The sound of a neck snapping is pretty unmistakable. It doesn’t matter that I’m a doctor. I have to look away. I don’t feel bad for the guy. I planned to kill him.
But with a hot-shot that would have taken him out in seconds.
What a mess.
“Great.” Rhys looks down at the dead guy. “What am I doing with him?”
“Wrap him up and freeze him at our warehouse until I have his identity,” Trace tells his brother.
“There’s another dead guy in the park,” I admit. “If you’re cleaning up dead bodies, Rhys.” I start to back away. “I have to get home. I have an early class tomorrow.”
“I appreciate you working to keep this shit off my streets,” Trace says, in a tone that sounds anything but appreciative. A warning is coming. “But I have a whole team with Connor to take people out.”
“These are dealers. I didn’t think you targeted them.”
Trace exhales, suggesting I’m right. He’s got bigger fish to fry around here.
“You’re stopping this crusade. Tonight,” Lachlan orders.
Heat flashes under my skin, hotter than blood. “Yeah, no problem.”
“This is not a joke, Cormac.” Lachlan hovers over me and whispers, “You’re a father. Remember that before you get yourself killed.”
My heart lurches so violently it’s almost a punch. “Iknow that.”
“We’re here because we give a shit,” Trace’s hand lands on my shoulder. “Does your wife know about this?”
You can hear a pin drop.
“You’re married?” Lachlan says, sounding annoyed that I managed to keep one damn thing a secret from him.
“Yeah. And how did you know I got married, Trace?” I say quietly and shake my head as the two trackers head into the park to pick up the dead dealer. “Does Shea know?”
“No,” Trace says.
For the first time in years, I feel like I’m drowning in lies and betrayal again. It’s sickening, and I can’t believe how easily it all poured out of me.
Lachlan shakes his head. “Get in the car.”
“I can walk.”
“I’m not asking, Cormac,” Lachlan says in such a deep, menacing voice that it gives me chills.
I get into the SUV, and my brother takes a seat in the back with me. We drive for a few minutes, and then he turns to face me.
“Are you that angry with us for sending you to Dunbar?” he asks, looking straight ahead.
As the inaugural O’Rourke who was sent to that horrible place, Lachlan is the only person who understands.
“Yes and no. Yes, because I wasn’t through with my detox. That was the worst part.”
“You should have said something.” Lachlan puts his hand on my leg. “Tome.”
It was a whirlwind of a day. I woke up in a shitty Seattle motel room, one where a mercenary sent to kill Darragh was staying. I followed him. Killed him. Spent the day in a safe room. Thanksgiving of all days. Later that night, I was flown back to Vegas to answer for my crimesand then was put back on the plane to Dunbar.
“I didn’t have a chance.”
“For the record, I didn’t agree with Kieran that day when he said no one gets extra points for saving one of us,” he admits.