by Cassie Wild
His Guilt
The Downing Family Book 6
Cassie Wild
Belmonte Publishing, LLC
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 Belmonte Publishing LLC
Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC
Contents
Reading Order
Free Prequel
1. Briar
2. Cormac
3. Briar
4. Cormac
5. Briar
6. Cormac
7. Briar
8. Cormac
9. Briar
10. Cormac
11. Briar
12. Cormac
13. Briar
14. Cormac
15. Briar
16. Briar
17. Cormac
18. Briar
19. Cormac
20. Briar
21. Briar
22. Cormac
23. Briar
24. Briar
25. Cormac
26. Briar
27. Cormac
28. Briar
29. Briar
Other Books by Cassie Wild:
About the Author
Reading Order
Thank you so much for reading His Guilt, the sixth book in the Downing Family series, and the last of Briar and Cormac. Don’t miss the other books in the series.
Downing Family (An Irish Mafia Saga):
Brooks and Daria
1. The Escape
2. The Debt
3. The Punishment
Briar and Cormac
4. His Target
5. His Fight
6. His Guilt
Free Prequel
Get an exclusive prequel to The Downing Family! CLICK HERE to subscribe to my newsletter and get the exclusive ebook – NOT available anywhere else.
One
Briar
The big man stared at me with eyes so dark, I could barely discern iris from pupil. The dark brown all but glittered with the intensity of some emotion I couldn’t name as he stared at me.
“I know he was the man you were fighting with, Jerrel. He already told me.” I clutched my keys tightly, unsettled by his focused stare. I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but I had a bad, bad feeling that I wouldn’t like what he had to say.
Not at all.
“That ain’t what this is about, Dr. Downing. That ain’t it at all.” His rough-hewn features tightened in a scowl before he sighed and shrugged. “Not that it ain’t related. See, we got into that fight because I told him he needed to stop lying…”
He trailed off for a few seconds, and I wondered if maybe he wasn’t going to just stop and walk away.
I wouldn’t mind it if he did.
“Fuck this shit,” he muttered. Then he looked back at me, his eyes hard. “Look, that man’s been lying to you from the start. I don’t know exactly how you two hooked up, but he’s not being level with you.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
He took two steps toward me. I backed up toward the house, and he stopped in his tracks, holding up his hands.
“I’m talking about the fact that he works for the Castellanos family.” He said it in an almost gentle tone, like he didn’t want to be talking to me.
“I…” I shook my head, confused. “What?”
“Come on, Briar.” Jerrel made a disbelieving snort under his breath. “I know what the Downings are involved in, okay? And I know about the Castellanos too. And Cormac MacTavish works for the Castellanos. After the shit their family tried to pull against yours not that long ago, I’d think you’d connect the dots a little quicker here.”
My mouth worked up and down, desperately trying to form a word. Finally, I managed, “Why are you here?”
“None of this shit sat right with me, and I knew I couldn’t keep quiet about it any longer. I felt like I had to say something to you, so here I am.” He flung out his arms. “I did my part.”
As he turned around and walked off, I stumbled a few steps forward and all but fell against my car, the strength draining out of me.
Cormac…he worked for the Castellanos?
I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut tight for a few seconds. I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming. When I opened my eyes, I’d be in bed and realize this was all a dream.
But, no. I opened them in time to see the man who’d just imploded my world make a sharp right turn out of my driveway and continue walking down the sidewalk. Jerrel’s words played over and over in my head.
Cormac worked for the Castellanos.
I stared at Jerrel’s back until a hedge down the street blocked him from view. Closing my eyes once more, I pressed the tips of my fingers against my ears, as if that would block out what I’d heard.
It didn’t do any good.
I could still hear that guy’s rough, steady voice as he told me, Cormac MacTavish works for the Castellanos.
I shot a look at the house.
I should go back inside. Wake Cormac up and ask him about this. Maybe Jerrel was messing with me. Or this could be some bullshit attempt to screw with Cormac. It was obvious the two of them didn’t get along.
I took one step toward the house, then stopped.
Part of me wanted to run in there and face him, demand he tell me the truth. But even as I considered it, I thought of the meeting between the two men. They’d been talking at the restaurant, and while they hadn’t looked buddy-buddy, they’d managed to carry on what looked like a rational discussion.
And what happened if I went in there and confronted him…and realized that Jerrel was right? That Cormac was working with the Castellanos?
It wasn’t like I knew all that much about him. There had been times when I felt like he was holding back on me.
My phone buzzed in my hand. Absently, I checked it and saw a message from Anneke. I didn’t bother to read it, but I saw the time. I didn’t even hesitate.
