21. Cian

My blood freezesas I glare at Sinclair. "You better be fucking joking."

"No joke," Sinclair says, expression grim. "Sorcha is your father's daughter by another woman. We've only just confirmed it."

"Explain."

Sinclair shifts uncomfortably in his seat, but he doesn't look away. "Sorcha was kept hidden for her own safety. Your father had an affair nineteen years ago. When she was born, he did everything in his power to keep her existence a secret."

I grit my teeth. "And why wasn't I told?"

"Because she was being protected," Sinclair says, his tone almost pleading for understanding. "Oisin didn't want to risk her life by exposing her to this world, and her mother… she insisted."

"My father is dead," I say coldly, completely ignoring the bit about this other woman. My mother might be dead now, but she was still alive nineteen years ago. What the fuck?

"We were trying to keep it under wraps. Her mother's family is part of the life as well. A small time group with no big aspirations. Mostly low-life crims, but tough enough to have a target on them. We think the Reapers want to take over their turf?—"

"I don't give a flying shit about them and their turf!" I roar, standing up, making Victoria scoot back and curl her legs under her as I storm past, infuriated by this information.

"Where is she?" Tory asks the question that I can't bring myself to ask.

"She ran," Sinclair says quietly. "We can't find her."

"And what about the Reapers? What was this strike my dad told us about? And why did they make us think they were after all of us?"

"Because they are. That part wasn't a lie. Sorcha was—they assumed—a weak link. An easy target to take out and make their point that this was only the beginning. But they didn't expect a call to arms about her safety."

"So why is there a call to arms?" I blurt out.

"Your father called in every favour owed to him to protect her."

"Fuck," I spit out. "Did they kill him?"

"We think so."

"And no one bothered to inform me?"

"It was speculation amongst the bosses?—"

"I'm a fucking boss now," I growl, going to him and hauling him to his feet by his shirt front.

"Your dad didn't want you to know. He didn't want you blaming this girl?—"

"Woman," Tory interrupts fiercely.

"Woman," Sinclair grits out, "for his mistakes."

"Jesus!" I snarl, shoving him back down. "What the fuck now?"

"The strike operation last night took out most of their hierarchy, but you know how these things work…"

"Yeah, the snake grows more fucking heads."

"Exactly. But it has given us time."

"Time for what?" Luke asks.

"To take out the rest."

"No," I say, shaking my head. "There is no ‘us' anymore. This is a rank betrayal by Oisin, by you, by all the bosses. Regardless of who she is to me, I should've been informed."

"I agree," he says wearily. "But they were adamant because of your connections to these three." He gestures vaguely to the three, riling them up and rightly so.

Victoria's eyes narrow at Sinclair's gesture. "These three are more than fucking capable of protecting ourselves," she snaps, her voice is like ice, sharp and unforgiving.

Sinclair swallows but doesn't back down. "I know. But the bosses thought it was too risky. They didn't want to compromise your stability."

"Fuck that," I say, my anger simmering. "You don't get to decide what risks I take. Not for me, not for them."

Luke sits forward, eyes hard. "We need to find Sorcha. Before the Reapers do."

"I agree," I say, glancing around at my crew. Victoria nods, her jaw set in determination.

"Where's the last place you tracked her?" Victoria asks Sinclair.

"Norwich. Four days ago. She has literally vanished."

"And we're sure the Reapers don't already have her?" G asks the question I was about to ask.

"Yeah. She was last seen in the city, off campus when the raid occurred and then she disappeared."

Victoria's gaze shoots to me, and I turn my head to stare into her eyes. The silent exchange is the exact same thought. I know it. She knows it.

That sounds too suspicious for its own damn good.

"Right, thanks then," Victoria says, standing up and fixing Sinclair with her steely glare. "You can go now."

He looks at me, and I nod. I want him out of my sight so I can think straight for a fucking second. He has pulled the rug out from under me, and I need to steady myself before I lose it completely.

When we hear the door close behind Sinclair, I slump into the chair he vacated. "So are we assuming Sorcha is part of the Red Reapers?"

"No," Victoria says, shaking her head. "She is the Red Reapers. And she isn't missing. She's here at BlackBriar. Come."

She makes her way to the stairs and takes them two at a time. The three of us follow, trusting her with whatever this is.

Entering her room, we see her brandishing a red rose. "This was left in my drawer by whoever cleaned up the mess."

"You think it was Sorcha?" I say slowly.

She waves it about. "I know it. It smells of perfume, so it was left by a woman, and it's red."

"That's a long shot," Luke murmurs.

"Maybe, but also not," I say, taking the flower from her and staring at it. "Sorcha."

"What are you thinking?" Victoria asks, eyes narrowed as I inspect the rose.

It's fresh, but there are tiny little diamantés embedded at the base of the petals inside the bud. "Sorcha. The name means bright or shining." I rotate the inside of the rose to face her, revealing its hidden message. "Shine like a diamond."

"Things just cranked up a notch," G says.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious," I murmur dryly. "But why leave this in Victoria's drawer? What's the play here?"

"She's taunting us," Victoria says, her eyes flashing. "Trying to say she's close, that she's watching."

G crosses his arms, leaning back against the door. "So, she could be anywhere. She could be anyone."

"Yep. But we don't make a move to find her. She's come to us once already. Let her come again."

"Agreed," Victoria says. "Her actions don't scream ‘fear me'. If anything, it's more protective."

"So, we have someone who came in and trashed the place looking for something or just generally out to scare you, and then we have a mysterious Gannon coming in to clean up the mess," Luke murmurs. "My brain is starting to hurt."

I snicker. "If yours is, imagine how the rest of us feel."

Luke sighs, rubbing his temples. "We need to figure out her next move and be one step ahead. We can't afford to wait around and let her dictate the rules."

"No," G says. "Cian's right. If we go hunting her, she is going off the grid. She wants us to know she's close, but she isn't ready to make her endgame move. We wait."

Luke nods slowly. "Not my strong suit."

"It's none of ours," I point out. "But this is the right move. We go about our business, try to find out who the dicksplash was who messed up the place, and then we wait."

"Can we eat first?" Victoria says. "I'm fucking starving."

"I'll cook," G says, and it lightens the mood. We all need a second to catch our breath after the constant shit that's been thrown at us in the last week.

"Off you go then," I say, shooing him away.

He chuckles and leaves the room with Luke.

Tory comes to me and takes the flower, throwing it back on the dresser before she cups my face. "How are you holding up? This is a lot."

"I'm fine," I lie, but she can see straight through it.

"Your mum was still alive then?" she ventures.

"Yeah."

"Shit. That's rough."

Grimacing, I pull away from her. "That was Oisin for you, not giving a single fuck about anyone but himself."

"You're going to have to tell Robert."

"I love you, Tory, but fuck off. No."

"You're the only one who can."

"Not now." Shaking my head, I walk away, leaving her to catch up and hope she drops it. Robert will flip his fucking lid but as much as I hate to admit it Tory's right. He needs to know. But maybe after we know more about her. I don't want him jeopardising our plan to wait her out. She came here for a reason. It's up to her to tell us in her own time what that reason is.