Chapter 19 Callie walked into the pub even though all she wanted to do was throw herself into the SUV and drive to Teague's house. She picked up her pace, ignoring the stares of the men scattered around the tables despite the early hour. The bartender was a big man who didn't look particularly happy to see her. He coughed. "You've got the wrong place, ma'am." Ma'am. The irony of being addressed so politely when she was here to turn herself in wasn't lost on her. She didn't bother to attempt a smile. "I'm Callista Sheridan. I'm here to speak with James Halloran. Is there some way you could convey that to him?" He stared at her so long, it was an effort not to shift. She could hear chairs being shoved back as the men rose behind her, sharks scenting blood in the water. The bartender finally propped his meaty forearms on the faded wood. "This isn't the place for you." God, would people please stop trying to give her an out? She was teetering on the edge of fleeing as it was. She took a deep breath, smelling stale beer and other things that she didn't want to name. "Be that as it may, I need to speak to him." The bartender nodded as if she'd said more than she had. He narrowed his eyes at something over her shoulder. "You boys don't want to be crossing James, now do you?" Someone cursed. Another said, "Fuck, Tommy, we was just lookin'." "Sit your asses down before you do something that we'll both regret." He waited a long moment and motioned to a booth situated in the back corner. "Take a seat. You might have a long wait." "Thank you." She didn't look back as she made her way over and slid into the booth. There was no telling how close those men had been, or what was truly on their minds. It seemed foolish to be grateful the bartender had warned them off when she was walking willingly into her probable death, but she was grateful all the same. As it turned out, she didn't have to wait long. Ten minutes later, a man who could only be James Halloran walked in through the back door. He was almost as big as Brendan had been, but where his older brother's blond hair was shorn short, James had let his grow to his shoulders and had a short beard. But the similarity was there in the breadth of his shoulders and the blue eyes that turned her way. He wasted no time walking over and taking the seat across the table. "I already told Teague the terms. He's an idiot if he thinks a pretty face will sway me." Callie flinched. "Before we go any further, I'll need assurances. You told Teague that turning over Brendan's killer would be enough to let Carrigan O'Malley go." His blue eyes gave away nothing. "That's the deal." Not exactly the most comforting. It doesn't matter. I have a contingency plan in place. It will be okay. God, she was such a liar. But she was also stuck between a rock and a hard place. She could get up and walk out of here and back to safety, but that was guaranteed to get Carrigan killed. Turning herself in and trusting James to keep his word was a risk, but it was one she'd have to take. Teague trusts him. That has to be enough. Callie took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I did it." "It was your idea? Does he even know you're here?" God, she didn't want to say the words-what she really wanted was to go back two weeks and never set foot in Tit for Tat. But that wasn't an option and it was time to take responsibility for her actions. She cleared her throat. "I killed Brendan." The shock on his face would have been comical under any other circumstances. "You're fucking with me." "I'm not." "How-" He shook his head. "I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish here, but lying isn't going to help anyone. Do you know what my father will do to you?" He was trying to make her change her mind. Despite everything he and his family had done, apparently there was a little shred of honor left inside James Halloran. It was almost a shame that she was going to reward it with a truth that would crush them both. "I'm not lying. I went to Tit for Tat to talk to Brendan-to corner him, really, since he'd been resistant to speaking to me. He mistook me for one of the working girls and..." She hesitated, and then forced herself to continue. "He wouldn't take no for an answer. And so I shot him." Disbelief slowly turned to something else. James sat back. "You're serious." "I wish I wasn't. God, you have no idea how much I wish I wasn't. I didn't want to kill him, but I'm the one who pulled the trigger. Carrigan shouldn't suffer for my sins." The expression slowly left his face, leaving him as cold as ice. "You're going to have to come with me." "I assumed as much." She rose and turned for the front door, but he caught her arm. "No, this way." She didn't understand the change until she saw the faces of the scattered men around. They'd obviously either heard or gathered enough information to connect the dots. All wore the same look, as if they were all too happy to fall on her and rip her limb from limb. It was enough to make Callie shrink back against James, even though he was no better. What had she gotten herself into? She shoved the thought away. This wasn't a surprise. It didn't matter what happened to her, because this would put a stop to the war. She just had to remember that and hold fast. She folded her shaking hands, doing a really horrible job of convincing herself that she wouldn't break down and beg for mercy. Even the most highly trained soldiers broke under torture eventually. She was hardly on their level. James held the car door open for her, and his courtesy in the midst of their situation made her laugh softly. She ignored his sharp look and slid into the seat, also ignoring the presence of her phone in her purse. She'd turned it off when it'd become clear Teague wasn't going to stop calling. Not that Callie could blame him. If their situations were reversed.... Well, she'd move heaven and earth to keep him safe. Which was part of the reason she was in her current situation. The ride passed quickly, but not nearly quickly enough for her tastes. James's anger seemed to soak into the air between them, his agitation growing the closer they got to their destination. He took a corner too fast and slammed on the brakes hard enough to throw her forward against her seat belt. She glanced at him, and froze. All that anger was gone as if it'd never existed. There