Page 151 of Bound By Darkness

Before he can answer, a voice slices the room clean in two.

"Did he tell me what?"

We both turn.Bridget stands in the doorway, shoulders stiff, her eyes sparking with fury barely held in check.

Ruairi stiffens."It’s nothing?—"

"It’s not nothing," I cut in, standing before I can think better of it.I move toward her, my heart hammering so loudly I can barely hear my own voice."I’m the reason Ruairi disappeared."

Bridget’s face drains of color."What are you talking about?"

"It’s complicated," I say, the words tumbling out in a rush."I don’t know if I can explain it all.But I set things in motion.I thought it was the only way to prove I was capable."

Bridget’s mouth hardens.Her voice sharpens."You think that justifies it?"She whips toward Ruairi, her fury cutting clean and deep."You were right not to trust her."

"No," he says, firm despite the rasp in his throat."I was wrong."He turns to me, his voice steady."She saved my life."

The words linger between us like smoke, impossible to clear, impossible to forget.

And then, softly but without hesitation, he adds, "And if she still wants it, I’d like her to run the Quigley Syndicate with me."

Bridget recoils like he struck her."What?"she breathes.

I blink, caught off guard by the weight of it."I’d love to," I say carefully, cautiously, "but only if it doesn’t cause problems between you two."

Bridget says nothing, her expression locked tight, unreadable.

Ruairi answers for her, quiet but unyielding."It won’t."

The knot in my chest tightens."I accept," I say, my voice steady, "but on one condition."

Bridget’s eyes narrow."You’re not really in a position to make demands."

Ruairi cuts her a look that shuts her up instantly."Let her speak."

I take a breath, every word feeling like a choice I can’t take back."The Quigley and O’Sullivan Syndicates need to start working together.You and me, Ruairi.And Eamon."

His jaw tightens, the bitterness surfacing for a moment before he forces it down."You’re really staying with him?"he asks.

"I love him," I say simply, letting the truth settle between us.

Before Ruairi can answer, another voice slices clean through the tension.

"And I love her," Eamon says from the doorway, his voice low, lethal in its calm.He steps forward, each move deliberate, placing himself at my side like he was built to belong there.

"I won’t let you take her from me," he says, his hand settling on the small of my back.His eyes stay locked on Ruairi, cold and unblinking."She’s mine no matter what you decide.And I don't make a habit of losing what’s mine."

The air between them crackles, silent and deadly.

I lay my hand gently over Eamon’s, grounding both of us, feeling the tension vibrating under his skin."Let’s give him some time," I murmur, trying to steer us back from the edge."Let him rest."

Eamon doesn’t move for a beat, his body coiled tight, still staring Ruairi down.Then, finally, he grunts a low "Fine," but the weight behind it promises anything but peace.

With his hand still firm on my back, he guides me from the room, leaving Ruairi behind, swallowed by the silence and the fractures we can’t undo.

And as the door shuts softly behind us, I know nothing between us will ever be the same.

Ruairi

---