Page 104 of Ruined Wrath
You’ve played a vital role in helping me bring Cormac and his brothers down. Therefore, your efforts will be rewarded.
And just like that, the bright future I was starting to imagine shatters into a million pieces.
Chapter Twenty-Four
CORMAC
Lorcan’s messagesits in the back of my mind like a splinter under my skin, invisible to anyone else, and yet impossible to ignore.
The whole drive home, I can practically hear his smug voice in my head, so sure he’s already won.
Fiona sits beside me, her phone still in her hand, staring blankly at the screen long after it goes dark. Her face is pale, and she looks shaken.
This is exactly what he wants. He wants to turn us against each other again, but I refuse to let that happen.
I reach across the console and take her hand.
She startles slightly, as if she had momentarily forgotten where she was. When she looks at me, her eyes are full of worry and guilt, but I give her hand a firm squeeze.
I make sure to keep my voice steady. “Everything’s going to be ok.”
I meant what I said when I told her I was choosing to trust her, and trust doesn’t mean shit if it only exists when things are easy.
Fiona’s hand is still in mine when we pull into the driveway, but the warmth of it can’t touch the cold settling in my gut.
I cut the engine. “I need to check in with my brothers.” I brush my thumb across her knuckles once before letting go of her hand. “Go inside and stay with Riley and Ciara.”
I head straight for Kieran’s office.
The bunker door slams shut behind me, sealing out the rest of the house. In this room is where we stop being brothers and start being the machine that will take down Lorcan.
Ronan stands at the table, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, studying a map on the tablet in front of him. He doesn’t look up right away.
Kieran is staring up at the wall of monitors where countless CCTV footages are being played from all over the city.
Brennan is leaning back in a chair, but the second he sees my face, his posture changes. “What happened?”
Kieran doesn’t turn around. “I knew this was a bad idea. You should’ve never gotten involved with her family?—”
“It’s not that.” My tone is finally enough to get Ronan’s attention.
His gaze lifts to mine from across the room. “Talk.”
I hold Fiona’s phone. “We got a message from Lorcan.”
“Saying?”
“You’ve played a vital role in helping me bring Cormac and his brothers down. Therefore, your efforts will be rewarded.”
Ronan doesn’t react straight away. That’s always how you know it’s bad, when he goes quiet instead of angry.
Brennan swears under his breath. “That’s not a threat. That’s a fucking victory lap.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Kieran mutters under his breath.
Ronan turns to my older brother. “Kieran, I suggest you tighten the perimeter rotations and flag unusual traffic near all properties. Pull every location Lorcan’s ever touched. If he’s staging something, he’ll use familiar ground.”
Brennan cracks his neck before getting to his feet. “Do you want pressure put on his people?”