was nothing on his face or in his body language to indicate anything other than an icy control that raised the small hairs on the back of her neck. He turned those cold blue eyes on her. "Get out. Leave the purse." She scrambled to obey. Whatever had brought about this change, she didn't want him touching her again when he looked like that. Like Brendan. She followed him to the front door, her heart inching closer to her throat with each step. The house had been built sometime in the last ten years, and took up four times as much space as the others on the street. If she didn't miss her guess, they'd demolished half the block to put this in, as well as planting large trees around the perimeter. The pale blue exterior was actually quite nice, and wasn't remotely what she'd expected of the Halloran home. Her mistake. She barely got through the door when James's hand closed around her upper arm. He jerked her forward hard enough that she stumbled. If she expected him to parade her around his family or throw her to the wolves immediately, she was sorely mistaken. Instead, he dragged her upstairs and practically threw her into a room. She shoved her hair out of her face and gasped when she saw Carrigan cuffed to a bed. Callie spun to face him. "You have me. Let her go." "No." It took a full five seconds for the word to penetrate. "That was the deal. You said that was the deal-you have Brendan's killer, and you'll let her go." "I lied." James slammed the door shut, and the sound of the lock clicking into place filled the room. Callie stared at the closed door. He'd... lied. All her careful planning and he'd lied. Frustration built up, clawing its way through her stomach and throat, tearing past her lips in a scream that shook her very being. It felt so damn good that she screamed again, grabbing the closest thing to hand-a heavy lamp-and flinging it at the heavy wood. It hit with a meaty thump and fell to the floor with a clang. "Been there, done that. It won't change anything." She turned to find Carrigan watching her. The hopelessness that had been threatening since she walked into that pub got stronger, eating away at the edges of her vision. No. I am Callista Sheridan, and I will not give up without a fight. She smoothed her hair back. This is why contingency plans exist. Though with the way things were playing out right now, she wasn't willing to trust that, either. So be it. She'd just come up with a contingency plan for her contingency plan. "Then we'll just have to find another way." James walked down the stairs like a man on his way to the hangman's noose. Goddamn Callista motherfucking Sheridan. It was bad enough when he thought the woman who'd pulled the trigger that ended Brendan's life was some poor, defenseless girl pushed beyond her limit. Bringing so-called justice to someone who was just another victim would taint his soul almost beyond repair. But he could have lived with it if it meant the O'Malleys and Sheridans were no longer gunning for him and his. Now... now he was in an impossible situation. To bring justice to Brendan's killer meant taking out Sheridan's heir. He'd heard the traces of fear in her voice when she'd confessed. She was no assassin, sneaking into that club to cold-bloodedly kill his brother. Brendan had mistaken her for a dancer, and knowing the way he treated the dancers... A traitorous part of James's mind didn't blame her for defending herself. Why the fuck had she gone there in the first place? Because that was lose-lose no matter how he spun it. Either things ended the way they did-with his brother dead and her running off-or Brendan would have done irreparable harm to her and they'd be in the same fucking spot they were now. If Callista Sheridan died, it would bring all the might and righteous fury of both the O'Malleys and the Sheridans down on their heads. He'd seen the look on Teague's face when he mentioned her. The man was out of his damn mind for the woman, and he wasn't going to take this lying down, no matter how much he wanted his own people safe. And removing Sheridan's heir would also remove the last thing holding Colm Sheridan back from going out in a blaze of glory and taking them all with him. This shit was well and truly fucked. He strode into his father's office, flinching at the heat from the roaring fireplace. It didn't matter if today was particularly hot and sticky. The old man had a chill in his bones that he never quite shook. The rest of them just lived with it. His gaze landed on his little brother sitting next to his father. What the fuck was going on here? Victor raised gnarled hands. "I hear you've found the little bitch who killed your brother." James narrowed his gaze at his brother. Someone from the pub must have called Ricky. His idiot brother just smirked like he'd done something smart. It was enough to have James's fists clenching. He hated that Ricky saw the movement and paled before setting his jaw and raising his chin. He had to approach this right. There would only be one chance to keep this from going completely tits up, so he couldn't fuck this up. He straightened. "Things are more complicated than we expected." "I don't see the complication. We'll skin the little-" "It's Callista Sheridan." Victor frowned. "Sheridan's daughter?" He took a deep breath. "It was an accident." Lie. "She was meeting Brendan, and there was some confusion and the gun went off." Lie. "She's been too afraid to come forward." That, at least, he suspected was partly true. "Hmmm." Before James could relax-his father was actually considering changing his course-Ricky bolted upright. "You can't be thinking of letting that bitch go." "Sit down, and shut your fucking mouth." Ricky ignored him and turned to their father. "She shot Brendan. She killed him. That's unforgivable. Or am I the only one who cares that he's dead?" James saw the exactly moment his brother's words tipped their father over the edge and into a madness that would get them all killed. Victor pushed to his feet, his whole body seeming to rattle with his shakes. "Your brother's right." "But-" "Justice must be served, James. Unless you think your brother's killer should walk free because the little bitch has some connections?" There was only one right answer to that question. To do anything else would get him thrown into the same boat as the women upstairs. He