Page 16 of Broken Lies
She scoffs. “I’m not lying.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I don’t need to know you to know you’re lying. You have every reason to want us dead.”
“Maybe, but I want Sean O’Keefe dead even more.”
I pause. “Why?”
“Because my uncle and brother want to forge an alliance between our two families. Through marriage.” The words almost feel forced out of her.
“Marriage? As in you’re marrying Sean?”
“Not unless I can help it! But my brother won’t go against my uncle, so it’s up to me to fight for myself. But I can’t do it on my own.”
I glance at Ronan. "And you believe her?"
He shrugs before finishing off his drink, setting down the empty glass on the table.
"Doesn’t matter. Right now, Riley just needs a safe place for the night, and…I told her she could stay here."
I almost spit out my drink. “Are you fucking kidding me? Ever heard of these amazing places calledhotels, where you can order room service and dirty up someone else’s sheets?”
Ronan shakes his head. “I don’t want her staying at a hotel.”
“Then have her stay with you!” I get to my feet.
The temptation to flip the table is strong, but it also once belonged to my father, and I don’t need to break anymore heirlooms because I can’t control my anger.
“Ciara is exhausted because of the pregnancy, and you know her; she would be up all night playing hostess.”
“Then send her to Cormac, or hell, even Brennan!”
Ronan’s voice drops as he gets to his feet.
"She’s staying here, Kieran. That’s final."
There it is. That tone that reminds me that this is not a partnership between brothers. This is him bossing us around just because he pushed out of Mom first.
My jaw tightens.
"Right, because you’ve already made the decision. God forbid anyone else get a say."
Ronan’s eyes flash, the only indicator that I’ve touched a nerve. His body language is otherwise cool and collected, just like our father taught him to be.
"I’m trusting you to keep her safe."
"So, you don’t trust me to lead, but you trust me to play fucking babysitter?"
"That’s not what this is."
I throw my hands in the air. “Bullshit, that’sexactlywhat this is!”
This has always been the story of my life.
Ronangets to make the calls and handles the business.Ronangets to carry Dad’s legacy while the rest of us fall in line. ~
