This is all my fault. Cormac’s world has been torn apart because of me, and now he is having to hunt for a child who should have been safe.
“Scout…” The name spills from my lips like a prayer.
Footsteps crunch behind me, and I turn to see Riley.
Her face is pale as she looks from where I’m kneeling beside Brennan to the edge of the trees where Cormac’s voice echoes.
“Fiona,” she says quietly. “Is there any sign of Scout?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
Her gaze drops to Brennan, to the blood pooled on the gravel beneath him.
She noticeably sways on her feet before she drops to her knees beside me, her cardigan slipping from one shoulder, as she gently reaches for Brennan’s wrist.
“Is he?—”
“He’s breathing. And his pulse is steady, though a little weak. I think he was just knocked out.”
Riley nods, absorbing the information like she’s filing it away for later. She’s good in a crisis, I’ll give her that.
“And Cormac?”
“He’s still looking for Scout.”
Her jaw tightens, just for a second.
“Cormac will find him,” she says with such certainty that, for a moment, I almost believe her.
We sit there in silence for a beat before more footsteps approach, faster this time.
Ciara appears, carrying the twins on each hip, their faces scrunched and red from crying. Her hair is a mess, and her sweatshirt is on backwards, as if she got dressed in the dark.
Her eyes dart between us. “What happened? I thought I heard a scream.”
Neither Riley nor I can answer fast enough before her gaze lands on Brennan.
“Oh, Jesus Christ. So much blood…”
“He’s alive. He’s breathing,” Riley says quickly as she gets to her feet to take Nico from her.
“He doesn’t look it.”
I look at the babies. “You should take the twins inside?—”
“What happened?” Ciara’s eyes remain fixed on Brennan, as if she can’t quite believe that he’s hurt.
Sometimes, I forget that Cormac and his brothers aren’t invincible. I’ve come to see them all as the rock that is the steady calm among the storm.
The fact that someone was able to tear through their defenses long enough to cause one of them damage tells me all I need to know about the enemy we are facing.
“Fiona…” Ciara’s panic is starting to creep through, and it’s only going to get worse when I tell her who the scream belonged to.
“Scout… He was taken.”
Ciara swears viciously under her breath, bouncing Addison instinctively even as shock ripples through her.
Addison blinks up at her with wide, confused eyes while Nico only continues to cry harder.
