Page 97 of Dublin Beast

I thought he was safe because his heart was still buried with Yasmine. He wasn’t available—not really. But then he started looking at me like I mattered. Holding me like I washis. That wasn’t the deal.

That wasn’tme.

I close my eyes, exhaling through my nose.

I miss him.

More than I’ll admit out loud. My body misses him. My brain, myheart, even though I swore it wouldn’t get that far. But walking away before I fell any deeper was the smart choice. The safe choice.

As much as I want him—and oh,I do—I’d rather live alone, in control of my world, than risk loving a man who can hold me gently one moment and snap a woman’s neck the next.

That kind of duality?

It’s not something I can reconcile.

Not even for him.

The doorbell rings and I jump. Startled out of my mental musings, I remember who’s coming. I launch out of my cozy chair, excited to see Kieran and meet Drake.

This is it. Time to take down Eddie Mason.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Bryan

They call itthe dungeon—our private chamber of pain and persuasion. Our tools displayed with gleaming purpose, the bloodstained floor a macabre statement of what this room has witnessed.

The psychological torture is foreplay—all part of the experience.

While our two guests sit bound and waiting, they have nothing to do but stare at the tools and wonder. Which one will we choose first? Will they walk out of this room?

We’re the Dublin Beast and the Dublin Brute.

They know what’s coming. Theyexpectpain.

And given my mood the past few days, it’s the perfect place for a little emotional therapy.

Brendan’s leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp. I’m pacing—slow, deliberate—like a lion circling a pair of rabbits dumb enough to wander into his cage.

Tag stands between us, dressed like he’s attending an executive brunch instead of a beatdown, but his eyes are all business.

He jerks his chin toward the scrawny fucks in the chairs. “These two were spotted sneaking across the river, so I took a page out of your playbook, Bryan. I had Kieran use his little drone to follow them and see what they’ve been up to.”

By the sudden spike of fear and the loss of color in their faces, I’d guess they didn’t know why they were here until just now.

I lift my chin. “So, what have the fuckers been up to?”

Tag grins. “It seems they have a connection with Billy Gravely and might be part of his plans for taking over our territory.”

He steps in closer, voice turning to gravel. “And now they’re going to tell us what those plans are. I want details, dates, names, every fucking thing you know about what the McGuire’s are plotting.”

The shorter one—Carl, I think—spits on the floor. “We’re not rats.”

Brendan snorts. “Youarerats, you fucking traitors. You work for us but cross the river and speak our business into the ears of the McGuires and Gravely? That’s the very definition of being a fucking rat.”

“Fuck you and the bikes you rode in on,” the other guy says. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him, but honestly, it doesn’t matter. He won’t be around long enough for it to matter.

Tag smiles like he expected nothing less. “All right, this is how it’s going to work. The first person who gives me what I want, walks out of here. The other one dies.”

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