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“Are ya ready for bed or do ya still want those cookies and ice cream?”

I look up into his eyes and smile. The man baked me cookies earlier, before our movie night. I may know Oisín from the dark side of my life, but there’s no way that means Ronan is about that life.

“Yeah, I would like that.”

I give him a smile and relax my racing mind. I’m self-sabotaging. I’m falling for him and trying to find a reason to blow it all up.

Our date tonight was so romantic. Ronan has one of the best senses of humor. I’ve laughed, I’ve swooned, and my heart has melted several times throughout the night.

“Fuck,” he bites out under his breath as his phone rings.

His face becomes tight when he takes the phone out and looks at it. He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead. I try not to read into the hour the call is coming in.

He’s normal. Normal men receive business calls in the middle of the night. Stop projecting.

“I need to take this. Go get yer ice cream and cookies. I’ll run ya a bath.”

Nope, he’s not about that life. My sweet giant might run a club or two, or he might even have a strip club somewhere. However, what he isn’t is like me.

I peck him on the lips and head off for my snack. Hopefully that Oisín guy didn’t recognize me. That will be a whole other problem.

* * *

Ronan

“About ye?”I answer the call from Lochlann.

“Ya told me to call ya if anything out of the ordinary starts to come up. Two of our import shops were hit, but that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?”

“How they were hit. They started a fire in the properties next door for a distraction and then entered through the wall.”

“What?” I roar.

“Ya know who did this. It’s begun.”

“Aye, I’m on my way.”

I hang up and pinch the bridge of my nose. I release a breath and first call LaSalle and Brooklyn, then I call back home to let Jonah know to be on guard.

We know the MO well. It’s time we finish off some business. It looks like some old friends want to come out and play.

When I killed Nicky Duffey over a year ago, I should have killed his younger brother. He had nothing to do with our business at the time, but I should have erased him.

Those who oppose this alliance are going to use any loose ends from our past they can find to cripple what’s coming. Every low-level asshole who knows they’re going to be wiped out will begin to bark now.

Swan Duffey is only the first. Fucking degenerate. The audacity to rob me doing shit I taught his brother while his ass was still in diapers.

CHAPTER28

I’ll Handle It

Dean

“Lyric,there’s so much I could say about all that, but I think you already know what I’m going to tell you to do.”

My head is pounding from listening to Lyric and this bullshit. Shipments being blocked, warehouses under our protection being hit, one of my transports being robbed. It’s like someone is trying to make me look weak and incompetent.