Page 4 of Curses and Cures

“I do. I also know that Cyn lied to us to protect your love. I know that she believes that bringing us together now will heal the rifts between the Dálaighs and the Brovs once and for all. I also know that she put herself in danger on the whim of a dead woman.”

“My mother, you mean.Youraunt,” Christy points out. “And it’s not a whim. You know that better than anyone.”

“I know that Nessa’s visions were spot-on, given the truths recounted in Cyn’s recipe book. But I also know that won’t stop the Skull Brotherhood from hurting her at any and every opportunity. She might be valuable to them, but they treat women no better than animals, and if Nessa knew that and sent Cyn into the fray anyway, then I have no respect for a dead woman, family or not.”

Christy glances away briefly as she speaks, her voice wavering and desperate. “Cyn is stronger than you think,” she says, her eyes now drilling into mine as she clings onto her conviction.

“We know how strong she is,” Carrick grinds out, leaning forward in his seat. “But Arden’s right, Soren will take every opportunity to beat her down, and the second she’s no longer useful to him, he’ll kill her… Or worse.”

“Then rest assured she’ll make sure that she remains useful to him until we annihilate them all,” a lightly accented, deep male voice says.

Jakub Brov.

My spine stiffens and I force myself to turn my head, eyeing my enemy as he walks out of the shadows with Konrad and Leon on his heels, the expensive tailoring of their suits only outdone by their air of confidence. I’d admire them for it if I didn’t fucking despise them.

Beside me Carrick takes a deep breath as if to calm himself, but his fists are clenched and his teeth are gritted tight in anger. He stares at the table for a moment, and I can feel his frustration and uncertainty oozing out of him.

“Carrick,” I warn.

But my warning only acts as a trigger for his anger and with a sudden burst of rage, he slams his fist against the table and shouts, “You motherfuckers!”

His words echo throughout the warehouse, and Grim holds her hand up. Within milliseconds a bright red spot dances across Carrick’s upper arm then face, the laser sight marking his death with one quick pull of a trigger. Lorcan reaches for him, clamping a hand on his forearm.

“Easy, brother,” he says, flicking a look at Grim.

Carrick swallows hard, his own gaze falling to the spot of red light now resting on the table right in front of him. He might be the hothead of the three of us, but he’s never shown such outright emotion like this in front of strangers. This is not how we act, and I know it’s because he blames himself for Cyn’s abduction. He beats himself up daily because he wasn’t able to fight them off.

I get it.

I know anger can be a powerful motivator, but sometimes it can overwhelm us and cloud our judgement, but if we’re going to get Cyn back then he needs to stay focused and wemustbecome united however difficult that may be.

“You can and will do this. We arenotyour enemies,” Grim reminds him. “If you want to get Cynthia back, then this is the only way.”

“Fuck, fight it out in the ring if you want,” Beast bellows, throwing his hands in the air as The Masks take their seats next to Christy, each of them giving her a reassuring touch which she returns with a gentle smile. “Go ahead and waste your time beating each other to a pulp whilst your missus fends off those ugly numbskulls by herself.”

“Or put your animosity to one side andtogethertake the Skull Brotherhood down,” Christy pleads, grasping Jakub's proffered hand and folding her fingers tightly around his.

My eyes settle on their clasped hands, and my skin prickles with decades of animosity. It’s as difficult as I thought it would be to be in the same room as a Brov, and I desperately want to launch myself across the table, bury my nails in his throat and rip it the fuck out.

I hold back, lifting my gaze to meet his instead.

“Your fear is warranted. Soren and the Skull Brotherhood are ruthless, bloodthirsty murderers,” Jakub says evenly, as if I didn’t already fucking know. “I understand how you feel.”

“You’ve no fucking idea how we feel,” Carrick snarls, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he shifts his attention from Jakub to Leon, who’s sitting opposite him.

Rumour has it that Leon’s the most dangerous of the three, and I don’t doubt that for a second, but Carrick has never lost a fight yet. There’s a fearlessness within him, a feral darkness that has never been bested. Maybe Beast’s suggestion of a fight in the ring is a good one. I’d like to watch that, but not today.

“Cynthia’s our friend and we owe her more than we could ever repay. We want what you want; she needs to be freed from their grasp.” Konrad reiterates, turning to Jakub, who nods in agreement.

“And yet you let her step onto this path, leading her straight to the Skull Brotherhood. Youusedher to get more time with Christy knowing it would end up this way,” Lorcan accuses.

“No,” Leon says, shaking his head. “We didn’t know anything about the Skull Brotherhood until you called us. You are responsible for her abduction, you and you alone.”

“You what?!” Carrick snaps, guilt and rage forming a twisted expression on his face.

“Except that isn’t entirely true, is it Christy?” I ask, focussing back on my cousin.

“You saw something?” Jakub asks her, twisting in his seat to read her expression.

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