Page 22 of Bloody Knuckles

"Clever," she acknowledges. "Though not clever enough. Murphy is as loyal as a dumb dog."

I motion Connor forward. "Tie him up."

Connor forces Finn into the chair, binding his wrists to the armrests with zip ties. My brother doesn't resist—perhaps already sensing the inevitability of what comes next.

"Cormac," he begins, voice steady despite his position. "This doesn't need to end badly. I can fix this. Negotiate with Patrick?—"

"Negotiate?" I cut him off. "The way you negotiated our family secrets? Our security protocols? The lives of our men? Negotiate with me, bother, I fucking dare you."

"I never meant for anyone to die."

"But they did." I remove my jacket, folding it carefully before handing it to Declan. Next, my cufflinks, placed in my pocket. The ritualistic preparation for violence learned at our father's hand. "Actions have consequences, brother. Rats get trapped, and then they die."

Aoife observes silently from where Connor holds her to the side. Her presence should feel like an intrusion into family business, yet somehow it feels necessary. A witness to the price of betrayal.

"Why bring her here?" Finn asks, nodding toward Aoife.

"Because the Gallaghers should know what happens to those who betray me." I roll up my sleeves methodically. "And because Miss Gallagher has developed certain... misconceptions about me she needs corrected."

Her posture stiffens at my words, the memory of our earlier encounter clearly fresh in her mind. Good. Let her sense the monster beneath the man she played with so boldly.

"Last chance, Finn," I say quietly. "Full confession. Every detail you shared. Every plan discussed. Tell me what you did, and pray to God it was worth the pain that comes with it."

He meets my stare, something like resignation settling over him. "Everything's on my laptop. Password is MaMasBirthday1988. Files labeled 'Contingency Planning.'"

I nod to Declan, who steps away to make a call.

"Was it worth it?" I ask. "Betraying everything our father built? Everything I protected you from?"

"Our father was a sadistic bastard," Finn spits. "And you became him, Cormac. Every day, every decision—you're him in every way except the drinking. But even that, these days I wonder."

The accusation lands like a physical blow. In my peripheral awareness, Aoife shifts, her attention at this revelation.

"I protected you," I remind him. "Took the beatings meant for you. Sent you to university while I cleaned up his mess. Gave you a place in our business when you could have walked away with nothing, he disowned you, I let you stay."

"Protection,you mean control." Finn's voice rises. "You shielded me and suffocated me in the same breath.Just like him."

The comparison ignites something primal. In three strides, I close the distance between us. My fist connects with his jaw—once, twice, three times. Crimson sprays from his split lip, spattering across my white shirt.

"Cormac!" Aoife's voice cuts through the red haze. "He's your brother!"

I pause, breathing heavily. "Family means loyalty. Above all else."

"And what has your loyalty earned any of us?" Finn asks through bloodied teeth. "A legacy of violence. Territory that costs more to defend than it makes. Endless blood feuds with families like the Gallaghers."

"You chose your side," I tell him coldly. "Now face the consequences."

What follows isn't quick or merciful. My father taught lessons through pain, and some teachings run too deep to escape. Each blow extracts another confession—names of contacts, drop locations, bank accounts where Gallagher money was being washed.

Aoife remains silent, her earlier defiance replaced by silence. Not horror, exactly. The daughter of Patrick Gallagher has surely witnessed violence before. But something else—beneath that, something dangerously close to understanding.

When Finn becomes unrecognizable, I step back. Blood coats my knuckles, drips from my sleeves. The warehouse is silent except for his labored breathing and my own.

"You know how this ends," I tell him quietly.

He nods once, dignity somehow intact despite his broken state. "I knew the moment you found out."

I turn to Declan. "Give me your gun."

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