Brennan is lounging in one of the armchairs, sipping from a glass of whiskey he didn’t ask permission to pour, wearing a grin so infuriatingly casual it makes me want to punch him in the face.
I drag a hand through my hair. “This isn’t how it was supposed to go. You were meant to be taking a step back to focus on Ciara, and I’ve gone and dragged you into this shit with Sean again.”
“You haven’t dragged me into anything.”
“Then tell me, why are you here instead of being with your wife?”
“Because it’s clear that asking you to juggle both Sean and Cormac was too much. I should never have put you in that position.”
“Don’t give me that. You trusted me to keep things under control, and, look around. I’ve made a colossal fuck-up of it all. Cormac is god-knows-where, and I literally had Sean in my line of sight, and I let him get away. And now he’s making threats against Riley?—”
Brennan whistles low. “There he goes playing the Riley card. It took longer than I thought, honestly.”
I turn to him, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. “Shut the fuck up.”
He lifts his glass in salute, but his smile quickly fades when Ronan cuts him a look.
When Ronan’s eyes turn to me, the heat burns in them for a different reason. “Listen to me. We’re going to take down Sean, and we’re going to find Cormac, I promise you that.”
“How?”
“We need to divide our attention. You and Brennan will focus on finding Cormac, and I’ll handle Sean.”
“You’ve lost your fucking mind. You’ve got Ciara upstairs on the verge of giving birth, and you think you can take on Sean,alone?”
“I can. And I will.”
“I’m sure Ciara will love the idea of becoming a widow and a mother on the same day.”
“Oof, that’s a low blow,” Brennan chuckles under his breath, his eyes darting back and forth between me and Ronan.
“It’s true, though. You’re distracted, which makes you an easy target, and the whole point of you stepping back was to avoid a situation like this.”
“Ciara knows the risk.”
“Does she?”
“Does Riley?”
I flinch.
“That’s what I thought, so stay the hell out of my relationship, and I’ll stay out of yours. If I need backup, I’ll bring in Lorcan. He’s already offered to help, and from the sounds of it, he’s had some useful contacts.”
I can tell from the look in Ronan’s eyes that he’s serious about this, and no amount of me trying to convince him this is a bad idea will get him to back down.
“Ciara won’t like it,” I remind him.
Brennan shrugs. “I think Ciara’s a little busy to take much notice of Ronan right now. No wonder you’re so wound up, brother. Go take a shower and knock one out. It’ll chill you out.”
I lean back in my chair. “I vote to reinstate the no-Brennan-at-family-meetings rule.”
“I second that,” Ronan grumbles.
Brennan glances at us over the top of his glass as he takes a sip of whiskey. “Technically,this isn’t a family meeting, considering only three of us are here.”
“Please let me cut out his tongue,” I say to Ronan.
Brennan smirks. “You can gift it to Riley?—”
