Page 19 of Malevolent Hearts
As the roar of Liam’s engine draws closer, I don’t allow my thoughts to linger on my decision. Instead, I focus on what my protective big brother will have to say about me standing here, nearly naked, in nothing but my fiancé’s tee. Fuck knows he won’t be pleased by my walk of shame.
Wrapping my finger around the iron handle, I push the metal door open just in time to see my brother’s Mustang pull through the gateway before coming to a swift halt next to Cadden’s El Diablo.
My arms circle my waist, erecting a shield, ready for the lecture Liam is sure to deliver when he finds out I lied about my whereabouts.
As the door pushes open, I wait with bated breath. The first thing I see is the soles of black army boots meeting the cobbles, and instantly, my hackles rise. Liam doesn’t wear those boots, but I know who does. Time moves in slow motion as a body folds out of the driver-side. My mouth dries as I swallow back the sinking feeling clawing at my skin. "Why are you driving Liam’s car?” The question bursts past my lips as my hands begin to shake. “Where’s my brother?"
Ignoring my question, Rohan slams the door behind him before he stalks towards me. His inky black hair is tossed, almost as though he’s spent the drive tugging at it. But it’s the look of murder shining from his emerald-green eyes that has me wanting to crawl back inside and hide. "Get in the car, B.” There is an edge to his command that would cut glass, and it slices through my chest, sending a blade of panic down my spine.
My eyes ping-pong between Rohan and the lighthouse he’s closing in on. “What the fuck is going on?” My heart gallops wildly, needing someone, fucking anyone to explain what the hell is happening. “Where the fuck is my brother?”
Everyone knows Liam and Rohan don’t see eye-to-eye, and although they’ve been working on their differences for Saoirse’s sake, they’re a long way from being friends. So that’s why it makes me nervous as to why the hell my cousin has driven my brother’s prized possession halfway across the country. Liam barely lets me drive his baby. There is no way he’d willingly give it to Rohan. Not only that, Liam wouldn’t sit still if there was a rescue Beibhinn mission. He’d be the first one to come find me.
For the most part, Rohan and I have a good relationship, as far as cousins go, but him being here without Liam, or even Aodhán, screams something’s wrong. Panic grips my chest, and my skin erupts into goose bumps. There are only two reasons Liam wouldn’t be here, and neither of those reasons are ones I want to dive deep into.
I’ve known since I woke that something wasn’t right, but I’ve been ignoring it, not wanting to think the worst.
Stepping in front of Rohan, I cut him off. “Stop fucking ignoring me and tell me where Liam is!” The look he gives me makes my heart sink into my stomach. Blood rushes to my ears, and my pulse echoes a frantic beat. My belongings fall to the cobblestone in slow motion as my mind races with thoughts I’ve been ignoring.
Flashes of the explosion licking across the tree-line; the panic in my brother’s voice when I finally answered his call; the command he gave me to stay at home; and lastly, the lie I told him when I said I was tucked safely into bed when in reality, I was too busy screwing Cadden on the side of the road.
"Where?” I demand, reaching out and gripping his arms. “Why isn’t my brother with you?”
Shrugging me off, Rohan’s emerald eyes darken. His chest rises with an inhale. “I said”—he breathes out—“get in the fucking car, Beibhinn.”
Before I can stop him, he pushes past me and pulls a gun from the waistband of his jeans, heading straight towards the lighthouse entrance. “Your fiancé and I need to have a little chat.”
I know he told me to get in the car, but I’ve never been one to follow orders, especially from a man. So, I do the only logical thing I can think of. I go after him, hoping to get the answers I need, all while praying they are nothing like what I am imagining them to be.
I’m too busy trailing up the stairs behind Rohan to notice the dark shadow in the library doorway. It isn’t until Rohan comes to a halt, gun raised, that my eyes peer over his shoulder and lock on the darkened hues of Cadden’s dual-toned blues.
Arms folded across his chest, he holds a glass of whiskey in one hand as though he hasn’t a care in the world. I barely recognise the man before me—even though I’ve spent most of the weekend tied to his bed. He’s stoic, void of any and all emotion, including the ones that were so clearly written across his features mere minutes before when he begged me to leave.
I can count on two hands the times I’ve met this version of Cadden—the king his father moulded him to be—and every time, I’ve hated the facade crafted by the role he has to play as the future ruler of his kingdom by the sea.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Rohan King.” A smug smile tilts his lips, curling the edges to a wicked sneer of arrogance. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Cadden turns on his heel, seemingly unfazed by the barrel of the gun pointed straight at him. Tossing a glance over his shoulder, he steps towards his reading chair and lowers himself into it before bringing his liquor to his lips.
The room remains silent while Cadden throws back the remains of his drink. He places the glass on a small side table next to him then shifts his gaze back to Rohan and I. “Apologies for the mess. I wasn’t expecting company. If I had known you were popping by, I would’ve tidied up… or moved.” His eyes flick towards me, holding my gaze. Behind his shades of blue, I see the boy he’s hiding staring back at me. A complete contrast to the demeanour directed at my cousin.
Rohan steps forward, posture poised as his steady hand remains firmly gripped around the butt of his gun. My hand settles on his shoulder, tugging him back. “Stop. Please, Rohan.” A tightness stretches across my chest as my eyes ping-pong between my cousin and the man I hate to love. “Put the gun down, Rohan. Please.”
Rohan keeps his gaze trained on Cadden, staring a hole into his head. “Trust me, B. If you knew what he did, you’d be holding this gun yourself.”
“Tell me then,” I cry out. “Tell me what is going on.”
“I won’t be held responsible for breaking you, Beibhinn.”
My attention swings back to Cadden, and my plea ripples from my chest. “What the fuck is he talking about, Cadden?”
Cadden’s eyes close for a split second, before his walls rise and his mask is set in place once again. As a tear slips down my cheek, I spy the stone-faced future Munster king, and my breath hitches in my throat. “What happened?”
Pushing from his chair, Cadden crosses the room, stepping into the barrel of Rohan’s gun. His eyes lock onto Rohan’s before they finally find me. I see him trace the tears rolling down my face, and he swallows. “I was with you all weekend. I had nothing to do with it.”
Rohan’s jaw tightens. “Convenient, right? Killybegs explodes into flames, and the syndicate’s personal bomb-maker is nowhere near the crime. He even has an alibi.”
The world stops spinning as I watch the blood drain from Cadden’s face. Craning my neck, I peer over my shoulder at Rohan and narrow my eyes. “Personal bomb-maker?”
“You didn’t know, did you? Seems as though the boy genius forgot to fill his future wife in on his extra-curricular activities.”