Page 29 of Sweet Vengeance (Sins of the Father #2)

Cillian

My stomach is tangled up in a way it never is before we do something like this. Sure, there are always nerves. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t, but this time they’re deeper, burrowed into my bones.

“You good?” Rory asks from beside me in the back seat.

“I promised Ollie I wouldn’t kill the people who did this to him.”

“Why would he ask you not to do that?”

“Because that’s the way he is, asshole.” I nudge my friend.

“You’re doing this for him,” Dean says from the front seat. “We all are.”

Which is true, and I’m not changing my mind, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel wrong to, that it’s not another reason Ollie deserves better than me. He was scared for me tonight, worried about my safety, and I’m fucking lying to him.

Tiernan says, “Wherever your head is right now, you need to fix it. If not, you’re not going. I won’t risk you getting hurt because you’re worried about what he’s going to think.”

“Fuck you. I’m not sitting shit out and you know it.”

“Then fix your fucking head. I’m not trying to be a dick here. I’m saying it because it’s fucking important. You’re important.”

I sigh, lean forward, and squeeze his shoulder. Shit like that doesn’t come easily to Tiernan, so I appreciate it for what it is. “Love you too, fuckface.”

“Fuck you.”

“Wait. Are we like, getting emotional and shit?” Rory asks.

“No,” Dean answers, making us all laugh.

I try to do what Tiernan said and get out of my head, reminding myself why I’m doing this.

They hurt someone who’s mine, and I can’t let that stand.

This isn’t just a big night for me, it’s one for Dean too.

This is the first time Tiernan has brought him along on something like this, where we’ll go in guns blazing after multiple targets.

Tonight will be Dean’s first kill, and that will have Tiernan on edge too.

I squeeze my cousin’s shoulder again, and we make eye contact in the mirror. There’s worry in his green gaze too, and when he gives a small nod, I know he realizes I get what’s at stake for him as well.

We drive to one of our safe houses, where a black SUV is already parked in front. When Tiernan turns off the engine, the front door opens, and Conan stands there, arms crossed, leaning against the jamb.

“You’re late,” he says when we get out.

“Cillian took too long saying goodbye to his boyfriend,” Rory teases.

Conan takes a drag of his cigarette and cocks a brow at me. I just shrug because what the fuck is the purpose of denying it? Anyone who sees us knows what we are to each other.

Rory grabs the bag of guns and other weapons from the back of the car, and we head into the house. We’re taking the SUV Conan brought with him. Finan, another guy in our crew, is already there, watching the building to make sure no surprises pop up.

We’ll get in, do what we have to do, then drive back here, where Conan will get rid of the vehicle and do whatever else needs to be done.

“Finan says there are about fifteen of them there. It’s hard to know their exact numbers, but we’ve never seen more than twenty of them, so there shouldn’t be many missing.” Conan walks over to the table, where there is a blueprint of the warehouse with entries and exits marked.

“Are they there?” I ask him.

He pulls out his phone and shows me photos of three men entering the warehouse.

The temperature in the room jumps up, a muscle in my jaw ticcing, as the rest of my body goes rigid.

“That’s it? Those tweaker-looking motherfuckers are them?

” One of them has long brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, another has tattoos and piercings in his face, and the third is a blond, clean-cut-looking guy I would never expect to be involved in something like this—the fucking boy next door—but then, to some people, we look like that too.

“That’s them,” Conan confirms.

“They’re mine.”

“I want one of them,” Dean says.

“We can’t promise that,” Tiernan cuts in.

“If it happens, that’s great, but I can’t be like, I’m not gonna shoot you, so can you wait around for Cillian or Dean?

We’ll do our best, but the main goal is to get in there, take them all out, and get out without any of us getting hurt. ” His gaze goes straight to Dean.

“Fine,” I tell him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my best to take out as many of them as possible.

“Rory and Cillian, the two of you will take the back,” Conan says. “Tiernan and Dean, you’ll take this side entry, and Finan and I will go in the front. We’re going in there blind. We don’t know what they have for weapons or if there’s more people than we expect inside.”

We could be even more outnumbered, but even if that’s the case, we’re going in, taking them all out, and then all of us are going home.

Conan’s phone rings, and I see my father’s name on the screen. Rory immediately throws his arm around me in support.

“Are you excited?” Rory asks as Conan slips away to talk to my father. “Because I am, in case you were wondering. Nothing like a little murder with your best bud by your side.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dean and Tiernan walk away too.

I laugh, knowing exactly what Rory’s doing—trying not to let me think about my father and whether my father gives a shit about what is going down tonight. “Been a while since we’ve done something so intense and planned out.”

“I know. I always get so boned up afterward.”

“Jesus, Ror.”

“Like you never have. How many people have we fucked together after we commit a little chaos.”

“You’re chaos,” I tell him, but he’s right. We have. A lot. But it’s different now.

“I know,” he says, as if reading my mind. “And I’m happy for you. Our bunny is perfect for you.”

My heart thuds. I want that, want him to be. “You think? He’s not like us.”

“Yep. It would never work with someone like Dean for you, just like Tiernan could never be with someone like Ollie. You’re the most loyal man in this whole fucking organization, the most dependable, deadly and fierce, but having a soft place to fall is good for you.

