“He did,” I agree. “And then you disowned him and cast him aside.”
They might not like the blunt truth being dropped on them like a stranger. But I didn’t cross the ocean to mince words with these people.
I continue, “You betrayed him and ran him out of his homeland. Is it any wonder he found a home somewhere else?”
Ronan is radiating raw anger now. It’s the first time I’ve chipped through his icy exterior. Apparently, I’ve touched a nerve.
If I had to guess, it was a nerve that his wife has been pulling for many years.
I glance at her, trying to read her expression. She’s looking down at her whiskey glass as though it’s the answer to curing her misery.
I’ve been there.
Fuck, I might be there right now.
“Cillian betrayed me first,” Ronan says, drawing my attention back to him. “Or did he leave that part out?”
“He left nothing out,” I reply. “He told me about what he did to a politician’s son. A man you chose above him.”
Ronan doesn’t move. Neither does his wife.
“What’s your name?” she asks slowly.
“Artem Kovalyov,” I reply.
Ronan frowns. “Kovalyov?” he says. “You’re Bratva.”
“Yes.”
“We knew Cillian was running in mafia circles in L.A.,” Ronan says. “We just didn’t realize which circles.”
“He’s been by my side for almost ten years.”
“Which is where he got shot, no?” Ronan drawls.
“You really want to trade accusations?” I demand. “Because trust me, I’ve got a few myself.”
“You realize you’re in my house now, yes?” the man rasps quietly. “You’re outnumbered and unarmed.”
I shrug. “I’m not afraid of death.”
“The only reason that’s true is because you have nothing left to lose,” he says shrewdly. “Which is also, I’m assuming, why you’re here in the first place.”
I look the man right in the eye, trying to size him up the way he’s sizing me up. But before either one of us can say a word, Cillian’s mother interrupts.
“You say you were his family.”
Ronan starts to cut her off. “Sinead—”
“I have a right to know about my son,” she snaps, her voice strong.
I’m surprised to see Ronan back down immediately.
“You prevented me from seeing my child for the last decade,” she adds. “Do not deny me this now.”
Ronan hesitates, then nods.
Sinead turns back to me.