Page 152 of Deceived Wrath

I don’t recognize half of them, which only adds to my unease.

Their loyalty was first to my father and then to Ronan. Kieran and I might have stepped in over the past year, but we’ve not exactly put in the effort to maintain their trust.

Interviewing the employees is mind-numbing work. By the time we hit mid-afternoon, my head is pounding from scrutinizing their answers and overanalyzing every twitch and blink in case it gives them away.

Kieran rubs at his temples. “One more group to go.”

I groan. “Is this even making a difference? I feel we’re no closer to finding the culprit than when we started.”

“It serves as a good reminder to our employees what happens if they ever cross us.”

“We should add that to the mission statement.”

“Come on, let’s get this over with.”

After a couple more hours, the sun is starting to set, and our last employee walks out the door looking like he might piss his pants. He nearly trips over the threshold in his rush to get out of the room and away from Kieran.

I arch a brow. “Did you really have to go so hard?”

He shuts the folder with unnecessary force. “Yes. Because I don’t want to go back to Ronan without an answer.”

I drag a hand down my face and look at the mountain of folders spread across the table in front of me.

“Have we considered that maybe the call with Lorcan could have been planted?”

“What do you mean?”

I gesture at the folders. “I mean… We’ve interrogated nearly a hundred people today, and all we have to show for it is a shortlist of possibilities that don’t actually fucking look like possibilities.”

“So?”

“So,maybe the call was meant to throw us off and make us waste time by chasing false leads while he moves somewhere else.”

Kieran leans back in his chair as he considers my words.

“You think he staged it.”

“I think he’s not stupid enough to let one of his inside men get caught on an unsecured line.”

“Brennan checked the trace. It was legit.”

“Legit enough,” I counter. “But Lorcan knows we monitor everything. He knows Brennan’s going to pull the metadata and follow the trail. But…what if the trail was meant to be found?”

Kieran’s jaw flexes. “You think this whole thing was bait.”

I shrug. “Maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Though the weight resting on my shoulders disagrees.

“He wants us paranoid enough to turn on each other.”

“Exactly. I think Lorcan wants us fractured and distracted.”

“Or…” Kieran’s eyes flick to mine, and I straighten.

“Or what?”

“We didn’t interview everyone, Cormac.”