Page 1 of Sweet Vengeance
PROLOGUE
Cillian
Thirteen years old
Ican’t believeshe’s in that box.
Organ music plays in the background, everyone in church wearing black. I’m in the front row on the right, near the aisle. I’m the second one in the pew, the first being my best friend Rory, and to my right, there’s Tiernan—my cousin and other best friend. My uncle Sloan is next, followed by Aunt Fia and Tiernan’s sister Aislin. The rest of the pew and the one behind us are filled with other members of our chosen family…of our organization.
My father is nowhere to be found.
Rory shifts his leg closer to mine, pressing our thighs together. It helps my tight muscles relax, even if it doesn’t calm the ache in my chest. They didn’t say it to me, but I know Rory and Tiernan are flanking me to offer support because my mom is dead, and my dad is just…gone. The second she took her last breath, he walked out of the room, and that was five days ago. We haven’t seen him since. The only reason we’re having this service right now is because Aunt Fia organized it. I heard her talking with Uncle Sloan. He’s been in contact with my dad. I tried reaching my dad too, but he hasn’t returned my calls. I stopped trying after day two.
The service feels like it lasts a hundred years. The only reason I don’t get up and run out is because of Rory and Tiernan, who act like my guardian fucking angels at my sides. That, and I don’t want to leave my mom on this day. She already doesn’t have my father with her. I won’t leave her too.
Aunt Fia gets up and talks about her, since clearly, neither Dad nor I can handle it. She talks about how loving Mom was, her love of the piano and her family, how strong she was, how no one could keep it together quite like Moira O’Shea could. She’s right, of course. My father is a lot of things—a criminal, a killer, calculating, tough, brave, smart—but she was his rock. She carried some of his strength. His burdens were hers. He depended on her, was fiercely loyal to her.
He loved her.
I’m still trying to figure out if he loves me.
When the service is finally over, we walk out of the church, Rory and Tiernan still with me.
Everyone approaches me, hugging and kissing me and telling me they’re sorry for my loss. Every set of eyes darts around the church stairs, where I’m stuck waiting for this deluge to end, and I know they’re all looking for my father. Where is the great Rian O’Shea after his wife died and when his son is alone?
But then, I’ll never be truly alone, will I? Not as long as I have Rory and Tiernan.
My skin starts feeling itchy, my heart beating too fast. My chest gets tight, like there’s a fist around my lungs, cutting off my airflow. I need to get the fuck out of here, need away from all these people before I explode.
When the next person approaches me—an unfamiliar woman with a sweet smile—Tiernan speaks before I have the chance. “Leave him the fuck alone,” he spits out.
She freezes, mouth hanging open like a dying fish.
Rory grabs my arm. “Get out of the way,” he says to everyone in our path as he drags me down the stairs and away from there.
Because they know I need it. They can read me as well as I can read them.
Fia calls after us, but we don’t stop, just keep going down the block, decked out in our best suits. We head straight for one of the waiting cars that’s bringing us back to Tiernan’s house, where the reception is being held. Mom always loved big events, loved parties, and especially hosting. She would play the piano at most of them, and she taught me how to play. It’s one of the things I’ll miss the most—playing the piano with her.
The driver leans against the vehicle, pushing off when he sees us and immediately opening the door. The three of us get in, and he heads around to the driver’s seat. “Should I wait for—”
“Drive the fucking car,” Tiernan interrupts.
“Yes, sir.” The man is triple our age, but he won’t deny Tiernan anything. At thirteen, he’s one of the most powerful people in Massachusetts, all because of who his father is. Because Sloan is the boss of our organization, and no one fucks with him, which means no one fucks with us.
The driver raises the divider between the front seats and the back, giving us privacy.
“I’m sorry,” I tell Tiernan because I’m sure Sloan will be pissed about this. It’s all about appearances with him, and Tiernan walking away with me… To Sloan, it makes me weak, and he’ll be angry with Tiernan for being a part of it.
“I don’t care. Fuck him. My concern is you,” Tiernan replies, knowing exactly where my worries lie.
Rory threads his fingers through mine, holding my hand as I drop my head against his shoulder. Our main concern isalways the three of us—well, Aislin too. We’re a unit, best friends, brothers. Family is supposed to be everything in our world, but it doesn’t feel like that’s really the case—not with everyone else, at least, but it is with us. We would take on the world for each other, and nothing will ever change that. I couldn’t make it through this without them.
“I can’t believe I almost had to kick an old lady’s ass,” Rory jokes. His words do exactly what Rory was going for, making me chuckle. He’s good at being funny or acting like an idiot when we need it.
“She could have taken you,” Tiernan jokes back.
“Fuck off. I may be smaller, but I’m the best fighter out of the three of us,” Rory says, indignant.
