do something stupid. We have things under control.”
Fat fucking chance of that. They were playing him the same way they’d been playing him from the very beginning. “This thing between us is over. Find another rat.” He hung up, and then threw his phone against the wall so hard the screen cracked. All he wanted to do was stomp on it and find something heavy to crush it with until it was no more than pieces.
But there was still the slightest chance Callie would find a way to call him.
Cursing, he scooped it up and gingerly thumbed it on. The screen lit up despite the spiderwebbed glass. Thank God for small favors. He slipped it back into his pocket and walked down the hall, where he met his remaining brothers and father in the study. Father, naturally, didn’t look pleased. “Your fiancée started this war.”
“She wasn’t my fiancée at the time, and you’re as much to blame for this war as she is. She was defending herself.” He refused to believe anything else. Callie would only take a life if she had no other choice. He hadn’t known her long, but he knew that to the very core of his being. Of course, his father didn’t care about that.
So he had to give the man something that he would care about.
Teague kept his tone calm and even. “Beyond that, I married her last night. She’s an O’Malley now, as well as being a Sheridan. The Hallorans also have Carrigan. We can’t sit back and do nothing. You know what those sick bastards will do to them.”
Support came from the unlikeliest of places. Cillian stepped forward. “I just watched Devlin die. I’m not going to lose Carrigan, too.”
Even Aiden was nodding. “Father, if we let this stand, where will it end?”
Seamus sank behind his desk, looking every one of his fifty-five years for the first time Teague could remember. He carefully rested his hands on the polished wood. “Then we take them back.”
Thank Christ. Teague took a step back. “In that case…” He opened the door and moved out of the way to allow Colm Sheridan to enter the room. Everyone froze—though his father looked half a second from going for the gun he kept in his top drawer—so Teague kept talking, “He has a stake in this, same as we do. Or was all that talk of alliances bullshit?”
“By all means.” His father motioned the other man to the chair across from him. “Shall we get our girls home safely?”
“Yes.” Colm sank into the indicated spot. Teague noticed bags under the older man’s eyes that hadn’t been there last time. But Sheridan was here, and they were planning like allies instead of enemies. That was better than he dared hope when he’d invited Callie’s father to this meeting.
Callie.
God, he wanted to reach across the distance and shake her until some sense popped into that gorgeous head of hers. She’d been so determined to protect him and martyr herself, she hadn’t once stopped to ask him what he thought of the whole thing. No, she’d apologized like she expected him to turn on her like a junkyard dog.
She’d said she loved him.
He rubbed a hand over his mouth and turned to face the window. Out of everything that had come out of her mouth during the phone call, that was the thing that burrowed into his mind and wouldn’t let go. She was doing this for him—so that he wouldn’t see any more people he cared about hurt. Totally missing the point that she was numbered among those people.
If something happens to her…
He fought down panic at the thought. The Hallorans had barely had her three hours. Even if James couldn’t convince his father to spare her—and Teague was starting to doubt his former friend remained an ally—she shouldn’t be hurt yet. If there was one thing Victor Halloran loved, it was a spectacle. Since it was becoming increasingly clear that he hadn’t released Carrigan as promised, it was only logical to assume he was going to do something dramatic.
But that shit took planning.
Which meant they had a small amount of time to act.
He turned back to the room to hear his father say, “Then it’s settled. We’ll attack at nightfall.”
“No.” The word was out before he could think better of it. Teague crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re already planning on killing both women. If we attack, what do you think is the first thing they’ll do?”