Page 82 of Dublin Charmer
I hit enter and hear the hiss of the system engaging, followed by shouts of confusion from the men inside. The chemical suppressant filling the library is non-toxic but disorienting, reducing visibility to zero.
I raise my gun, ready to drop them if they come out my doorway. They don’t.
I hear the men stumble blindly, coughing and disoriented. At the same time, Kieran fires off two rounds on the opposite side of the library.
“Library clear,” Kieran reports into the comms.
“Upstairs is clear,” Bryan says.
“East wing secure,” adds Tag.
“The fuckers on the roof are neutralized,” Sean confirms.
“What about Cora and Connor?” I ask.
“Piper took Brody and Rory with her to secure the cottage. They are locked down tight and we’re hoping it’s far enough from the house to be overlooked as a primary target.”
Aye, let’s hope so.
The house falls eerily quiet as I let myself breathe again. It’s the kind of silence that follows violence.
I move through the rooms of the only home I’ve ever known, checking for threats, until I find my brothers gathering in the kitchen. They look battered but alive, and something in my chest loosens at the sight of them.
“Where’s Gravely?” I ask.
Tag shakes his head. “No idea. Either he’s hiding like the fucking coward he is, or he bugged out when he realized he’d never take us down on our home turf.”
“Fucking coward,” Bryan spits.
I look around at the destruction of our home, feeling a cold clarity settle over me. “This has to end.”
“Aye, we need to hunt the fucker down and put a bullet through his skull,” Sean says.
“Damn right we do,” Brendan agrees, checking a wound on his arm.
“Leave it to me,” I say, my voice firmer than it’s ever been with my brothers. “I know how to end it. For good.”
They all look at me, and for the first time, I don’t feel like the baby brother in their eyes. They see me, Finlay Quinn, the one who’s been protecting them from the shadows all along.
More importantly,Isee me.
I’m done trying to measure up to the men they are.
I am me. Different from them but no less lethal.
“Now that Gio is free, Nyx will give us access to his finances, his properties, his movements. We’ll know where he sleeps,where he keeps his money, and where he hires his mercenaries. We now have every digital footprint he’s ever made.”
Tag nods slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “Then let’s go hunting.”
This is who I am. Not just the Quinn behind the screen, but a Quinn who stands with his brothers. The quiet one, yes. The smart one, always. But never the weak one.
Gravely made his last mistake when he came for my family.
I meet Tag’s gaze and nod. “But first, you need to get your perfect ass down to the keep. Laine’s water broke and you’re going to be in really deep shit if you miss the birth of your baby girl.”
Nyx
“You’re doing amazing.” Nora presses a damp cloth on Laine’s brow as she sags from another contraction. Her face is flushed, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, but there’s a fierce determination in her eyes that I admire. We stopped timing how far apart the pain was coming once it was clear we wouldn’t have time to get to a hospital even if the storm was over and it was safe.
