Page 29 of The Lies That Shatter

He took our childhoods from us, and forced us into a future that we never had a choice over, and now we’re just expected to believe that he did all that because he loved us, because he had no other choice.

I call bullshit. Which is exactly why I have no intention of sitting down with him and hashing out the past. Nothing he can say will ever make up for what he put us through. I hurt McKenna so badly, and I’ve missed out on years that I could‘ve spent with her, all because I wanted to make him proud. To do right by my family, only for him to turn around, throw it all back in my face, and put her in danger, anyway.

When this is all over, he will have to answer for everything he’s put us through. I can’t see myself ever forgiving him. Liam still thinks Evan is redeemable, but time will tell on that one, too.

Tensions rise in the room as everyone starts talking over one another, discussing what possible motives my asshole father might have for putting McKenna—an innocent civilian—in danger like this. It’s clear nobody is really listening to anyone else. They’re just voicing the first things that come into their heads, and quite frankly, it’s giving me a headache.

Thankfully, Bree must feel the same, as she uses her fingers to project a loud, high-pitched whistle throughout the room, grabbing everyone’s attention. She then looks over at the door in panic, waiting on tenterhooks to see if she’s accidentally woken Nate.

When he doesn’t make a sound, she breathes a sigh of relief, though she continues to look at us all like it was our fault.

“Enough! There’s no point in us speculating, when we can just ask Desmond what his motives are. I’ll make sure he’s at the next meeting. Until then, we need to work out what the hell we’re going to do next,” Bree snaps.

“We have to pull her out,” replies Liam, like it’s the most obvious answer in the world, and I happen to agree with him. In fact, I expect everyone to agree with him, but the silence that fills the room would suggest differently.

Looking around, I see my usually outspoken friends and family have suddenly all developed a need to stare at their own feet, as opposed to saying what they think.

Kellan is the first to look up, and his face scrunches like he’s apprehensive, and I can tell I’m not going to like what he’s about to say.

“I’m sure this is going to be a really fucking popular opinion, but I think we should leave her in play,” he says, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

It’s definitely not a popular opinion, asshole.

“Before you bite my head off, Finn, listen.” He holds his hand out to appease me, but it’s not fucking working. “As an employee, McKenna can get more access than you could ever dream of, all without drawing suspicion. If she’s caught walking around the house, nobody will think anything of it because she works there. But if you’re caught, it would be dangerous.”

“Even if that were true, we cannot put her in danger. You know what that bastard, Whitlock, is like,” I snap, gripping mycoffee mug handle so hard it’s a miracle it hasn’t crumbled in my hand.

“I know he’s dangerous, but I don’t think she’ll be at risk any more than she already is. She’s at least twelve years too old for him to be attracted to her, which is a good thing,” Kel explains, and I notice Kian out the corner of my eye nodding like he fucking agrees.

I slam my coffee mug down on the table and stand up, unable to contain all the excess energy and anger that is vibrating through my body. The only reason I’m not yelling at the top of my voice is because Nate is next door, and if I wake him up, Bree will remove my balls.

“Just because he doesn’t want to fuck her doesn’t mean she’s not in danger. She said when he caught her yesterday, she was fucking terrified.”

Bree shoots up off the couch, out of Liam’s hold, so she’s standing in front of me. Her hand presses against my chest to stop me from pacing. “What?! Explain, Finn. Now!”

With a deep sigh, I try to release all the pent up anger, so I can speak clearer and explain the situation better. Maybe then these assholes will see what I’m dealing with.

As I elaborate, Bree sits down, this time on Liam’s lap, and motions for me to sit back in the chair I was in before. When she sees Kian trying to steal it from me, she gives him a sharp glare that I’m grateful for.

I flop back into the comfy seat, and tell them everything that has happened so far. Occasionally, someone will interject with a curse word or a sarcastic comment. Some have questions, but most wait until I’ve finished before saying anything more.

The part that gets everyone riled up the most is when I tell them about the meeting Whitlock had the night before. I show them the picture Mac took of his guest, and when they see his picture, it brings out a few choice words from everyone in theroom. Bree indicates I should finish the whole story before we get off on a tangent.

Once all the facts are out, silence fills the air. Everyone is waiting for what Bree has to say. Every person in the room has an opinion, but we all know hers is the only one that matters. She will listen to our suggestions, but like any good leader, her word is final.

“We will come back to the Mac situation in a minute, if that’s okay? First, I want to talk about the meeting she stumbled on last night. We all know the person in the picture is Brandon. What I don’t know is why he was meeting with Whitlock without us knowing about it. I’m guessing you didn’t know, Shane?” she asks, turning to face the youngest member of our team.

Shane may be only twenty-one years old, but he’s had to mature a lot over the last couple of years. The poor kid has been through more in his short life than most people, and now he finds himself leading one of the largest, most notorious crime families in the UK—and our biggest rival.

The Marcushios may not know he’s on our side, but when he finally convinces them to stand with him—behind Bree—we will be almost unbeatable. But there are more than a few hurdles to face until we get there.

Brandon may be his cousin, and claims to be on Shane’s side, but his loyalty has always been in question. He wants to rule the Marcushios, and nobody believes he’s happy with Shane being in charge.

After he kidnapped Kian, I suspect his days are numbered, and Bran knows that when he stops being useful to us, we will have no reason to keep him around.

“No, I had no idea he was meeting with him. He told me he was out with his girl last night, which is why he couldn’t do a job for me,” Shane snaps, displeasure evident on his face.

Kian clears his throat. “I thought we had made it clear to the little scrotum that he was on our side or dead. What the hell is he playing at?”

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