Page 61 of It Will Always Be You
Chapter 55
From the moment someone first uttered the word “rat,” I knew this would turn into a mess. But I never expectedthis.
One of the inner circle’s wives?
It’s unthinkable. Unimaginable. The kind of twisted scenario no one dares to consider because it would mean rethinking everything.
But now, with what Helen’s uncovered—what shefeltin her gut before she ever had proof—I can’t ignore it anymore. The more I dig, the more I realize how little we actually know about Jen. Her past. Her family. Her loyalties.
Maybe we never should’ve assumed her innocence came so easily.
Fuck. This is about to become an absolute disaster.
Calling an inner circle meeting without Ciaran feels like sacrilege, and the tension in the room reflects it. Jack and Declan exchange a wordless glance as they sit, while Brennan stays standing, posted up against the wall like a ticking time bomb. His arms crossed, his jaw flexing. Even behind the lenses of his glasses, I can see the storm building in his eyes.
The twins might be fire and ice, but splitting them like this isn’t just risky—it’sunnatural. But bringing Ciaran in now, before we have anything solid, would be like lighting a fuse with no exit strategy.
“What’s going on? Where’s Ciaran?” Jack asks, voice wary.
“He’s not coming. Johnny here won’t let him,” Brennan snaps, cracking his knuckles like he’s already prepping for a fight.
“Christ,” I mutter. “I’m trying toprotecthim, for fuck’s sake. Since when is that a crime?”
I sweep the room with a glare. They don’t get it. They can’t.
“It’s the rat, isn’t it?” Declan says quietly, already piecing things together.
I nod once. “I have reason to believe… it might be Jen.”
“Says fucking who?” Brennan explodes, launching out of his corner. He looks one second away from tearing someone apart.
“Helen,” Seamus says, his voice steady beside me.
“What thefuck?” Jack’s eyes darken. “And what proof does she have?”
“It’s her story to tell,” I growl, steel in my voice. “But I believe her. That’s enough. And let me be crystal clear—if anyone thinks about pressing her for answers, you’ll deal withmefirst. Got it?”
That shuts them up.
For a beat, the room holds its breath.
“We needproofbefore we do anything drastic,” Brennan mutters. His voice is lower now, but he’s shaking. “Ciaran… he’s not gonna survive this if it’s true.”
After Una, we all watched him unravel. Seeing him find stability again with Jen gave us hope. If this blows up? He won’t come back from it.
“Agreed,” I say. “Bren—bug her house. Every device. Her phone, Lily’s phone. Plant audio in the cars. I want everything.”
He nods, but I can see it in his face—he already knows where this is heading.
A part of me hoped Brennan would come up empty. That Jen was just misunderstood. That we were chasing shadows. But when is anything ever that simple?
With a frustrated sigh, I kiss Helen’s forehead before leaving her curled in my bed, safe and warm. A rare moment of peace—one I don’t deserve, not when this kind of storm is brewing.
The city is barely waking as I drive, the sunrise doing nothing to warm the cold knot in my gut. I pull into the Pit and make my way through the biometric security. This place has always felt like a bunker—part prison, part sanctuary. A home for our darkest work.
Liam’s already waiting.
“He expecting me?”
