Page 191 of Deceived Wrath

“You never had feelings for me. This was all part of the job.”

“No! You know that’s not true.”

He takes a step toward me, and I instinctively step back when I see the fury in his eyes.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” He looks at me with such disgust.

“I didn’t have a choice?—”

“Don’t act like a martyr. You had a choice, Fiona. You chose to sell me out in order to save your own ass because you thought I was just some rich asshole who deserved whatever Lorcan had coming to him,” venom laces his every word.

“I thought that at first…”

Cormac’s lips curl in disgust.

“But only because of what Lorcan told me. He warned me about what kind of men you and your brothers are. He said that you destroyed people. That anyone who got close to you was already dead, they just didn’t know it yet.”

Cormac’s jaw flexes as he glares at me. “And you believed him.”

“I did. Because believing him meant I didn’t have to feel guilty when Lorcan came knocking.”

Cormac takes a step closer, but this time I don’t back away.

“So, it took you lying to my face, sleeping in my bed, tucking my son in at night…That’swhat it took for you to realize we weren’t the monsters you were warned about?”

“I know now. I know it was wrong.”

He scoffs. “Only after weeks of deception.”

I nod as the tears pour down my cheeks. “I thought I could keep it separate. I thought I could give Lorcan what he wanted without it touching you or Scout. I told myself it was just information?—”

Cormac huffs a laugh under his breath. “That’s how it always starts.”

“But then I got to know you and Scout, and I… I fell in love with you.” I sob before I can stop myself. “I didn’t mean to, but I did. And I’m not sorry that this mess brought you and Scout into my life.”

Cormac’s eyes are wild now, the fury seeping through the cracks in his control. “Do you really expect me to believe that after everything you’ve done, your feelings for me are real? That now your loyalty has changed, and you’ve decided my family is worth protecting?”

I shake my head. “I was wrong. About all of it. You and your brothers aren’t the monsters here, Lorcan is.”

“You don’t get credit for realizing the truth after the damage is done.” He clamps a hand around my arm, hard enough to make me gasp in pain.

“I should have seen you for what you were,” he growls in my face. “I never should have let my guard down. But I thought you were different. I thought you were someone worth trusting, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“Cormac,please?—”

He drags me toward the door. “I should lock you in your room, until I decide what the hell to do with you.”

Pain blooms where his fingers dig into my skin, but I don’t fight him.

“Please. Cormac, listen to me.”

“I listened. And that was my mistake.” He yanks the door open.

“I found something on the laptop.”

“Nice try, but you’re beyond redemption now.”

“I don’t care about that, but you need to listen. There’s something on that laptop that can help you take Lorcan down,” I say desperately. “Please, Cormac. Just…look.”