I scoff. “You can’t be serious?”
He throws open the door and forces me inside. “Oh, I’m deadly serious. I can’t have you interfering with the rescue mission. God knows how many people you’re feeding our secrets to.”
“If this is about the maids? I told them nothing because you have done nothing but keep me in the dark!”
But Cormac isn’t listening. He slams the door shut, and the sound of the key turning in the lock has me shaking with anger.
“Cormac!” I yell, but it’s no use as his footsteps retreat down the stairs.
He’s actually locked me up. He thinks that I’m that much of a threat to his family that he doesn’t even trust me to be alone with them.
That realization hurts more than any words he could say.
I sink to the floor as I’m overcome with sobs, my body shaking as I lean against the door.
This is all my fault. How could I have been so stupid to mess up the one good thing in my life?
What’s worse is that I have no idea how to fix it.
Chapter Four
CORMAC
The waiting is unbearable.
I’ve survived more gunfights than I can count, but hiding in the shadows of Adrian Smirnov’s estate while my son is somewhere beyond my reach is something else entirely.
It feels like dying a slow death, with each second that passes draining the last of the oxygen from my lungs.
But I can’t move yet, not until I’ve heard the signal. Otherwise, I could give our position away and risk putting Scout in even more danger.
The night air is cold and damp, heavy with the smell of wet earth.
I shift my grip on my gun for the hundredth time, flexing my fingers to try and get rid of some of the nervous energy circulating through my body.
My heart is pounding so hard it hurts.
I keep seeing Scout’s face in my mind when I last tucked him into bed. At the time, he looked so grown-up, so sure of himself despite being completely unaware of how vicious the world really is.
But the reality is he isn’t grown. He’s a child who is completely reliant on me to keep him safe and protected. And I failed.
The thought tries to take root, but I push it down deep.
There will be time for me to sit in my guilt later. If I let it in now, it will destroy me.
The comm in my ear crackles, and Ronan’s voice appears.
“East perimeter, all in position.”
There’s a pause.
“West wing, secure,” Kieran adds.
Brennan doesn’t check in, but he doesn’t need to. I know where he is. I know what he’s focused on.
Scout.
Their voices ground me for a split second before the panic floods back in.
