Page 145

I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off.

"I get that you want to help her, but I’m not risking you just to chase after something Eamon already has handled."

I clench my jaw, glaring at him.And yet, I can’t deny it.Seamus isn’t just loyal to Eamon.He’s loyal to Aoife.

It guts me to realize I didn’t see the ones closest to me for who they really were.

Ronan.Cian.

Both of them turned against me.And I didn’t see it coming.I was too fucking blinded by war.Too caught up in the fight with Aoife.Too focused on Eamon as the enemy.The weight of it settles like a stone in my gut.

The silence stretches.Each second feels like an eternity until, finally, the door opens.Eamon steps in first.His gaze sweeps the room, locking onto Seamus before landing on me.Behind him are Aoife and Bridget.

I freeze.

Bridget’s breath catches.Her eyes widen in disbelief.

"Ruairi?"Her voice trembles.“Is that really you?”

"It’s me,a ghrá," I say softly, my voice thick.

She doesn’t move.Like she’s afraid if she does, I’ll disappear.

When I open my arms, she rushes into them.Her hands grip my face, her body pressing into mine, desperate, needing to feel that I’m real.

"What happened to you?"she breathes, her hands skimming over me.

I hold her tighter, pressing my face into her hair.But I don’t tell her.Not now.

Not yet.Instead, I meet Aoife’s gaze.

Eamon’s holding her tightly against him.My sister, the fiercest thing I’ve ever known, is shaking in his arms like she might come apart if he lets go.She’s covered in blood.Brain matter.Bits of the man who thought he could control her.She’s wearing the aftermath like war paint, but this isn’t a victory.

It’s survival.

Eamon’s hands are steady around her, his hold protective, firm.He murmurs something low against her temple, but I can’t hear the words.

She doesn’t respond.She’s not crying, but she’s far from okay.And all I can think is, how the fuck did it come to this?

I was so busy waging a war that I thought I had to win.Too busy pushing Aoife away, telling her she wasn’t strong enough, worthy enough to have a place in the Syndicate.I never saw the storm my sister was becoming.

And now?Now, she’s standing in the wreckage of all of it.

Bridget pulls back, her eyes pleading."What happened?"

I stroke her hair, breathing her in, feeling her warmth against me.

"We’ll talk about it later," I say softly."The only thing that matters is that we’re together."

And that we’re all still standing.

For now.

Aoife

Seamus is pacingnear the entrance, phone pressed to his ear, his voice low and clipped."Castle grounds," he says."Use the south entrance."He pauses, listening, then adds, "I want them gone before sunrise."

I know who he’s talking to.The clean-up crew.The kind of men you don’t find in the yellow pages.