Page 41 of Dark Succession (The O’Malleys #1)

C allie walked into the pub even though all she wanted to do was throw herself into the SUV and drive to Teague’s house.

She picked up her pace, ignoring the stares of the men scattered around the tables despite the early hour.

The bartender was a big man who didn’t look particularly happy to see her.

He coughed. “You’ve got the wrong place, ma’am. ”

Ma’am. The irony of being addressed so politely when she was here to turn herself in wasn’t lost on her. She didn’t bother to attempt a smile. “I’m Callista Sheridan. I’m here to speak with James Halloran. Is there some way you could convey that to him?”

He stared at her so long, it was an effort not to shift. She could hear chairs being shoved back as the men rose behind her, sharks scenting blood in the water. The bartender finally propped his meaty forearms on the faded wood. “This isn’t the place for you. ”

God, would people please stop trying to give her an out? She was teetering on the edge of fleeing as it was. She took a deep breath, smelling stale beer and other things that she didn’t want to name. “Be that as it may, I need to speak to him.”

The bartender nodded as if she’d said more than she had. He narrowed his eyes at something over her shoulder. “You boys don’t want to be crossing James, now do you?”

Someone cursed. Another said, “Fuck, Tommy, we was just lookin’.”

“Sit your asses down before you do something that we’ll both regret.” He waited a long moment and motioned to a booth situated in the back corner. “Take a seat. You might have a long wait.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t look back as she made her way over and slid into the booth.

There was no telling how close those men had been, or what was truly on their minds.

It seemed foolish to be grateful the bartender had warned them off when she was walking willingly into her probable death, but she was grateful all the same.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait long.

Ten minutes later, a man who could only be James Halloran walked in through the back door.

He was almost as big as Brendan had been, but where his older brother’s blond hair was shorn short, James had let his grow to his shoulders and had a short beard.

But the similarity was there in the breadth of his shoulders and the blue eyes that turned her way.

He wasted no time walking over and taking the seat across the table.

“I already told Teague the terms. He’s an idiot if he thinks a pretty face will sway me. ”

Callie flinched. “Before we go any further, I’ll need assurances. You told Teague that turning over Brendan’s killer would be enough to let Carrigan O’Malley go.”

His blue eyes gave away nothing. “That’s the deal.”

Not exactly the most comforting. It doesn’t matter.

I have a contingency plan in place. It will be okay .

God, she was such a liar. But she was also stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She could get up and walk out of here and back to safety, but that was guaranteed to get Carrigan killed.

Turning herself in and trusting James to keep his word was a risk, but it was one she’d have to take.

Teague trusts him. That has to be enough .

Callie took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I did it.”

“It was your idea? Does he even know you’re here?”

God, she didn’t want to say the words—what she really wanted was to go back two weeks and never set foot in Tit for Tat. But that wasn’t an option and it was time to take responsibility for her actions. She cleared her throat. “I killed Brendan.”

The shock on his face would have been comical under any other circumstances. “You’re fucking with me.”

“I’m not.”

“How—” He shook his head. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to accomplish here, but lying isn’t going to help anyone. Do you know what my father will do to you?”

He was trying to make her change her mind.

Despite everything he and his family had done, apparently there was a little shred of honor left inside James Halloran.

It was almost a shame that she was going to reward it with a truth that would crush them both.

“I’m not lying. I went to Tit for Tat to talk to Brendan—to corner him, really, since he’d been resistant to speaking to me.

He mistook me for one of the working girls and…

” She hesitated, and then forced herself to continue.

“He wouldn’t take no for an answer. And so I shot him. ”

Disbelief slowly turned to something else. James sat back. “You’re serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t. God, you have no idea how much I wish I wasn’t. I didn’t want to kill him, but I’m the one who pulled the trigger. Carrigan shouldn’t suffer for my sins.”

The expression slowly left his face, leaving him as cold as ice. “You’re going to have to come with me.”

“I assumed as much.”

