Page 114 of Ruined Wrath
I pause in the doorway as a thought sneaks into my mind.
What if that could be us?
I choke it back instantly, because even thinking it makes my chest tighten.
That future isn’t promised, but knowing what I’m about to ask Fiona to do only makes that vision burn sharper and more painful.
However, every second Lorcan lives, that future drifts further away.
I can’t believe I’m about to send the woman I love into the firing line, where a single wrong breath could get her killed.
But there’s no other play left. I’ve turned this threat over and over in my head, analyzing every angle with my brothers, chasing every possible lead.
Lorcan is like smoke. He’s completely untouchable, except through her.
“This little girl has definitely inherited the Sullivan stubbornness. She is refusing to sleep,” Fiona says when shecatches me hovering in the doorway. But when I don’t reply, she stills as her eyes lift to mine. “Cormac, what’s wrong?”
“Can Riley put Aubrey down?”
It’s less of a question and more of a subtle order.
Fiona’s brows pinch together as she studies me.
“I forced her to go take a nap.”
“Ciara, then.”
“Cormac, what’s going on?”
“I need to speak with you and my brothers, urgently.”
Fear flickers in Fiona’s eyes, but she nods without asking any more questions.
She knows what this is about. She knows it’s time to finally make our move.
“Uh… Sure, let me go find Ciara, and I’ll be right down.”
I dip my chin and step out of the room before I do something stupid like abandon the plan.
I have to pause at the top of the stairs and brace one hand on the wall as I try to breathe through the tightness in my chest.
This is the part I hate the most, the moment before the order is given when you still have the illusion of choice.
Risky doesn’t even begin to cover how badly this plan could backfire.
It feels like balancing a blade on my fingertip. One wrong move, and it’s all over.
But it’s the only hand I’ve got left to play.
I could call this off. I could tell my brothers to keep digging and chasing false leads to keep Fiona out of this, and I could pretend Lorcan won’t strike again if we just wait him out.
But waiting is how we’ll all end up dead.
I roll my shoulders and neck, trying to ease the tension, before heading downstairs.
My brothers are already waiting for me in Kieran’s office. The four of us have barely left this room over the past few days, and it shows.
Every available surface is covered in papers as we desperately try to search for Lorcan’s weak point; but from the shadows coating each of our jaws and the circles under our eyes growing darker by the second, we’re not getting any closer.