gritted his teeth. "No. Of course not." "We do it tomorrow. The boys deserve a spectacle." Jesus Christ. "Yes, sir." He turned, but his old man's words stopped him the second his hand touched the door. "The O'Malley whore, too. Make examples of both of them." Well, fuck. This situation had just gone from bad to catastrophic. It took an hour for Teague to convince his mother to take Sloan and Keira to their house in Connecticut. An hour wasted, but he couldn't move on the Hallorans with his family vulnerable. It would be horrible to come home victorious only to find out that they'd lost two more. He refused to let another member of his family be hurt-or worse. He ducked into a side room and pulled out his phone. There was one person who could put a stop to this before any more blood was shed, but it was a long shot. Teague dialed from memory, and impatiently waited for the call to connect. "Well, well, well," Finch drawled. "I was wondering if I'd hear from you today." He sounded far too pleased with himself. It set Teague's teeth on edge. "I'm assuming you're up to date on the current clusterfuck? The Hallorans have my sister and my wife." "Wife, huh? You sure move fast." "Cut the shit, Finch." He made an effort to keep his voice low. "You can put a stop to this right now. You damn well know that they're behind the shooting that killed-" He choked on the name, but finally forced it out. "That killed Devlin. Do something." "There's no conclusive evidence and you know it." It was an effort to keep from beating his head against the wall. "They're going to kill the women." "I heard something along those lines." It couldn't be clearer that this piece of shit wasn't going to do a damn thing. Teague had betrayed his family, time and time again, telling Finch things he never could have found out on his own, and for what? To be left hanging in the wind repeatedly. That shit stopped now. "Then I'll take care of it myself." "Now, Teague, don't go and do something stupid. We have things under control." Fat fucking chance of that. They were playing him the same way they'd been playing him from the very beginning. "This thing between us is over. Find another rat." He hung up, and then threw his phone against the wall so hard the screen cracked. All he wanted to do was stomp on it and find something heavy to crush it with until it was no more than pieces. But there was still the slightest chance Callie would find a way to call him. Cursing, he scooped it up and gingerly thumbed it on. The screen lit up despite the spiderwebbed glass. Thank God for small favors. He slipped it back into his pocket and walked down the hall, where he met his remaining brothers and father in the study. Father, naturally, didn't look pleased. "Your fiancée started this war." "She wasn't my fiancée at the time, and you're as much to blame for this war as she is. She was defending herself." He refused to believe anything else. Callie would only take a life if she had no other choice. He hadn't known her long, but he knew that to the very core of his being. Of course his father didn't care about that. So he had to give the man something that he would care about. Teague kept his tone calm and even. "Beyond that, I married her last night. She's an O'Malley now, as well as being a Sheridan. The Hallorans also have Carrigan. We can't sit back and do nothing. You know what those sick bastards will do to them." Support came from the unlikeliest of places. Cillian stepped forward. "I just watched Devlin die. I'm not going to lose Carrigan, too." Even Aiden was nodding. "Father, if we let this stand, where will it end?" Seamus sank behind his desk, looking every one of his fifty-five years for the first time Teague could remember. He carefully rested his hands on the polished wood. "Then we take them back." Thank Christ. Teague took a step back. "In that case..." He opened the door and moved out of the way to allow Colm Sheridan to enter the room. Everyone froze-though his father looked half a second from going for the gun he kept in his top drawer-so Teague kept talking, "He has a stake in this, same as we do. Or was all that talk of alliances bullshit?" "By all means." His father motioned the other man to the chair across from him. "Shall we get our girls home safely?" "Yes." Colm sank into the indicated spot. Teague noticed bags under the older man's eyes that hadn't been there last time. But Sheridan was here, and they were planning like allies instead of enemies. That was better than he dared hope when he'd invited Callie's father to this meeting. Callie. God, he wanted to reach across the distance and shake her until some sense popped into that gorgeous head of hers. She'd been so determined to protect him and martyr herself, she hadn't once stopped to ask him what he thought of the whole thing. No, she'd apologized like she expected him to turn on her like a junkyard dog. She'd said she loved him. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and turned to face the window. Out of everything that had come out of her mouth during the phone call, that was the thing that burrowed into his mind and wouldn't let go. She was doing this for him-so that he wouldn't see any more people he cared about hurt. Totally missing the point that she was numbered among those people. If something happens to her... He fought down panic at the thought. The Hallorans had barely had her three hours. Even if James couldn't convince his father to spare her-and Teague was starting to doubt his former friend remained an ally-she shouldn't be hurt yet. If there was one thing Victor Halloran loved, it was a spectacle. Since it was becoming increasingly clear that he hadn't released Carrigan as promised, it was only logical to assume he was going to do something dramatic. But that shit took planning. Which meant they had a small amount of time to act. He turned back to the room to hear his father say, "Then it's settled. We'll attack at nightfall." "No." The word was out before he could think better of it. Teague crossed his arms over his chest. "They're already planning on killing both women. If we attack, what do you think is the first thing they'll do?" "If you have a better plan, now's the time to speak up." Aiden sounded like he actually hoped Teague had a better plan. "I'll go in first. 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