Page 59 of Yours

“Why would I know about it?” I said finally, my tone even.

She narrowed her eyes, clearly not convinced. “Because that’s what you do, isn’t it?”

I leaned back in my chair, studying her, my face giving nothing away. “Lorenzo Benedetti’s house blew up and now he’s dead. That’s big news. I’m as surprised as you are.”

Kiera crossed her arms, her suspicion unrelenting. “You don’t look surprised. You obviously did this,” she said, her voice low, but not shaky. If anything, she sounded certain, and the look she leveled at me dug under my skin in a way I wasn’t prepared for. “Can you please just tell me the truth?”

I kept my face blank even as something dark twisted inside me. My chest tightened, the words hitting harder than they should have. The truth was I’d been accused of worse things—but hearing it from her, from Kiera, was something else entirely.

“You think I’m stupid enough to take a shot at Lorenzo Benedetti in broad daylight?” I asked, my voice tinged with anger. “That I’d pull something this reckless and leave you—or my men—wide open to retaliation?”

She flinched slightly, but didn’t back down. “Don’t try to twist this. You’re capable of it, and you know it.”

I pushed forward, planting my hands flat on the table as I stared her down. “Capable doesn’t mean careless, Kiera. You think I’m going to start a war like this? Without a plan? Without covering my goddamn tracks?”

“Then tell me I’m wrong!” she shot back, her voice rising now. “If I’m going to be in your life, asyour woman—” she paused, as if the words themselves tasted strange, then pressed on—“then you don’t get to treat me like I’m naïve. Like I can’t handle the truth.”

My cock stirred at the fire in her eyes, and I hated that part of me—hated how easily she could undo me with nothing more than just a look. My chest tightened with the urge to pull her into my arms and kiss the fight right out of her—and, at the same time, made me want to put a fist through the nearest wall.

I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

“I can see where you’d think I did this,” I said, my voice dangerously low. “But it also bothers me that you think I’m that fucking stupid.”

Kiera blinked, taken aback by the venom in my tone, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“I’ve got to go deal with this situation,” I said, grabbing my phone off the table. I didn’t look at her as I turned toward the door, my movements clipped and furious. “Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone. Don’t even breathe unless you know it’s safe.”

“Ronan—”

I ignored her, already striding toward the elevator.

She thought I’d killed Lorenzo—believed I’d pulled the trigger on something this dangerous and left her to face the fallout. That stung more than I cared to admit.

But worse than that?

A small, twisted part of me liked that she thought I was capable of it. That she looked at me and saw the kind of man who could bring a powerhouse like Lorenzo Benedetti to his knees.

The elevator doors slid shut behind me, and for the first time in years, I didn’t feel in control of a damn thing.

CHAPTER 21

Ronan

I didn’t waste any time. I called together every last man in my organization.

The back room at O’Malley’s was packed with them all. I stood at the head of the table, palms flat against the polished wood, my eyes cutting across the room. They were waiting for me to speak, waiting for answers I didn’t have yet.

“What the fuck happened?” My voice was low, deadly calm, the kind that made grown men straighten in their chairs. “I’ve been up half the goddamn morning watching Lorenzo Benedetti’s house burn on live TV. Did I somehow give anyone the impression this was what I wanted?”

No one dared answer at first, though Seamus, standing to my left, cleared his throat. “No, boss. Nobody here’s that stupid.”

“Then explain it to me,” I snapped, my patience running razor thin. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like someone just took a shot at Lorenzo, and now the entire Benedetti familyis going to be looking our way. Like we’re the ones who set off the bomb.”

Finn, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, spoke up. “It smells like a setup.”

“Go on,” I said, tilting my head in his direction.

“It’s too obvious. If you’d done this—and we all know you didn’t—you wouldn’t have left breadcrumbs leading back to yourself. That’s not your style.” Finn shrugged, his expression tight. “But the Benedettis aren’t going to see it that way. Someone wanted to light the match and make sure the fire burns us next.”

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