“Fiona,” Cormac presses again, ignoring Riley completely.
“Do I need to play the ‘my house, my rules’ card?” Riley grumbles.
Ciara scoffs. “I’m still here, or am I nothing but chopped liver to you?”
Riley shrugs with a grin. “That depends on whether you’ve had more than a few hours’ sleep. You’re no fun when you’re sleep deprived.”
“Says the woman holding a newborn.”
“Well, until you learn how to clone Elena, this is what you get.”
“Can I get you something to eat, Cormac?” Elena offers, but Cormac quickly shakes his head.
“No, thank you. Fiona and I have a meeting.”
“A meeting?” Riley asks. “Please don’t let that be code for?—”
“I’ll see you both later.”
Riley narrows her eyes as I quickly get to my feet, but Cormac and I leave before she has a chance to grill us any more.
I follow Cormac silently down the hall toward the door to Kieran’s basement office.
He punches in the code. “It’s more private in here. And remember, leave nothing out. If you do, I’ll know.”
“I have no more reason to hide anything.”
The door clicks open, and he ushers me inside the lion’s den.
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Eight
CORMAC
I’m startingto regret suggesting we hold this meeting in Kieran’s basement office, considering the walls are lined with loaded firearms that I know my brother wouldn’t hesitate to use if his temper were to get the better of him.
I lean back against the edge of the desk, watching Fiona across the room as she lays everything out before my brothers.
Her skin is pale, and there’s a faint sheen of sweat on her temple, which catches in the dim light of the overhead bulbs.
But despite her obvious fear, she doesn’t falter. She stands tall in front of my brothers, holding herself together enough to speak the truth.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Kieran hisses once she’s finished, the rage in his voice barely contained.
I sneak a look at Ronan, who leans against the far wall.
He’s deathly still as his eyes flick between me and Fiona. His presence alone acts as an invisible leash, restraining Kieran from doing anything stupid.
Not that I would ever let it get that far.
Brennan stands closer to me, his fists clenched and his jaw tight. The bruises on his face are stark, and the skin around thestitches on his head is still crusted with dried blood, a constant reminder of the nightmare we’ve all been living inside of.
As he listens to Fiona admit to lying to all of us, I watch every emotion pass over his face, from hurt to anger, to pure disbelief.
“I—I didn’t choose this, not really.” Fiona looks at me with panic in her eyes, but I don’t step in. This is her mess to deal with. “I did what I had to, for my family. I didn’t know how to get out once it started. I wanted to tell Cormac, and I… I tried?—”
“You didn’t try hard enough!” Kieran slams his fist into the wall so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if the impact cracked some of his knuckles.
