“Bullshit—” Kieran starts.
I don’t give him a chance to finish. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same?” I push off the desk and stalk toward Kieran, only stopping when our noses are practically touching. “Tell me that if it were Aubrey or Riley’s lives on the line, you wouldn’t have thrown us all under the bus in order to save them?”
Kieran flinches as if I just slapped him. “You’re actually defending her.”
“That’s not what I’m saying?—”
“That’s exactly what you’re saying!”
I growl. “Answer the fucking question.”
“ENOUGH!” Ronan roars as he storms toward us, digging his fingers into my shoulder as he forces Kieran and me apart.
We glare at one another, our chests heaving as we both fight to keep hold of ourselves.
“If what you’re saying is true, then you’ve been walking a razor’s edge.” Ronan glares at Fiona. “One misstep and all of us, everything we’ve built, could have come crashing down.”
Brennan moves to collapse into a chair and runs his hands over his face, looking weighed down with exhaustion. “We could have lost Scout. You realize that, don’t you?”
Fiona is on the verge of tears. “I know. But you have to believe me, I’m still on your side. I swear.”
“You swear?” Kieran spits.
I automatically go to step in front of Fiona, but Ronan tightens his grip on my shoulder, a silent warning to stay out of this.
“You really expect us to believe that when you’ve been the enemy’s eyes and ears for weeks?”
For a split second, the anger I feel at her betrayal clashes with the possessiveness I can’t ignore.
Yes, she betrayed me. Yes, she endangered Scout. But…she’smine. And right now, that thought sharpens my focus.
I flex my fingers at my sides. “Walk away, Kieran. No matter what Fiona has done, you don’t get to lay a hand on her. Right now, we need her alive, and we need her willing to help. That’s all that matters.”
Fiona swallows hard as she glances anxiously between the two of us.
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I won’t screw this up. I won’t. Just…tell me what to do.”
Kieran scoffs. “Do you honestly believe that you could be useful to us?”
I brush Ronan’s hand from my shoulder. “That’s exactly what she is. Because we’re going to use her as bait.”
Fiona’s head snaps in my direction, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“What?” she breathes.
I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.
It’s risky, maybe a little insane, but this plan could be the answer we’ve all been looking for.
My mind races ahead, weighing the risk of each potential outcome.
“Lorcan thinks Fiona is still loyal. He thinks she’s feeding him information. So, why not use that?” I pace a little, the plan forming quicker than my mouth can keep up with. “We let him believe he still has an ally, and we use her to draw him out.”
I pause mid-step and look at Kieran.
His eyes are wide. “Are you insane? You want to put her in front of him?”
“Yes. Because it’s the only way to control this without destroying everything we’re trying to protect. Fiona is already involved with Lorcan, which means she can be the key to taking him down.”
