Page 171 of Killaney Fire

"We still don't know why he'd target us," Declan says finally, breaking the quiet. "If this happened forty years ago, what's the connection to our family?"

Callum's phone rings, cutting through the tension. He glances at the screen, and his expression shifts. "It's Mom."

"Tell her to return my calls!" I say.

"Yeah, same," Declan adds.

Callum steps aside and answers, his voice low. "Mom?"

Declan, Octavian, and I start talking about possible scenarios when Declan's face stiffens up, and I follow his gaze to Callum, whose face has gone pale.

"What?" Declan yells, his voice suddenly loud.

My stomach tightens. I take a step toward him, but Octavian's hand on my shoulder stops me.

Callum's knuckles are white where he grips the phone. "Okay, don't do anything. Stay there. I'm coming to you."

He hangs up and turns to face us. His eyes are wide, his jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle ticking in his cheek.

"That was Mom," he says, his voice hollow.

"What happened?" I ask, my voice rising.

He looks at me, and I see something in his eyes I've never seen before.

"Callum, what happened?" I repeat my question.

"Dad's been killed," he says.

The words hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckle, and I stumble back a step. Octavian's arm wraps around my waist to keep me upright.

"What?" Declan's voice is a roar. He's on his feet, his chair crashing to the floor behind him. "What the fuck do you mean, killed?"

"She didn't give me details," Callum says. "She just said someone came into his hospital room in the middle of the night."

"No," I whisper. My voice cracks. "No, that's not, he was getting treatment. He was supposed to be getting better."

Callum's eyes meet mine, and I see something terrifying in them before he speaks.

"Mom said they found a black feather under his pillow."

My throat closes, grief and rage tangling until words barely come out. "Cal… what are we going to do?"

Callum drags a hand over his face, jaw muscles flexing. "What we should have done. First, I'm going to get mom and bring her home and then," he pauses and looks at Declan and me, eyes blazing. “I'm going to kill every one of these mother fuckers, one by one."