“That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Stop acting like a caveman, Kieran. Ronan didn’t tell you because you would have been blinded by your rage and likely raced over to the safehouse and gotten yourself killed in the process.”
“Go inside, Ciara. I need to talk to Ronan.”
“No. Not when you look like you’re about to murder the father of my children.”
“Don’t tempt me.” My eyes flick to Ronan’s.
His own darken, but I don’t look away.
I want him to see just how serious I am. If he put Riley in danger, he’s going to wish he was dead by the time I’m finished with him, brother or not.
“If I ever kept something like that from you?—”
“Kieran, stop.” Riley appears at my side and tugs on my sleeve. “Ronan took care of it.”
“What if he hadn’t? What if he wasn’t there? What if?—”
“Kieran.”
It takes me a second to register that she’s standing in front of me and that her hands are on my face and her lips are on mine. But then her tongue licks along my bottom lip, and heat rushes through my body that snaps me out of my rage.
We’re okay,” she whispers.
“I could have lost you.” I lean into her touch, savoring the warmth of her skin.
“But you didn’t.”
She reaches up onto her tiptoes and kisses me.
My arms instinctively snake around her waist, pulling her flush against my body as I deepen the kiss.
“You need to rest,” I catch Ronan muttering to Ciara, and he subtly claps me on the shoulder as he passes.
But I don’t break apart from Riley until the sound of their footsteps disappears into the house, and I notice Riley’s eyes are shining with tears.
“It’s okay, little dove.” I wipe her cheeks with my thumbs. “You’re safe.”
She shakes her head as her eyes shine with something more than fear. “Kieran…There’s something I need to tell you.”
The way she says it makes my chest tighten.
This is it, the missing piece she’s been hiding from me.
But I can’t hear it now. Not with Finn dead and our alliances crumbling and Cormac nowhere to be found.
So, I kiss her, swallowing whatever words were about to leave her lips.
Her breath hitches against me as my lips linger against hers.
“Later,” I whisper. “We’ll talk. But right now, finding out what the fuck is going on takes priority.”
Riley nods, but her eyes drop to the ground, refusing to meet mine, and that twisting ache in my chest deepens.