There had to be a way to stop this before it got to that point.
He climbed into the car that was filled with his sisters and youngest brother. They looked at him with varying degrees of trust, like they were sure that with him here, things were under control. The very idea was insane. Teague had less control over his life than they did. Or at least he had as little control.
Carrigan pulled her hair back and started twisting it into a braid, the only outward sign of her nerves. “Well?”
“They don’t know anything concrete.” He braced himself as the car lurched into motion. “Father wants us home until he figures out the next move.” The man hadn’t said as much, but he wasn’t about to tell any of them that they were so far from their father’s mind that he didn’t leave any instructions for them before heading off.
Keira huddled next to Sloan, and it struck him that his baby sister had turned eighteen this year. They were all legally adults, and yet had less control over the direction their lives took than most minors. Keira turned green eyes so like their mother’s on him. “We’re going to war, aren’t we?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to lie. To save them some worry. But he didn’t have it in him to shield them from a truth they’d have to face before too long.
He was saved from answering by Devlin. “There’s no avoiding it now.”
The only question was if the war itself was started by the Hallorans, or if whatever actions Seamus took tonight would be the tipping point. It didn’t really matter. They’d had skirmishes before, over territory or product, but this was another animal entirely, and no one seemed that worried that there were bound to be casualties.
For her part, Keira didn’t seem that worried. “Good.”
Teague frowned. “Why the fuck is that good?”
“It means Father isn’t going to marry us off to one of the other two Hallorans like Callista Sheridan almost was. Do you really think no one knew about how Brendan got his rocks off? To be married to that…” She shuddered. “Whoever did us the favor of killing him probably saved her life.”
“You’re eighteen. What the hell would you know about it?”
Carrigan laughed, the sound as jagged as broken glass. “Please. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to take off to their apartment whenever things get rough.”
Sloan finally spoke up. “We know what value our father puts on us.”
Christ. This was exactly the thing he’d wanted to save them from. He looked from one face to the other. “I’d take you away with me if I could. All of you.”
“We know.” Sloan patted his knee. “It’s not your fault, Teague.”
The fact that she was comforting him about her future stuck in his throat. “I’ll find a way out of this—for all of us. I promise.” He’d given Finch enough information to justify witness protection or some shit. If it wasn’t enough, he’d find a way to supply more. Because the thought of one of his sisters ending up with a man like Brendan Halloran was reputed to be…Teague would do unforgivable things to keep that from happening. He was already doing unforgivable things—he might as well make it worth his while.
Carrigan just shook her head like he’d said something sweet but unbelievably stupid. “There’s no escape for people like us, little brother.”
Callie spent the day trying to pin down Papa into telling her something about what he’d found out about the shooting, but he was closeted in his office all morning and then gone from the house all afternoon.
She’d done some holing up of her own with Micah. Whatever came from this conflict, she wanted to make sure the people in their territory who depended on them for protection were taken care of. Micah had grown up in this life, the same as she had, so he understood. His father had been one of her father’s most loyal men, until he’d died in a shootout with the MacNamaras’ men. As a result, Papa brought both Micah and his mother into the family home—his way of honoring his fallen man.
That loyalty wasn’t something that could be picked up and put down at the Sheridans’ convenience. If they couldn’t keep their people safe, they didn’t deserve the territory they had.
They were currently camped out on high stools, just like they used to when they were teenagers, while Micah’s mother puttered around the kitchen. She’d taken to the space when she’d first moved in here and made it her own. Even Papa didn’t dare cross her when it came to this room of the house. Emma Jones was a force of nature in her own right.
Micah braced his elbows on the granite counter. “You can’t bring every person loyal to your family into this house, Callie. You know that.”