Page 123 of Ruthless Reign

I saw the murder in every one of his movements as he pulled that Son back from trying to stuff Becca into the trunk of a car. Watched him snap the guy’s neck without blinking.

Watched his dark expression break with an emotion I wasn’t even sure if I was capable of when he saw she was all right.

And then kissed her.

She didn’t stop him, but in that moment, I was beyond expecting her to. I’d already given her my permission and this was a man, no matter his past or where he came from or what he’d done, he was a man in that moment who had earned her love maybe more than I ever could.

Dad stared at Becca like she’d physically hit him, and I knew the fucking feeling.

“Fine,” Dad said finally, his attention back on Aodhán. “Kaleb said you wanted to talk so talk. I’m listening.”

“We need to make a move now.”

“Now?” Becca asked, the surprise and concern clear in the pitch of her voice.

Aodhán nodded darkly.

“After he’s just taken out several more of our men?” Ma asked.

“And with Diesel stuck in Thorn Valley?” Dad pressed.

Aodhán nodded again. “You’ve lost men. So has he. But right now, we have two things going for us. 1: he still hasn’t managed to replace everything I blew up at his storage unit.”

“How do you?—”

“I overheard one of the guys saying to conserve ammo when they attacked us. He’d never give that order unless he had to. He doesn’t do ‘frugal’ with anything. And 2: right now, as far as we know, he has no idea where we are.”

“We’re still outnumbered,” Ma argued, and though I could tell she was trying to listen, to understand, I could still see the wrath in her. The urge to tear Aodhán apart for shooting her son simmering just beneath the surface of a forced calm.

She was only holding back because he’d saved our asses more than once, now.

“More of my men will die,” Dad added.

…if not all of them, I thought to myself. Because that was what could happen. With Séamas’ numbers and no backup, even if we did have a better store of weapons and ammo, it might not be enough. They could not only defeat us—they could eradicate us.

“They will,” Aodhán agreed. “But more of them will die anyway. Would you rather wait for him to recoup what I took from him? Would you rather wait for him to continue to pick you off one by one?”

Ma shook her head. “But Diesel?—”

“You can wait for him and his men,” Aodhán snapped. “That’s still an option, but then you’ll be up against my father at his full capacity, and you don’t want to see what that looks like, trust me.”

“Even if we did want to go toe to toe with the bastard,” Zade said, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Unlike my dad, Zade seemed to be really considering this—just as hungry for Irish blood as I was right now. “We still don’t know where he’s holed up. How would we even get to him?”

“We wouldn’t have to,” Aodhán said as if it were obvious. “He’ll come to us. If there’s one thing Séamas O’Sullivan can’t say no to, it’s a chance to be in the spotlight.”

Just like I thought the first time I’d laid eyes on him.

He was a showman.

He took no pleasure in the things he did unless there was an audience.

“If you give him a time and a place—my suggestion would be here?—”

“Wait, here?” Kaleb blurted. “As in Kilborn University, here? You’re shitting me, right?”

“Would you rather take this into the streets?”

“Well, no, but?—”

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