Page 8 of Bound Lies

No doubt he’s remembering how close Ciara came to being the one to shoot him dead.

“So, you just want to assume Sean is innocent because we don’t have solid proof?” I scoff.

Ronan shakes his head. "I’m not saying Sean’s innocent. But Finn hasn’t confirmed a damn thing. He hasn’t denied it either, which tells me he’s scared."

"So, scare him more."

Brennan laughs under his breath.

"We already tried that, Kieran,” Cormac retorts. “He’s more scared of whoever he’s working for than us."

"Then we bring in Lorcan."

Ronan’s voice turns sharp. "Lorcan’s in Ireland. He left two days ago.”

What? “Why?”

“Some great-aunt is dying, and he wanted to say his goodbyes to her.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. He’ll be home in a week, so if we haven’t gotten through to Finn by then, we’ll bring in Lorcan.”

“I understand the need to be there for family, but the timing sucks.” I shake my head. “A week might be too late."

Ronan narrows his eyes at me. "Then we make the week count, instead of bitching about it."

My fists clench, but I force myself to keep quiet, to hide my annoyance.

No matter how good of a point I make, Ronan always has to be the one to make the final call, and I’m sick of it.

It’s always like this with him. The barking tone, the orders, the assumption that we all fall in line because he said so. Because he’s the oldest. Because our father put him in charge.

Never mind that I’ve bled just as much as him and fought just as hard, maybe harder.

I was the punching bag, the one expected not only to dish out the punishment but also to bear it.

Every bruise, every cut, every bullet hole, I wore them with pride because Ronan and I were a family. A team.

But as time went by, my father kept making sure I knew my place was beneath my brother.

He is the oldest, the only one who is worthy of notice.

I’ve lived every year of my life trying to prove I’m not second best, that I’m here too, that I deserve a chance at being seen. But it never mattered.

To our father, I was always the second son, nothing more than the backup. The spare to the heir.

Sure, I could fight, but I’ve never been the one trusted to lead. Ronan was the one who got that particular crown.

And though deep down I know it’s not his fault, the truth is, the fact that he stayed silent and allowed it to happen was like a betrayal. And the resentment has only grown with time.

The fact that he now acts like our leader, our boss, instead of our brother, our equal, our partner, only makes me resent him more.

Cormac looks at Ronan. "So what? We keep watching O’Keefe?"

"Exactly. Cormac, Brennan, I want you to tail him. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

"And what about me? What's my task, big brother?"