Clearly, I made the wrong call. I thought you had outgrown your hotheadedness.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a fucking child. Save that for your own kids. Do you think I like the fact that Cormac is behind all of this?”
“Honestly, yes. You’ve had it in for Cormac ever since he came back?—”
“For good reason!”
“Cormac is family, and you don’t turn your back on your family.”
The words snap something inside me. “Even when they’re trying to screw you over?” I growl, my throat raw. “Even when they’re lining their pockets while the rest of us are bleeding to keep this empire standing?”
Ronan glares at me, but he doesn’t respond, though his silence is answer enough.
I rake a hand through my hair as I take a look around the office that once belonged to our father.
“You keep saying it’s not about trust, so what is it?” I perch on the edge of the desk. “What am I supposed to think? Because from where I’m standing, the only thing you’re showing me is that Cormac’s secrets matter more than my loyalty.”
Ronan exhales heavily as he sinks down into one of the armchairs. The exhaustion is written all over his face, in the dark shadows beneath his eyes and the permanent creases between his eyebrows.
“I want the truth as much as you do. But until I know for certain, until I’m convinced beyond a doubt, I’m holding on to the possibility that Cormac is not guilty.”
I laugh bitterly. “Not guilty? We found the statements proving otherwise.”
“We don’t know they’re real. It could be the situation with Riley all over again. Those statements could have been planted for exactly this reason, to divide our family and make it easier to take us down.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Bring up Riley. I hate that she’s getting caught up in all of this.”
“How do you think I fucking feel? If I didn’t get to the safehouse when I did, it would have been my pregnant wife bleeding out as well as Dr. Allen. Whether we like it or not, we’re all caught up in this,includingRiley.”
My jaw aches from clenching it so hard. “I thought she would be safe with us. Instead, I’ve brought her into the center of the lion's den, and she almost died because of it.”
“Cormac wouldn’t hurt her if that’s what you’re implying?—”
“Wouldn’t he? He fucking killed our father, Ronan!”
“We don’t know that.”
“Believe what you want; it’s just your life on the line.” I push off the desk and stalk over to the drinks cart to pour myself a whiskey.
“Cormac knows I wouldn’t hesitate to slit his throat if he ever laid a hand on Ciara.”
“What happened to loyalty? Cormac’s disappeared without a trace. What more proof do you need?”
“There’s still a chance this can be explained.”
“Explained? You can’t seriously believe that.”
