Page 28 of Bloody Knuckles

"Three shooters, west entrance," I whisper when he releases my mouth. "Cassidy crew. They killed Murphy."

"I counted four." His massive body shields mine behind the pillar. "Two more outside. We're taking the crypt exit."

"How did you?—"

"Later." He presses a second gun into my hand. "Can you run in those stupid shoes?"

I kick off the heels. "Better barefoot."

"On my go."

When Cormac Donovan gives orders in combat, even enemies listen. We move like shadows through screaming tourists, keeping low as bullets fly. Cormac fires—three shots, three bodies dropping.

The crypt entrance is just ahead, ancient steps descending into darkness. Cormac pushes me through first, following close behind as the heavy door swings shut, muffling the chaos above.

Dim emergency lighting casts long shadows across medieval tombs. Cormac grips my arm, pulling me deeper into the labyrinth of stone, death, and history. His fury radiates in waves, muscles tense beneath his suit jacket.

"You drugged Connor," he says, voice dangerously calm. "Stole his credentials. His weapon."

"He'll live."

"Unlike Murphy." His grip tightens. "What did he tell you before they killed him?"

"Everything." I match his pace through the winding crypt. "Names. Dates. Bank accounts. The whole network Finn built inside my father's organization."

His stride falters momentarily. "And you risked your life for this information why?"

"To understand who betrayed my family." I pull my arm free. "To understand yours."

We reach a maintenance door marked "Staff Only." Cormac produces a key—of course he has a key to a crypt—and ushers me through to a service corridor.

"The Cassidys followed Murphy here," he says once the door locks behind us. "They must have been watching him since Finn's gone. You walked right into their surveillance."

"Or they followed you," I counter. "Since you clearly followed me."

His jaw tightens. "GPS tracker in the rosary beads Father Donohue gave you last week. I've known about your little arrangement with him from the beginning."

The revelation stings. "Then why allow it?"

"To see what you'd do." He guides me through another door into an underground parking garage. "To test your loyalty."

A black Range Rover waits in the nearest space, engine already running. Declan sits behind the wheel.

"The Cassidys?" Cormac asks as we slide into the backseat.

"Two down at the north entrance," Declan reports. "The rest scattered when police sirens approached. We're clear for now."

The vehicle pulls smoothly into Dublin traffic, merging into anonymity. Only then does Cormac turn his full attention to me.

"You get one chance to explain yourself," he says quietly. "Before I decide your punishment."

The threat hangs between us, but something's changed since Finn's execution. The boundaries between captor and captive blurred by what happened against that warehouse column, by what he allowed me to witness.

"Murphy confirmed what I suspected," I tell him. "The betrayal runs deeper than Finn. My brother Liam initiated the partnership three years ago—information in exchange for maintain balance between our families while positioning for his own power play."

Cormac remains still, but tension radiates from his stillness. "Elaborate."

"Liam wants control of the Gallagher empire. He's been feeding information to Finn, who fed misinformation to you. The ambushed shipments, the territorial disputes—all carefully orchestrated to escalate conflict between our families while minimizing actual damage."

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