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19
CATHAL
The moment Luke’s voice crackles over the phone, I know judgment day is here. “Give me a name.”
“Seamus O’Reilly,” he says, shocking me, filling me with a bitter sense of betrayal.
“Any doubts?”
“None. Sent you the cleaned-up video.”
Pulling the phone from my ear, I glance at the message Luke sent and tighten my grip until my hand hurts. Seamus has been a trusted member of my gang for years–practically family. He used to run with our dad but left with me when Ciarán took over and I formed my own crew.
“Got a location?”
“He’s in the Old Dog in your sector.”
“Thanks,” I mutter and hang up.
Not waiting for Ciarán, who is taking care of Summer in the bedroom after I branded her with my name, I storm out of the penthouse, my mind racing with dark thoughts as I make my way toward the run-down pub. The cool night air does little to temper my anger, but I have no intention of calming off before I confront Seamus. This traitor needs to understand that he should’ve fucking killed me.
The pub looms ahead, not too far from Ciarán’s apartment, its drab, faded sign and weathered door a testament to its legacy as a dying breed.
Striding inside, I nod a greeting to the landlord, who knows just by looking at my face that shit is about to go down and rings the bell for last orders.
There, in the corner, playing poker with a few of my guys, is the traitor who is about to wish he’d never been born.
“Did you really think you’d get away with this, you fucking cunt?” I snarl, stalking toward him and grabbing his collar to haul him to his feet.
“Th-thal... I can explain,” he stammers, fear clear in his eyes.
“Too fucking late, you asshole. You tried to fucking kill me, Seamus! You betrayed me and you know what happens to fucking traitors.” My voice echoes through the rapidly emptying pub, and I relish the terror it instills in Seamus.
He struggles in my grip, trembling. “Please, Thal... It wasn’t like that... I didn’t... I didn’t want to hurt you!”
“Your time for redemption is long gone,” I state, my voice cold and unyielding. “You’ve made your choice, Seamus. Now it’s time to face the consequences.”
“Fuck,” Seamus mutters under his breath before looking up at me with desperation in his eyes. “Thal, it wasn’t personal. They threatened my family, man. What was I supposed to do?”
“Your loyalty was supposed to be with me, not some fucking scumbags using your family to screw with you,” I snap, my anger boiling over. “Do you think I wouldn’t have protected them? That I wouldn’t have gone to hell and back for all of you?”
“Jesus, Thal, I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry,” he says, but his words fall on deaf ears. The damage is done and there’s no turning back now.
“Sorry doesn’t fix this, Seamus,” I seethe, feeling the weight of his betrayal crash down upon me like an avalanche. It’s not just about the attempt on my life; nearly Ciarán’s as well, not to mention how close Summer was to the car bomb, it’s about the fact that someone I considered family has turned their back on me.
“Please, Thal, let me make it right. I’ll do anything. It was Mikey. He made me do it. He didn’t want the merge to go ahead,” he begs, as I drag him out of the pub to the alley running behind it that stinks of piss and garbage.
“How convenient to blame a dead man,” I drawl, shoving him to the ground.
“Thal!” Ciaran’s voice behind me echoes around the alley. “What the fuck?”
I know he’s pissed because I fucked off without a word, but this is fucking personal.
Stepping up next to me, his voice is dangerously low when he speaks. “What the fuck is this, Thal?”
“Luke found out it was this piece of shit that tried to blow me up. He sold me out.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ciarán mutters. “You fucking knob.”
