I stop short. Fury blossoms in my chest, hot and relentless.
I’m not sure if I love my father. I’m not sure if I hate him.
But God help me—if there weren’t bars between us, I’d fucking strangle him with my bare hands right now.
And then I see it. The truth behind his eyes.
I hadn’t wanted to accept it before. But there’s no denying it now.
“You don’t want to go up against them, do you?” I ask quietly. “The Murtaghs and the Kinahans.”
Da’s expression doesn’t change, but his hands tighten into fists.
“This life is more than just about brute strength and power,” he says instead of answering my question. “You have to be smart. Murtagh is a politician with significant pull. Now that he’s aligned himself with the Kinahans, we need to watch our backs.”
“Murtagh mentioned that you were meeting with his father soon.”
“A meeting that has been postponed,” Da replies. “In light of recent events. This could cost us, Cillian.”
“He’s not dead yet,” I point out.
“He might as well be. I have a source in the hospital where the boy is being monitored. He’s in a coma. He may well stay that way forever.”
“Pity,” I drawl sarcastically under my breath.
“Either way, my hopes of a treaty with the Kinahans are basically shot to shit at this point. Murtagh’s never going to make peace with the man whose son effectively killed his.”
“He’s not going to start a full-scale war though,” I say logically. “He may be powerful, but so are you.”
“True,” Da concedes with a nod. “But it’s going to make territory disputes and dealings between borders harder now. If we cross over, there will be no clemency shown.”
“So we fight fire with fire,” I argue. “The Kinahans have gotten out of hand anyway. They need—”
“We?” Da hisses icily, cutting me off.
I hesitate.
Something bad is coming.
Something very, very bad.
“There is no ‘we’,” he finishes. “Not anymore.”
My heart starts hammering erratically in my chest. “What do you mean?”
My voice doesn’t sound like my own.
Like it’s coming from somewhere else. From someone else.
“Did you really think there would be no consequences for pissing off Brian Murtagh?” Da asks. “He’s out for blood. I had to make concessions.”
I stare at him, only slowly realizing what he’s telling me. “You… you made a deal with them?”
“Yes.”
“Da, I—”
He holds up a hand to silence me. “A smart man knows his place. A smart man knows not to fuck with men above his station.”