It fits, and I’m glad you have it. Even if we don’t ever get that again, the thing between us, I want Ollie for you, and…

sometimes I feel like he’s kinda mine too. Does that make sense?”

To anyone else? Probably not. But it does to me. To us. “Yes. He cares about you. If he didn’t, he never would have felt comfortable letting you watch us.”

“It’s weird how this could happen…I don’t think I could handle you with anyone else that way, but I don’t want to be with you either. You’re mine, but not in the way you’re his.”

It’s exactly what I tried to explain to Ollie. I don’t know if I did a good job, but it’s all so confusing and yet the most natural thing in the world. “I know…because you’re also mine, but not in the way he is. And I don’t want to be with you either.”

“Thank fuck.” He grins.

“Come on. It’s time to go,” Conan says, entering the room again and effectively ending our conversation, but there isn’t more we need to share, nothing more we need to say. We get us, and so far, Ollie gets us, and that’s all that matters.

“Fuck yes! Let’s do this!” Rory rubs his hands together and goes straight for the guns, with me right behind him.

*

The warehouse is in the middle of nowhere, tucked away in dense trees, giving us a perfect place to hide.

When we first arrived, we sneaked through the woods and met up with Finan, before spreading out, each of us finding a spot to watch the building close to our assigned entrance, which is where Rory and I are now, loaded up with guns.

Two other people arrive, and my whole body’s shaking and jittery. What if those motherfuckers leave? That’s not their typical Thursday night routine—it’s why we chose it; they’re always here all night—but what the fuck happens if something changes?

“You need to chill out. You know it’s bad if I’m the one saying it,” Rory tells me softly.

“I can’t fucking help it. I’m ready to get this shit done.” I want them all dead, not just the ones who hurt Ollie, but them more than the rest.

“Two minutes,” comes through the comms tucked in our ears.

“Looks like you got your wish.” Rory grins at me, his gaze sparkling with excitement that is contagious in these moments. It sparks my own.

We sneak to the building, my favorite Glock on my side, but for shit like this, we bring out the big guns, my military-grade assault in hand, the brace against my shoulder as I hold it up. The door is propped open—fucking idiots—voices coming from inside.

Rory holds up his hand, five fingers tall, then lowers them one at a time. Four…three…two…one…

I go first, Rory at my back as we slip inside.

There are two guys by the back door, sharing a joint. The second the first gunshots sound from the front of the building, they look up, eyes wide, and see Rory and me.

Pop, pop. I put two shots into the one on the right before he can even reach for his gun, and he drops to the floor. Rory takes care of the other, and then we’re moving through the building, weaving around the cars and fucking boxes of shit filling the damn place.

Chaos erupts around us—shouting, screaming, gunfire, people running and hiding.

A second later, I see the first guy—long brown ponytail—peeking from around a stack of crates.

Everything else turns off as I go straight for him, not giving a shit what’s going on around me.

I’m not sure if I’m even breathing, if my heart is beating.

The only thing fueling me is the rage, the hate I feel for the man who put his hands on someone who’s mine.

When he pokes his head out again, I shoot him in the arm. He cries out, dropping his weapon and clutching his bleeding shoulder. Before he can do much of anything, I knock him in the head with the butt of my gun, and the guy falls to the ground.

“What the fuck do you want? Take whatever you want.”

I grin, filled with this wild, dangerous energy I only get in moments like this.

“Oh, I will. The problem for you is I want you dead.” I shove his gun away with my foot, then kick him in the gut.

“The man you hurt, the one outside Eastman Pharmacy? He’s mine.

” I kick him in the face, and he flies backward, blood shooting from his nose.

“It wasn’t our fault! He got into our fucking business.”

I shrug. “Yes, but as I said, he’s mine. He belongs to the O’Sheas, which means he can do whatever the fuck he wants.” I kick him again, the same way he’d done with Ollie, over and over and over again, until my vision blurs and I’m sweaty.

“Cil!” Rory’s voice breaks through, and then the shot flies beside me as he takes out another guy who was trying to creep up on me, and fuck, that was close. “End it. Now. Or I will.”

He’s right. I fucking lost myself. That’s not something I typically do. I’m able to place this shit strictly in the business category, but I can’t when it comes to Ollie.

Before I fuck up anymore, as he bleeds and begs, I put a bullet between his eyes.

“Watch your fucking back. I won’t lose you.” Rory hits me upside the head.

“I know…fuck. I’m sorry.”

I get Blondy too, and before I know it, we’re the only ones left standing. Finan took a shot to the shoulder. We’re all bloody and ragged, but we don’t suffer any losses.

I walk through the mess that is their warehouse until I find Tattoo Face, who looks just as beat up as Ponytail did, his body riddled with bullets.

“Wanted to make sure he was dead,” Dean says from beside me.

“I think you succeeded. You good?”

He grunts, not one to share his feelings with anyone except Tiernan and maybe Aislin.

“They deserved it,” I tell him.

“I know,” he replies. “For Ollie.”

I nod, a lump in my throat, knowing that what I did tonight might change everything. “For Ollie.”

“Let’s go,” Conan orders. “I called in a cleanup crew. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

I follow, needing to be home with Ollie.