She rose and turned for the front door, but he caught her arm. “No, this way.”

She didn’t understand the change until she saw the faces of the scattered men around.

They’d obviously either heard or gathered enough information to connect the dots.

All wore the same look, as if they were all too happy to fall on her and rip her limb from limb.

It was enough to make Callie shrink back against James, even though he was no better.

What had she gotten herself into?

She shoved the thought away. This wasn’t a surprise.

It didn’t matter what happened to her, because this would put a stop to the war.

She just had to remember that and hold fast. She folded her shaking hands, doing a really horrible job of convincing herself that she wouldn’t break down and beg for mercy.

Even the most highly trained soldiers broke under torture eventually .

She was hardly on their level.

James held the car door open for her, and his courtesy in the midst of their situation made her laugh softly.

She ignored his sharp look and slid into the seat, also ignoring the presence of her phone in her purse.

She’d turned it off when it’d become clear Teague wasn’t going to stop calling.

Not that Callie could blame him. If their situations were reversed.

… Well, she’d move heaven and earth to keep him safe.

Which was part of the reason she was in her current situation.

The ride passed quickly, but not nearly quickly enough for her tastes.

James’s anger seemed to soak into the air between them, his agitation growing the closer they got to their destination.

He took a corner too fast and slammed on the brakes hard enough to throw her forward against her seat belt. She glanced at him, and froze.

All that anger was gone as if it’d never existed. There was nothing on his face or in his body language to indicate anything other than an icy control that raised the small hairs on the back of her neck. He turned those cold blue eyes on her. “Get out. Leave the purse.”

She scrambled to obey. Whatever had brought about this change, she didn’t want him touching her again when he looked like that .

Like Brendan.

She followed him to the front door, her heart inching closer to her throat with each step.

The house had been built sometime in the last ten years, and took up four times as much space as the others on the street.

If she didn’t miss her guess, they’d demolished half the block to put this in, as well as planting large trees around the perimeter.

The pale blue exterior was actually quite nice, and wasn’t remotely what she’d expected of the Halloran home. Her mistake.

She barely got through the door when James’s hand closed around her upper arm.

He jerked her forward hard enough that she stumbled.

If she expected him to parade her around his family or throw her to the wolves immediately, she was sorely mistaken.

Instead, he dragged her upstairs and practically threw her into a room.

She shoved her hair out of her face and gasped when she saw Carrigan cuffed to a bed.

Callie spun to face him. “You have me. Let her go.”

“No.”

It took a full five seconds for the word to penetrate. “That was the deal. You said that was the deal—you have Brendan’s killer, and you’ll let her go.”

“I lied.” James slammed the door shut, and the sound of the lock clicking into place filled the room.

Callie stared at the closed door. He’d… lied.

All her careful planning and he’d lied .

Frustration built up, clawing its way through her stomach and throat, tearing past her lips in a scream that shook her very being.

It felt so damn good that she screamed again, grabbing the closest thing to hand—a heavy lamp—and flinging it at the heavy wood.

It hit with a meaty thump and fell to the floor with a clang.

“Been there, done that. It won’t change anything.”

She turned to find Carrigan watching her.

The hopelessness that had been threatening since she walked into that pub got stronger, eating away at the edges of her vision.

No. I am Callista Sheridan, and I will not give up without a fight .

She smoothed her hair back. This is why contingency plans exist. Though with the way things were playing out right now, she wasn’t willing to trust that , either.

So be it.

She’d just come up with a contingency plan for her contingency plan. “Then we’ll just have to find another way.”

James walked down the stairs like a man on his way to the hangman’s noose.

Goddamn Callista motherfucking Sheridan.

It was bad enough when he thought the woman who’d pulled the trigger that ended Brendan’s life was some poor, defenseless girl pushed beyond her limit.

Bringing so-called justice to someone who was just another victim would taint his soul almost beyond repair.

But he could have lived with it if it meant the O’Malleys and Sheridans were no longer gunning for him and his.