Chapter 5 Five
Kian.
The damn kiss broke the moment the first bullet ripped through the air. It wasn’t exactly the kind of fireworks needed in an engagement party.
I yanked away from Fianna, my lips still burning. I quickly scanned the garden and Callahan men were dropping dead one by one. Blood blooming against their pressed suits. The guests screamed, glasses shattered on the floor, and the air was thick with gunpowder and panic.
I hadn’t expected tonight to go smoothly without drama, but an outright ambush? The Slanes weren’t flexing, they were spitting in our faces.
My arm shot back instinctively, pushing Fianna behind me. But even without looking at her, I could feel the storm of her defiance radiating off her. Typical. Except I wasn’t in the mood to entertain her.
I tapped on my earpiece. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes, boss. Are you injured?!” A voice crackled.
“Bring the car to the entrance and wait for me.”
I grabbed Fianna’s wrist and hauled her toward a table for cover. Out of the concern of my eye, I caught Ronan shoving their old man toward safety. Good. At least, someone in this family had sense.
“You stay here,” I told her, forcing her down behind the table. Thank goodness her dress wasn’t long. My tone was final, but she still glared at me like a rabid cat.
“Don’t tell me what to do, asshole. I need to go help my grand—”
I hissed. “Your brother’s already doing that. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Another bullet whistled past my temple. Shit. Too close. My hand was already pulling my Glock free before the thought even formed. Two shots, clean to the chest of the bastard in front of me. He crumpled like a sack of dirt.
Fianna gasped, not in fear because she didn’t scare easily. But she looked like she wanted to jump right in the fight. Reckless as hell.
The Slane men were not backing down. They kept pouring in like roaches. The guests already scrambled into the house, shrieking. Ronan fell into a step beside me, and with no words, we raised our guns.
We fired in unison, covering each other’s blind spots, but they kept coming in numbers.
“Fucking Christ!” I muttered under my breath, pulling the pin on a grenade from my jacket. I threw it over the lawn, and the ground shook with the impact of the blast. Bodies scattered, limbs flying.
The smell of blood and flesh filled the air.
“Pick her up and get her inside!” I barked at Ronan, not taking my eyes off the enemies.
“What about you?” He shot back.
The hell? Was he worried about me?
“I will cover you. Move now!”
He didn’t argue again. Ronan took Fianna by the arm, ignoring her furious protests. I emptied my magazine in their wake, each bullet was precise, tearing through their skulls and throats.
Then I clicked again. Empty.
Fuck. Two more Slane men appeared, guns raised, blocking my path. I weighed my options, Ronan and Fianna were already halfway inside, calling for weapon would drag attention to them.
Bad move.
For a split second, my mind calculated. Run. Fight or—
“Kian!”
Her voice cut through the chaos. I whipped my head toward her. Her hand flashed from under her gown, was she about to flash me before I died?
Oh. A small pistol glinted in the garden lights.
“What the hell—”
“Get down!” She screamed.
I dropped instantly, and two shots cracked like thunder.
Both men didn't see it coming, they dropped where they stood, their heads split open.
The garden went silent for a second, only the ringing in my ears filled the air. I pushed myself up as a tiny smile curled in my face. That woman. She might be crazy, but she surely had aim.
I jogged after them. Inside, chaos reigned as guests huddled in a corner and lamented. The old man stood in the center like a king untouched by the storm, barking orders. His face was stone hard.
When he saw us enter, his fury sharpened. “Ronan, Kian, Fianna. Come with me.”
I stood where I was, brushing dirt off my suit. He hadn’t just called me right? Because no one ordered me around.
His gaze shifted to me when I didn’t move an inch, and he cleared his throat. “O’Sullivan. I would like to have a word with you.”
That’s more like it.
In the study, the tension was suffocating. The old man paced like a wolf in a cage, Ronan and Fianna standing stiff as soldiers. I sat on a couch, tapping my fingers on the armrest, pretending not to be bored.
“Are we supposed to spend the whole night watching you drill a hole in that carpet?” I asked, my voice cool.
Ronan’s eyes snapped toward me, his eyes narrowing. “Watch your mouth, Sullivan.”
I smirked, “Try and make me.”
Before he could retort, Fianna’s voice cut sharp, shaking with fury.
“You lied to me.”
For a moment, I thought she had gone mute.
She took a step forward, leaning close to her grandfather. “I asked if there was no issue with that family and you told me there was none. Now they ambushed my engagement party! Our men died out there. Our men! How the fuck were they able to overthrow us that easily?”
Ronan muttered, “Fianna, calm down—”
Wrong thing to say.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” She snapped, her eyes flashing.
I chucked under my breath.
Her voice crackled but didn’t break. “They were slaughtered like dogs out there and you just stand here? Say something!”
The old man finally turned, his face was a mask of thunder. He slammed his stick against the floor with a deafening crack.
“Mind your mouth, Fianna! I promise I’m in no mood to cajole you.”
His gaze shifted to me, lingering and then he spoke. “Kian will take you to his home.”
Fianna stiffened. “Take who home?”
“You,” her grandfather barked. “You will go with Kian until this matter is under control.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m not abandoning my family—”
He closed the space in two strides, towering over her. His palm clamped around her chin, harsh enough to make her wince.
I straightened from my couch, my instincts prickling.
“Enough,” he growled. “You will go with him. You will shut your mouth. And when you are calm, we will revisit this matter. Do YOU understand?!”
Her defiance wavered, but barely. At last, she nodded tightly.
Finally, some progress.
I rose to my feet, adjusting my cuffs before I turned toward the door.
Behind me, Ronan’s voice rang out. “Go with your fiancée, I will keep you posted.”
Then he spoke to me, “Hey, Sullivan. Take care of her.”
I paused, my back at them. A twitch tugged at my mouth, something between a snarl and a grin.
“Don’t worry,” I muttered. “She can take care of herself.”