When Kings Fall (The O’Sullivan’s Brides #3)

CHAPTER SEVENTEENDiarmuid

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Diarmuid

THE FIRE IN the hearth crackles, but the sound feels like an accusation, mocking my uselessness. Flames flicker, their light catching on the shards of broken glass scattered across the floor. I’ve been pacing, smashing, shouting orders—none of it changes anything. None of these men I’ve inherited, these so-called professionals, can do their jobs. They promised me they’d track her, that they wouldn’t lose her, and yet here I am, waiting. Useless.

Selene and Ben vanished off the cameras an hour ago. I grip the back of the leather armchair, my fingers digging into the hide. The city cameras followed them, frame by frame, and then…nothing. Just darkness as Ben turned the car into a damned alley without surveillance. It’s always the alleys. Always the gaps, the places where we’re blind.

My breath hisses between my teeth, the sound like a snake winding through the silence. The liquor cart is still overturned, the bottles smashed, amber liquid staining the rug. The mess I made in a fit of rage when the last report came in—nothing.

How many times can they tell me “nothing” before I tear this room apart?

I’m not built for waiting. This isn’t who I am. My chest tightens as I stand here, surrounded by people whose lives I hold in my hands, and yet I feel powerless. I don’t wait for information. I hunt. I don’t sit in some goddamned room while my prey runs free.

I glare at the men around me. Useless, every one of them. And yet they don’t know. They don’t see. But she does.

Niamh stands in the corner, quiet, her eyes never leaving me. She’s sharp. She’s always watching, always suspicious. It’s infuriating, her silence. The way she doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t demand answers—but I see it. She knows. She senses something off, something beneath the surface I don’t want her to uncover.

Of all the people in this room, the ballerina is the one who understands. Not the hired guns, not the so-called masterminds around me. Just her.

She knows I failed.

Victor told me to kill Ben Fleming. And I didn’t. Now Ben is playing his game again, toying with me. His voice is in my head, soft, mocking: Catch me if you can.

I close my eyes, fighting the urge to give in to the madness brewing inside me. I can feel it, the monster pacing just below the surface, waiting for me to let it out. Waiting for me to lose control.

Ben won’t get away this time. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll tear him apart with my bare hands if I have to.

My phone vibrates, a sharp buzz in the tense silence. My heart leaps into my throat as I yank it from my pocket. The screen lights up with an incoming video call. Selene.

Selene.

My pulse spikes, my breath coming in shallow, rapid bursts. I step away from the fireplace, retreating into the shadows, away from the flickering light. The world narrows down to the phone in my hand, to the dark screen and her name.

“Selene?” My voice is low, rough, barely audible.

The video is dark. Too dark. My heart pounds as I strain to see her face, to make out anything in the shadows. My pulse thunders in my ears, and for a moment, I think the connection is lost.

Then I see it.

A painting, blurred in the background. Lions. I narrow my eyes, confusion cutting through the fear. Why would she be near a painting of lions? What is she trying to show me?

I squint, leaning closer, and there it is—a logo in the corner. The Dublin Zoo.

The zoo?

Why the hell would Ben take her to the zoo?

It doesn’t matter. She’s telling me something. She needs me.

Without another thought, I turn and bark orders. “Get ready. We’re leaving in five.”

The men spring into action, scrambling to gather their gear, but Niamh steps forward, blocking my path. Her face is set, determined. “I’m coming with you.”

“No,” I snap, the word biting. She doesn’t move. Her eyes meet mine, and for a second, I see something raw in them. Understanding. Suspicion. I can’t have her come with me, not now, not when I’m about to face Ben. Not when the monster inside me is clawing at the edges.

“Stay here,” I growl, brushing past her.

She says nothing, but I can feel her eyes on my back as I leave.

The drive through the city is a blur. The streets stretch out ahead of me, twisting, dark, cold. The night is empty, but my mind is anything but. Thoughts whirl through me, fast and violent. Every second that ticks by, my grip tightens on the wheel, knuckles white, tendons straining.

