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He thinks I betrayed him.

He looks to Seamus."End this."

Seamus draws his gun.

For a heartbeat, the pit is silent, only the sound of Ruairi’s ragged breathing filling the space.Then Seamus shifts and aims the gun at Eamon.

Eamon tenses, his jaw clenching as he takes in the weapon now pointed at him."What the fuck is going on?"

I lean in, putting a little more pressure on the blade, but keep my voice steady."Seamus, untie my brother."

Eamon’s head snaps toward me."He doesn’t take orders from you."

Seamus doesn’t hesitate.He moves to Ruairi, working at the restraints.Eamon’s fury is palpable, but he doesn’t move to stop me.Ruairi shakes out his hands as the last of the ropes falls away, his eyes locked on me, suspicion warring with curiosity.

Neither of them understands.Not yet.

I take a slow breath, letting the silence stretch before I finally say, "While the two of you have been busy destroying each other, I’ve been trying to protect you and the Syndicates."

Ruairi scoffs."Protecting me?By throwing me in a pit and leaving me to die?”Ruairi chokes on a cough."You’ll forgive me if I don’t feel particularly saved."

I ignore the sarcasm, my tone cutting through the room like steel."Cian has been plotting for months to take you out, Ruairi.He wants our Syndicate for himself."

A shadow of recognition crosses Ruairi’s face, but Eamon remains unmoved.

"Not exactly shocking," Eamon drawls.

“That’s only the beginning.”I level him with a look."When Cian found out I was working for you, he saw an even bigger opportunity.”

Now I have both of their attention.

Lowering the blade and stepping back, I explain, “He decided the Quigley Syndicate wasn’t enough.He’s been planning to take you out and take your Syndicate, too.”

Eamon’s entire body stills.His expression remains unreadable, but I know him well enough to realize I just hit a nerve.

Ruairi shifts in his chair."And how exactly did he think that was going to happen?"

I exhale slowly."By taking both of you out.And running the Syndicate’s with me."

Ruairi lets out a ragged, broken laugh that quickly dissolves into a cough."Cian wanted you to rule with him?Now that’s rich."

I cut my gaze to Ruairi."It’s the truth.And despite having confidence in my ability, I could never let that happen.”

Eamon watches me carefully now, his earlier anger shifting into something else."So you set him up."His voice is quieter this time.

"Cian’s at the watchtower.He believes I’m going to end this tonight—kill you both and leave the Syndicates wide open for us."

I let the weight of my words settle, watching as realization dawns on them both.They wanted to believe I was playing their game.

But this was always mine.

Stepping between them, my voice is calm and controlled."This is how everything is going to go."

Cian

The silence is deafeningas I sit with my back pressed against the cold stone of the watchtower, my fingers twitching at my sides.Waiting.Watching.My nerves are razor-sharp, my pulse steady but quick.

Beside me, Ronan shifts, exhaling sharply."It's taking too long."