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Uncle Joseph doesn’t look happy, but he jogs off to start handing out orders. I storm back to the truck and get behind the wheel, but I don’t drive off yet. Niall climbs in next to me, and we brood together in silence.
“That was a shitshow,” he says finally. “If Julien’s men hadn’t gotten killed—” He stops midsentence, staring out the window at something.
“Yeah, I get it, you don’t trust Julien, but you’re right. It’s his guys that died. I don’t think he had anything to do with what happened.”
“Ronan.”
“He was just as surprised as we were. You saw him in there.” I squint at the warehouse, not looking over.
“Ronan.” It’s the fear in his tone that finally makes me turn.
There’s a gun aimed at his face, the barrel against the glass. I focus on the man holding the weapon, and Seamus’s grim stare finds mine.
We don’t move. Niall’s frozen in place. Seamus’s jaw ticks and the gun dips up and down like he’s not sure what to do. Uncertainty and discomfort play across Seamus’s face, and I think of that fight we got in, that boxing match and the conversation after. I think of all the years I’ve known him, and even though he fell in with the wrong crowd, I can’t bring myself to hate him.
This is what’s wrong with a family fighting itself.
Finally, Seamus takes a step back. The gun barrel moves away from the window. He’s still looking at me, but there’s sorrow in his eyes now. I can’t move, and I’m pretty sure Niall’s not even breathing. Seamus keeps backing away, gun not wavering, until he reaches the overgrown field. Then he turns and runs into the overgrowth, disappearing into the bushes.
“Fuck,” I say, letting out a long breath.
“Fuck,” Niall agrees and groans, head tilted back. “I thought we were dead.”
“He couldn’t do it.” I speak very softly. I should be terrified, but I’m not. A strange glow builds in my chest and spreads throughout my body.
It’s pride.
I’m fuckingproudof Seamus.
He did something hard. He got the drop on us and could’ve ended everything right here and now. All he had to do was pull the trigger, and we’d be dead.
Instead, he didn’t do it. I don’t know what he was thinking or why he decided to back down, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to murder two of his own cousins.
Seamus and I might not agree on everything. Hell, we might sometimes get into shit.
But Seamus didn’t pull the trigger, and that shit matters.
Our family can come back from this. It can come back because a part of them must understand what they’re trying to sacrifice for one man’s ambition. Even if they don’t realize that’s what they’re doing, they still have to know on some level.
I start the engine. Niall laughs, a wild and harsh sound.
“Spread the word,” I tell him. “Seamus is off limits.”
“Ronan—”
“Don’t make me say it again.” I pull out of the overgrown lot. “He didn’t do it. Seamus is still on our side, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”
Niall shakes his head, but he doesn’t argue as he sends my orders out.
Chapter 45
Valentina
My old apartment looks sad, lonely, and tiny after having lived with Ronan for a while now.
I fill boxes with my personal items. Old pictures, notebooks, clothes I left behind, hair products and makeup. Anything I don’t really need gets left behind. Ronan said he’d keep paying rent for a while on this place, at least until we’re ready to let it go.
It’s a nice offer and I took him up on it, but I’m ready to start moving on with my life.