Maybe it was the coward’s way out, but I wasn’t ready to deal with this. Not now. Not until I’d had a chance to think.
Turning back to my car, I climbed inside. I didn’t have time to go in and deal with Cormac right now.
I’d have to do it—later.
I needed to think through all of this first, figure out whether I believed Jerrel, figure out a lot of things.
I already knew I didn’t want to believe him.
That didn’t matter, though.
There was too much at stake.
Consciously, I didn’t think about it.
I got to work, changed into my scrubs, and headed out to the floor where it looked like it was already ramping up to be a crazy day. It had begun drizzling on the way in, and by the time I pulled into the parking lot, a cold, heavy downpour had started. One thing was for certain when it came to rain—it led to lots of accidents, which meant emergency departments were often flooded with patients for hours afterward.
But even though I couldn’t consciously think about Cormac and what Jerrel had told me, in the back of my mind, I was working away at it.
By the time I was able to take a break, it was more than four hours into my shift. I sat down in the lounge with a cup of coffee and stopped hiding away from what had happened earlier.
The conversation with Jerrel had left me unsettled. Not that it had been much of a conversation, really. More like him talking and me just gaping at h
im. I was embarrassed now about my total lack of reaction, my inability to ask even a simple question.
But I was also pissed.
A huge part of me wanted to brush it all away, wanted to believe that Jerrel was lying and just wanted to cause trouble for Cormac. I suspected Jerrel could very well do just that, but instinctively, I knew that wasn’t the case. I’d known something was off with Cormac. Ever since that terrible fight where he’d flung my family in my face.
I’d always had this weird suspicion that he was holding something back from me.
Was it this?
Yes, that voice whispered in the back of my head.
It made sense.
But what about how he is with you?
My heart was still in denial. Earnestly, it clung to the belief that there was a real thing between Cormac and me, an emotional connection that wasn’t, that couldn’t be, one-sided.
I shoved the notion aside.
I had no idea if Cormac felt something for me or not, but even if he did, it didn’t matter now.
If he was working for the Castellanos…
Jerrel’s words came back to haunt me yet again. He’d mentioned something about the Castellanos causing problems for Brooks and Daria…
I thought of my brother and what he’d told me about Marcos.
My mouth went dry. Automatically, I took a drink, forgetting about how hot the coffee was until I scalded the roof of my mouth.
“Damn it,” I muttered, putting the cup down. Gingerly, I probed the sore area with my tongue, although I was actually grateful for the minor pain. It served to distract me just long enough that I could get some distance from all the shit in my head.
Brooks hadn’t told me much, definitely not enough to help me come to any conclusions, so the puzzle remained just that…a puzzle.
I pulled my phone out and did a search on Marcos Castellanos, finding several news articles. The most recent ones related to his arrest the night he broke into Brooks’s penthouse. The details were vague and full of legal terms like allegedly.
But the overall picture was clear enough.
Marcos and his goons had gotten past the security guards in the high-rise building where Brooks lived with Daria, and they’d forced their way inside when Daria was home alone. There was video footage that had been used to by prosecutors, and while Marcos had been released on bail, he couldn’t leave the immediate area. If he did, bail would be revoked, and a warrant would be issued for his arrest. He’d also had to surrender his passport.
Anger pulsed inside me, hot and liquid, turning the blood in my veins to lava.
I thought of Daria, so sweet and bubbly, alone in the condo with a couple of thugs forcing their way inside, threatening to do who knew what. And Marcos there with them.
I didn’t like Marcos.
I’d only met him a couple of times, but I could tell that he looked at the world and the people in it like they were pawns to be used in some grand game he was playing.
Basilio had reminded me a lot of my father, and I’d liked him, although I’d since re-evaluated my position, especially now that I was still struggling to come to grips with the reality of my own family. I didn’t know what to think about Duardo.
Who had hired Cormac?
I’d been brooding over it for several minutes before I came to the realization that I was no longer questioning if Jerrel could be right.
I knew he was.
And my heart broke a little more.
When I heard my name go out over the Bluetooth, I had to clear my throat before responding. I didn’t want anybody hearing the huskiness of my voice.
I got back to work and told myself that I just had to make it through the rest of the shift, then I could go home, bury my face in the covers and hide away from the world for a little while.
I doubted it would be long enough to heal from this mess, but it would be a start…right?
Of course, I still had to deal with Cormac.
How in the hell was I going to do that?
Two
Cormac
I woke to quiet. Too quiet. In fact, the atmosphere was so silent that I knew I wasn’t in the shitty apartment over the tattoo shop.
Sliding my hand down the bed, I searched for Briar but found nothing but smooth sheets and fading warmth.
