Page 79

She stiffens.

“He was caught skulking around my docks,” I continue, keeping my eyes locked on the man in front of us whose time left on earth is quickly growing short.“We found the explosives in his bag.Tucked beneath crates, rigged to go off the moment my shipment arrived.”

“Not just spying,” I add.“He wasn’t here to gather intel.He was here to make a statement.To send a message from Ruairi.So now we’ll send one back.Do you know how we’ll do that, Aoife?”I ask, turning toward her.

Her throat works as she swallows.Her answer is quiet.“He needs to die.”

My gaze darkens with approval.“Good girl.”

I reach out, fingers brushing a loose strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear.She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move away.

Then, I unholster my gun.

I don’t miss the slight tension in her shoulders, the almost imperceptible shift of her weight.

I hold the weapon out to her.“You’re going to pull the trigger.”

She stills.The air around us grows impossibly heavy as if the castle itself is watching, waiting.

This is it.

The defining moment where she either backs down, proving Ruairi right, or she takes the next step, knowing there’s no coming back from it.

I wait, hoping she sees the steep cost.

Hoping she decides it’s too much to pay.

But then, her fingers close around the grip.

She raises the gun, clicks the safety off, and pulls the trigger.

The gunshot shatters the silence, echoing through the chamber.The man jerks once, then slumps forward, lifeless.

I don’t look at him.

I look at her.

Waiting for the breakdown.The guilt.The regret.

But she doesn’t fall apart.

She doesn’t even waver.

She lowers the gun and turns to me, her expression unreadable as she hands it back.Like it’s something she’s done a hundred times before.

A Íosa Críost.

After holstering my gun, I take Aoife’s hand and guide her out of the room.My men’s eyes follow as we pass, their usual indifference replaced by unspoken respect for the woman at my side.

I knew she was strong.I knew she was relentless.

But this?

She’s a goddess.And Ruairi is a fucking fool.

As we step outside into the night air, the significance of what just happened settles in my chest.

I’d be honored to run my Syndicate with her by my side.But her heart is set on Belfast.On the Syndicate that boasts her family’s name.