“This is no one’s fault,” she says softly, like she’s reading my mind.
I shake my head, unable to meet her eyes.
Somewhere out there, Scout is alone and terrified, calling for a father who will tear the world apart to get him back. And no matter how this ends, I know with devastating clarity that this is all my fault.
And nothing will ever be the same again.
Chapter Two
CORMAC
Hope is a dangerous thing.
I let myself believe that this was some kind of nightmare I could wake up from. That Scout was tucked away somewhere, scared but safe, waiting for me to find him. That I would scoop him up, press my forehead to his, and tell him everything is going to be ok because I will always protect him.
But the longer the silence stretches on, the heavier it becomes.
My son isn’t hiding.
He’s gone.
I’ve screamed his name until my throat is raw, until my lungs ache and the sound of it starts to splinter, breaking apart before it even leaves my mouth. I’ve searched every inch of the property, looking in every shadowed corner where a frightened five-year-old might curl up and hide.
But I’ve found nothing.
My chest tightens until it feels like something inside me is collapsing in on itself from a weight I can no longer carry. Every ruthless decision I’ve had to make, every line I’ve had to cross, has been for one reason, and that is to protect Scout. And I have failed.
I rake a hand through my hair and force myself to breathe, even as panic claws at my insides.
Losing control won’t help bring my son back to me. Maybe nothing will…
Movement catches my eye, and my gun is instantly aimed and ready.
Brennan appears out of the shadows of the trees, holding his hands up as he approaches me carefully, as if I’m no better than a cornered animal.
He looks pale, and my gaze instantly fixates on the dried blood caked to his forehead.
He looks around. “Any sign of him?”
The wordnolodges in my throat like broken glass, so I shake my head and pocket my gun.
“You better start talking.”
Brennan doesn’t flinch at my tone. “They came out of nowhere.”
“Who’s they?”
“No clue. But they were fucking streamlined, that’s for sure.”
“They took out the guards so damn fast our men never stood a chance. I tried to get Scout out of the way, but there were too many of them.”
I see it then, the guilt in his eyes.
I step forward and place a hand on his shoulder, gripping it hard.
“This isn’t on you. You did everything you could. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I should have been watching him myself.” And I mean it.
I should never have let myself believe that I could afford to split my focus like I did, and if Fiona hadn’t come into my life, if she hadn’t been sneaking around and poking her nose in places where it didn’t belong, I would have been at Scout’s side, watching him.Protectinghim.
