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“Just like I can’t ignore that Dad favored an heir,” I said. “And it wasn’t me. Was it, Kieran?”
Kieran’s gaze hardened. “Are you accusing me, Tristan?”
I simply looked at him in response. There was a long, hard silence as we stared each other down.
Liam swallowed audibly. “Guys, come on. We’re all on edge, but-”
“Shut it, kid,” Kieran snapped, never breaking eye contact with me. “Tristan has something he wants to say.”
“Alright then,” I said, leaning forward. My heart pounded in my chest, but I gave no indication of it. I had to stay calm, composed. For Adriana. For our unborn children. “Tell me, Kieran...do you know anything about this break-in?”
His eyes flashed with indignation. “You dare to accuse me?”
“Just like you two dare accuse my future wife.”
“Stop this,” Kieran’s voice was hard, but there was a hint of uneasiness. “You know damn well I would never betray my own.”
“Do I?” I shot back, the anger making my voice sound colder than intended.
“Yes, Tristan,” Kieran said, his voice softening. “Fuck Malachy. Fuck what he wanted for me. I don’t want your life. I count myself lucky I was born second.”
The emotion in Kieran’s voice was raw and exposing, leaving a silence that hung heavily in the room. Liam shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking from me to Kieran and back again.
I leaned back in my chair slowly, feeling my heartbeat against my chest, each thud as loud as a drumbeat in the strained quiet. The anger slipped away from me, leaving an icy numbness in its wake. I had crossed a line accusing my own brother out of misplaced defensiveness for Adriana.
And he was telling the truth. I knew Kieran. I knew when he was lying—right then, he wasn’t lying.
Kieran’s words echoed in my head. He didn’t want my life. And who could blame him? Who would want a life full of deceit, uncertainty, and constant danger?
I broke the silence finally. “I’m sorry,” I said, barely louder than a whisper. The words tasted bitter on my tongue. But they were necessary. My brother didn’t deserve this.
Kieran’s sharp gaze softened slightly. His lips pressed into a thin line. “Apology accepted,” he muttered, his tone gruff.
Liam let out a sigh of relief, the tension rolling off him in waves. “Okay, okay. Good.” He ran a hand through his messy hair, eyes flitting between us uncertainly. “But then who...?”
“We don’t have that answer yet,” I admitted with a heavy sigh, leaning back in my chair and staring up at the ceiling. This was going nowhere and casting suspicions on each other was only making matters worse. “Could be any of the lads.”
“So what do we do?” Liam said.
“We need more information,” Kieran said, standing up and pacing the room, his hands on his hips. “We can’t go accusing people without proof.”
“Agreed,” I replied, my gaze following him as he moved. There was a weight to our conversation now. A tension that hadn’t been there before. And it was my fault. “I think we attack the Rossis.”
“Wait. How will that help?” Liam asked, straightening up.
“We play dirty,” I said, tapping the armrest of my chair rhythmically, my mind working fast. “We send a message, show them we mean business. We plant incorrect information about the attack with every one of our men. Killian, Sean, Ray, Ronan…all our capos get different intel.”
“If the Rossis get any of that intel, we’ll know who our leak is,” Kieran finished, a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s risky, but it could work.”
Liam frowned at me, uneasy. “And what about the fallout? It’s sure to piss off the Rossis, and who knows what they’ll do in response?”
I shrugged, glancing between my brothers. “We’ve been at war with the Rossis for years. They want us dead just as much as we want them dead. This will just be another drop in an already overflowing bucket. And since they’ve decided to come after us more since the Orsinis and Callahans brokered the peace deal, then they’d be the least of our concerns.”
“But, Tristan—“ Liam began, only to be cut off by Kieran.
“No, he’s right,” he said, nodding slowly, his gaze distant. “It’s a risk, yes. But it’s a calculated one. We’re running out of options here.”
Liam continued fidgeting with the end of his sleeve. “Alright,” he finally conceded, albeit reluctantly. “So we’re really going to do this?”
