“The police, technically,” I explain. “But it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.”
“Murtagh’s behind it all, then?”
I nod. “Who else?”
I lean forward, place my elbows on the desk, and look the lawyer in the eye. “I need to get my parents back, Darragh. And then I need to make these motherfuckers pay for what they did.”
Silence. Thick and tense. The room is rippling with violence. With my anger. With my confusion.
This isn’t why I came home. But what choice do I have?
This is what needs to be done.
“Of course,” Darragh murmurs. He strokes the old black leather briefcase in his lap like it brings him comfort.
“That’s why you’re here.”
“I understand, Cillian.” Again, his voice is reverent. Respectful.
I feel strange hearing my name in that tone. But I don’t say anything.
“Do we know where they’re being held?”
I shake my head and sigh. “I’ve already made some inquiries, but they’ve led me straight to dead ends. No one I’ve spoken to has any information. Or at least, none they’re willing to give me. So we have to start at the beginning. Go to the cops and ask politely, I guess.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Darragh says immediately. He grabs his briefcase, but he pauses when I rise to my feet along with him. “You’re coming with me?”
“Of course.”
“Cillian… you’re still a person of interest in this country. Maybe not officially but—”
“They took my parents, Darragh,” I remind him coldly. “And they broke my brother’s leg. I’m coming.”
“There’s a difference between being brave and stupid.”
I smile. “I happen to think you can be both.”
That earns me a soft chuckle, but Darragh still looks concerned. “If they decide to arrest you—”
“I don’t plan on being taken.”
“What makes you think you’ll have a choice?”
“There’s always a choice, Darragh.”
He gives me a searching look, as though he’s trying to figure out what’s different about me. “You were always a confident lad,” the lawyer observes. “But now…”
“I’ve grown up,” I say simply. “I’m not eighteen anymore.”
“You’ve been busy this last decade,” he guesses.
I laugh. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
* * *
We head out of the compound. By this point, everyone has been informed of the authority shift. Kian has spoken to the men himself.
It’s still a bit strange to have the reins handed to you by your younger brother, but I’m not an asshole. I know how it works.