Page 98 of Vicious Hearts

Fuck it. If he’s ready to get all smiley and forgiving with Seamus’ own daughter, I can drop my end of the bitterness.

I take his hand firmly—possible a bittoofirmly, if only just to make a point.

“The Kildare family is happy to have you back in the fold, Liam.”

He smiles. “She’s good, Cillian.”

He turns, and my gaze follows his to where Una is now sitting at the head table next to Neve, happily chatting away.

“You’re a lucky and smart man for marrying her.”

“Thanks.”

“Mr. Kildare?” One of the catering staff nervously touches my arm, pulling my attention. “We’re ready if you are.”

My brow knits. “For?”

“For the cake, sir.”

The furrow in my brow deepens. “Whatcake?”

The man smiles blankly. “The, uh, cake, sir. The wedding cake?”

“There is no cake. We’re skipping that.”

He frowns. “We have one that was delivered an hour ago…?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh! Never mind, they’re serving it now. Apologies for disturbing you, sir.”

Frowning, I look past him to where two other catering staff are carrying over a cake and setting it down in front of Una and Neve, sitting next to each other at the table.

An odd, blood-red cake. With a black cross frosted on the side of it.

I stiffen, peering more closely at it. No, not just a cross…a string of rosary beads along with the cross.

A cross dripping in blood, and riddled with…

Bullet holes.

Everything goes silent and still as it clicks in my head. I know that bloodied and shot up rosary—as a tattoo that only one man I’ve ever known had, inked on his wrist and the back of his blood-soaked hand.

And that man was Seamus fucking O’Conor.

I’m moving before I’m even aware of it, bolting across the room as Una smiles and leans curiously over the cake.

She sputters as I smash into her hard, tackling her into Neve as the three of us crash together to the ground.

…About a quarter second before the cake explodes.

The boom is deafening, throwing the room into utter chaos as smoke chokes the air and bits of crumbled cake and tabletop sprinkle down.

And then, I fucking hear it.

The voice of a ghost.

A devil. A demon.

---