“I know you are, buddy. You’re my little warrior.”
I pull him onto my lap, and he wraps his arms around my neck.
As I hold him, the tension from yesterday eases into something lighter, but I know it’s only temporary.
Freddy’s warning can’t be taken lightly.
Lorcan is still out there, and I can’t afford not to be ready.
We finally drag ourselves out of bed and into the kitchen. Thankfully, everyone else seems to have been up for hours, so I get to enjoy breakfast with Scout and Fiona alone.
After cooking up some eggs and toast, we settle around the table and listen to Scout chatter endlessly. Occasionally, I chime in to remind him to actually eat, which has him stuffing his mouth full of eggs while he continues to talk and sprays them all over the table.
I reach beneath the table and rest my hand on Fiona’s knee.
My bruises and cuts might be healing, but the lingering sense of panic I felt when I watched her being dragged away from me yesterday is still there, and I have a feeling it’s the same for her.
She rests her hand on top of mine, and even such a small touch has me exhaling a breath.
As Scout is taking his plate over to the sink, I push back from the table and pull out my phone.
“Everything okay?” Fiona asks, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
“I just have to make a call.”
I step outside the kitchen, leaning against the wall as I keep one eye on Scout and Fiona as I call the prison.
“This is Cormac Sullivan,” I say when it connects. “I had a scheduled visit with Freddy Walton yesterday. I need a status report on him after the riot broke out.”
“Walton…” The voice on the other end of the line hesitates, and I have a feeling I already know what they’re about to say. “Mr. Sullivan, I’m afraid Freddy was one of the casualties. He didn’t make it.”
I try not to react as I glance at Fiona.
She’s standing at the island, drying some dishes.
When she catches me looking, I offer her a forced smile that I know she can see right through.
“Understood. Thank you for the update.”
I end the call and pocket my phone, my mind already thinking two steps ahead. I can’t help but feel that something is off about this.
Freddy is clearly a smart man, which makes me think this might not be the whole story. After the stunt he pulled off yesterday, the idea that he managed to get caught up in it and killed just doesn’t sit right.
Is this just part of another trick that might help me take down Lorcan?
It would make sense. No one is going to suspect a dead guy.
But I decide to keep my suspicions to myself because the last thing I want to do is jeopardize that.
“Is everything okay?” Fiona asks when I walk back into the kitchen.
I glance over at Scout, who is busy rearranging the letter magnets on the fridge before speaking.
“That was the prison,” I say quietly. “Freddy… He got caught in the riot.”
Fiona looks panicked. “Oh my god, is he okay?”
When I don’t answer, her face falls, and I watch her fight with half a dozen emotions.
