“It won’t.”
“That’s what everyone says. Right up until it does.”
Brennan exhales through his nose. “You can’t control everything.”
“I know.”
“You don’t act like it.”
“Is there a point to this, or did you just come out here to psychoanalyze me before breakfast?”
He shrugs. “Little of both. Kieran and Ronan are running surveillance this morning, but there’s been no movement from Lorcan yet, and Adrian’s people have been unusually quiet.”
“That worries me more than noise.”
“Same… What about you?”
“The plan is in motion. Fiona made contact with Lorcan yesterday.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
My jaw tightens.
Brennan sighs. “You’ve been through a lot, Cormac. What I’m trying to say is, I’m here if you want to talk.”
“I’m tired of talking.”
Scout suddenly trips over his own feet and lands on his backside with an indignant huff.
I’m on my feet instantly, my heart in my throat. But before I can take more than two steps, he’s on his feet again, laughing at the state of his mud-covered clothes.
“I’m okay, Daddy!” he calls out to me, but I barely hear him.
I sit back down slowly, my pulse pounding in my ears. “Feels like I’m failing him every second I’m not standing between him and the world.”
Brennan gets to his feet. “For what it’s worth… You’re doing a better job than our father ever did.”
He claps me on the shoulder before disappearing back inside the house, leaving me alone to stew on my own thoughts.
Later, once most of the house has gone to bed, I pace around in the living room while Fiona sits on the edge of the couch.
She looks composed, almost indifferent, but I know better now.
I know how much she’s able to hide.
Her phone sits silent in her lap.
I’ve already tapped it and locked it down so tight Lorcan himself couldn’t slip past me, but even that wasn’t enough to ease my mind.
I made her wear a tracker, and to my surprise, she didn’t fight me on it, not even a little, which might bother me more than if she had.
“Are you sure you sent the message?” I ask for the third time.
“Yes.”
Lorcan is supposed to call any minute, and my body feels like a live wire.
Even with all the protections I’ve put in place to ensure not just Scout’s but my entire family’s safety, even just hearing his voice within the safety of these walls makes me want to hurl my guts up.