Ben has her. That thought consumes me, fills every crack, every corner of my mind. What could he be doing to her? What kind of game is he playing? My imagination spins out of control, wild, conjuring images I can’t shake. Images I don’t want to believe.

I press harder on the gas, the engine roaring beneath me as the car tears through the city streets. I don’t care if the others are behind me. I don’t care if they’re keeping up. This is my fight. This is between Ben and me.

The zoo looms ahead, the towering gates lit by dim streetlights. I kill the engine and coast the car silently into the parking lot, slipping into the shadows. My breath catches when I see it. Ben’s car, parked near the entrance. The security guard is inspecting it, his flashlight casting long, thin beams over the hood. He doesn’t know what he’s standing next to, what kind of hell is about to be unleashed here.

I sink lower in my seat, watching him, waiting. My hands twitch at my sides, ready, itching for action. The seconds stretch into eternity as the guard finally moves on, turning away from Ben’s car. He doesn’t see me. He doesn’t see anything.

I slip out of the car, staying low, staying quiet. My boots barely make a sound as I move through the darkness, the cold air biting at my skin.

I don’t know the layout of the zoo. I pull out my phone, fingers trembling as I open the map. The paths stretch out like a labyrinth before me, twisting and turning in directions I can’t afford to guess at. I scan the map, forcing myself to focus, to think clearly.

Where would he take her?

The lion exhibit. It makes sense. The painting. The logo. I know where to go now.

The fence is high, but I don’t care. I vault over it in one smooth motion, landing hard on the other side. The impact vibrates through my legs, but I don’t slow down. My eyes dart around, searching, scanning.

Ahead, I hear the soft rustle of movement—small, quick. I catch a glimpse of the red pandas, their striped tails disappearing into the shadows, startled by my presence. They’re skittish. They know a predator when they see one.

I move faster now, my breath coming in short bursts. I’m closing in. I can feel it. The tension wraps tighter around me, squeezing, suffocating.

The lion exhibit looms ahead, its massive iron gate closed and shadowed. I stop, scanning the area. And there it is—her phone. The dim light from its screen glows faintly in the darkness, showing me the way. She dropped it here.

I crouch down, my hands shaking as I pick it up. I end the call, pocketing both phones. The silence presses in on me, thick, suffocating. I look around, my heart hammering against my ribs, every nerve on edge.

Then I see it.

A bracelet, half-hidden in the dirt near the edge of an old maintenance building. Simple. Understated. Just like her.

I pick it up, my fingers trembling. It’s cold against my palm, a small piece of her. A piece that tells me she’s still close.

I slip the bracelet into my pocket and turn toward the building. The door hangs slightly open, a crack wide enough for me to slip through. Ben’s invitation.

I step inside. The air is stale, thick with dust and age. The faint scent of oil and rust lingers in the corners, mixing with the smell of damp concrete.

The tunnel yawns before me, dark, descending into the earth. The abyss. The place Ben wants me to follow him into.

Of course, he does.

This is all a setup. A trap. He wants me down there, in the darkness, where no one can see. Where no one can hear.

But I can’t wait for my men. I can’t risk it. I don’t know what’s happening to Selene down there. I don’t know how much time I have left

So, I descend into the darkness.

My feet hit the floor with a dull thud, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. The air down here is colder, heavier. It clings to my skin, wrapping around me like a second layer of suffocating tension.

In the distance, I see the faint glow of utility lights, casting eerie shadows that flicker, then fade. The tunnel stretches ahead, long and narrow. A confined space. The kind of place where you can feel the walls closing in, where the air seems thinner, where the darkness feels alive.

Ben’s down here. Waiting. Waiting for me to make a move, waiting for me to stumble into his trap.

But I’m not stumbling. I’m walking straight into it, eyes wide open.

This is what he wanted. A confrontation. A reckoning.

A place where not even the stars can witness what happens next.

And I’ll give him exactly what he wants.