Page 164 of Deceived Wrath

He finally looks at me then, just for a second, and what I see nearly knocks me off my feet.

Fear.

Whatever happened tonight, it terrified him.

“Are we going to be okay?” I whisper.

His voice drops lower, steadier. “Fiona. Right now, I need you to do exactly what I ask. I promise I will explain everything once we’re safe. Can you do that?”

I force myself to nod as I don’t trust my voice not to crack. Right now, Cormac needs me to keep it together for Scout, so that’s what I’ll do.

Cormac exhales shakily, like he’s been holding that breath since the second he walked in.

“Good. Don’t wake Scout yet. I’ll tell you when it’s time to go.” He heads past me, toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To handle something. Just…pack fast.”

And then he’s gone, disappearing down the hall and into his office.

I stand in my room for a long moment, my pulse in my ears louder than my thoughts. Then I swallow hard and force myself to move.

I throw open the closet and start yanking clothes off the hangers with clumsy, shaking hands. I grab anything that looks remotely necessary, shirts, jeans, some underwear, and toss them into the open suitcase before heading into the bathroom to pack my toiletries. I barely notice what I’m packing, too lost in my head to focus.

Whose blood was on Cormac’s hands and how did it get there?

My first thought is Lorcan, but that would be too easy. Besides, the fear in Cormac’s eyes doesn’t add up.

The threat his uncle poses to his family is nothing new. Whoever Cormac came face to face with tonight makes me think it is someone different, someone who has slipped through the cracks…

My chest tightens as the possibilities multiply. Every scenario I imagine leaves me wanting to vomit, and yet I can’t stop thinking through them all.

Whoever it is, they’re still out there, otherwise Cormac wouldn’t be sneaking his son out of the city in the dead of night.

Clearly, the stakes are higher than anything I can imagine, and the only thing I can do is follow his lead.

I head down the hall to Scout’s room, and the second I step inside, the panic claws even harder at my throat.

He’s still fast asleep, curled under his blankets and hugging his stuffed dinosaur. He looks so small and peaceful.

To think that there is anyone outside these walls who would ever want to hurt him makes me feel sick.

“Get it together,” I whisper to myself.

I grab Scout’s backpack and start stuffing it with clothes before crossing over to the bookshelf to get his favorite dinosaur book. I have no idea when or if we’ll come back here, and I know he would be devastated to leave it behind.

When I finally creep out of his room, Scout still hasn’t stirred. I quickly gather my things, carry our bags downstairs, and set them by the elevator.

There’s no sign of Cormac, so I wrap my arms around myself, trying to breathe normally as I wait for him.

It’s nearly two in the morning, and my eyes feel painfully heavy from tiredness. I maybe got an hour of sleep because I was too busy panicking about where Cormac was going, and that feeling has only gotten worse since he came home with blood on his hands.

I’m about to go check on him when my phone buzzes in my back pocket.

I frown.

The only person who would call me at this hour is Zoe or…