She must already be up. I checked the time and blew out a heavy breath. I knew her schedule by now. Chances were, she’d already left for work. On the off chance she hadn’t, though, I got up. I had to look around for my jeans and was tugging them on as I walked into her bedroom. Peering out the window, I saw her car and started to breathe a sigh of relief.
It never quite made it past my lips.
Briar was out in the driveway.
And she wasn’t alone.
My heart lurched in my chest, and a sick feeling settled in my gut. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead and the back of my neck, trickling down my spine.
For a few seconds, I didn’t even understand the sensation spreading through me. I forced myself into action before I even processed what I was feeling, although, by the time I hit the stairs, I knew what it was.
Fear.
I felt fear.
I was afraid.
What was Jerrel doing here?
I leaped down the last five stairs, feeling the impact all the way up my legs, but ignoring it. The area rug skidded a little under my feet, and I listed to the right before catching my balance.
I heard the powerful roar of the Ferrari’s engine before I even managed to open the door. Both locks were engaged, and I fumbled with them, still desperate to see her. What if Jerrel had kidnapped her? What if—
“Don’t be stupid. He wouldn’t do that,” I told myself. Marcos was operating very low level right now.
I knew that. He couldn’t afford the attention.
Jerking the door open, I half-tumbled out onto the porch. Briar’s car was gone.
Swearing, I took a few steps down the sidewalk, although I couldn’t so much as see her car. What would I do if I did anyway? Flag her down? Run after her?
Groaning, I dragged my hands up and down my face. No sudden insight came to me, so I pressed the heels of my hands against my eye sockets. That didn’t help either, but I didn’t quit. This was a fucking nightmare. An absolute nightmare—
A low, malicious chuckle filled the air.
Slowly, I lowered my hands and turned, staring down the driveway as Jerrel sauntered up.
He looked me up and down.
Cold air bit into my naked chest, but I was only distantly aware of it. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded.
“Oh, a bit of this. A bit of that.” He hitched up a shoulder as he sauntered closer. “You ought to go on inside, get dressed. Maybe get the hell out of her house before she calls the cops on your dumb ass.”
I resisted, barely, the urge to reach out and grab him by the collar of his coat.
“Now, why would she do that?”
The smug grin on his face spread into an all-out smile, his teeth brilliantly white against his dark skin. “Because, you stupid mother-fucker, I told her you’re working for the Castellanos. She ain’t ever going to want to talk to you again, MacTavish. Those bridges are burned.”
“What the fuck makes you think Marcos is going to like that idea?” I asked, keeping my voice level even though I wanted to grab him and smash his face into the pavement.
“Marcos put me in charge of this job,” he said, jabbing a thumb at his broad chest. “Me, not you. And you’ve been dragging your feet, too busy sticking it to the pretty lady doc to do your job. Well, I’m done waiting for you. She’s done with you now. I’m going to do things my way.”
I felt sick.
I’d imagined Jerrel saying or doing any number of things, and while this was definitely better than him grabbing her and throwing her in the back of his car for some obscure reason, the reality of what he’d done, and what this could all mean, was making me ill.
&
nbsp; I glanced up at the house, then back to Jerrel, who was still watching me with his stupid, smug smirk. Hand curling into a fist, I imagined burying it in his face, over and over, until the blood ran red and wet on the pavement beneath us.
No. That wouldn’t do. This was Briar’s home, and fighting upset her. I sure as hell wanted to beat Jerrel senseless, but I didn’t want to upset her.
Fuck, what must she be thinking?
“You better get on out of here,” Jerrel said, reaching up to poke me in the chest.
Without thinking, I caught his wrist, twisted and moved forward, jerking at him as I did so. He went down hard, and I pressed my knee into his back as I wrenched harder, putting pressure on the joint. “You’ve got no idea how badly you just pissed me off, Jerrel. You really think you need to be laying hands on me right now, mate?” I was a little surprised at how cool my voice sounded.
“Get the fuck…shit!”
I shoved harder on his arm. “Another inch or two, you fuckin’ wanker, and I’ll dislocate your shoulder. You want that, Waddell? Be careful what you say, because I’ve got absolutely zero fucks to give right now.”
He must have still possessed some level of intelligence because, other than a pained grunt, he was quiet.
Rising, I backed away from him.
He got to his feet, glaring at me with pure malevolence in his gaze.
“One might think that you’d have figured it out by now,” I said calmly. “You couldn’t take me down when you had a bloody knife, and I was unarmed. You’re not a match for me, and that’s just the facts. Come at me again, touch me again, and you’ll be lucky to come out of it alive.”