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“It was in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to bother you this time,” I said, evading his stare. “I wanted to handle it myself, I guess.”
“Aye, that’s all well and good,” Kieran replied. He knew more than he was letting on, of course, and I wondered how much of this was to onboard Liam. It made sense. Kieran didn’t want Liam to feel like we were leaving him out of things after Dad had died, but it was still our responsibility to protect him. “but if there’s a rat in our ranks, we’ve all got a stake in it. This is our life you’re talkin’ about.”
“I know,” I said, frustration creeping into my voice. “That’s why I called you here now.”
Liam put the controller down on his lap, opting instead to play with the sleeve of his dark blue cardigan. “I don’t know if you’re going to like this, Tristan,” he said. “But, uh, what if it isn’t one of our boys?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, irritation seeping into my voice.
Liam shrugged, his gaze fixed on the controller. “I mean, what if it’s not one of the men? What if it’s...someone else?”
“Like who?” Kieran questioned, his eyes narrowing at our youngest sibling.
“Like Adriana.”
The silence following Liam’s statement was deafening. A chill spread through my veins at his suggestion. Adriana? Impossible. She wouldn’t betray me.
She wouldn’t dream of betraying me.
She had looked just as scared as I was when the house had been broken into.
“I mean, think about it,” Liam continued, practically stumbling over his words. “She didn’t want to marry you in the first place, now she’s stuck in this fucking—no offense—super creepy house where her dad’s biggest enemy used to live all of five seconds ago before he was gunned down in front of her.”
Kieran cleared his throat. “Liam–”
Liam did not take the hint. “I’m just saying. She’s going to marry you because, well, she’s pregnant, with twins, so of course she’s going to marry you, and also the peace deal. Right?”
“Enough, Liam,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin. To even suggest that Adriana could be behind this was absurd—she had as much to lose as any of us. More than any of us, in fact, considering the children she was carrying were future Callahans too.
Liam reared back, looking surprised by my sudden outburst. Kieran sighed, rubbing his temples. “Liam. Let me handle this,” he said, sounding weary. “You can’t just shut him down because you don’t like what he’s saying.”
“I’m not,” I retorted. “I’m shutting him down because it makes no bloody sense! Adriana would never put our babies at risk.”
“You’re letting your feelings cloud your judgment,” Kieran said with a frown, looking at me. “I don’t like that any more than you do, but we can’t ignore any possibilities.”
“I’m not being clouded by anything,” I shot back, gripping the arms of my chair. “Adriana has been nothing but loyal to us. To me.”
“Still,” Liam chimed in, looking uneasy. “She’s an Orsini.”
“Enough!” My voice echoed in the silent room. My brothers looked at me, shock evident on their faces. I seldom lost my temper like this with them. Often with others. But almost never with them.
But accusations about Adriana...it was all too much. It was getting to me.
I took a deep breath to stop myself from losing it again. “If we must consider all possibilities, then I should also consider the people in this room, right?”
They both looked taken aback at my words. Liam’s eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. “Tristan, you can’t seriously think—“
“Why not?” I cut him off, my voice cold. “If we’re throwing around accusations, why should either of you be exempt?”
Kieran looked at me, his eyes hooded. He was silent for a moment before finally speaking in a low voice. “Because we’re family.”
“And Adriana isn’t?”
“She’s an Orsini,” Kieran bit out. “Family by blood, but on the opposite side of this war.”
“She’s literally making future Callahans,” I countered.
“That doesn’t make her a Callahan herself. You can’t ignore that.”
