Chapter 16
16
FIONN
The ride to Sloan’s house was filled with silence, thickened by the tension that stifled the air between us. Aodhan didn’t say anything to us, and by the concerned expression on Daire’s face, he thought it was strange. It was weird for Aodhan to be quiet based on our short acquaintance. He’d always been mouthy and confident. Daire didn’t bother to ask if he was all right, and neither did I.
When we arrived at the house in Southampton, Aodhan finally smirked at Daire.
“Give your brother a hug for good luck?”
Daire rolled his eyes and slipped out of his Mercedes, and I followed him from where I sat in the back. Aodhan was right behind us as we stalked up the front stairs of Sloan’s house. Mr. Hopper opened the door and bowed his head slightly as we entered.
“Mr. Killough has asked the Reardons to wait outside his office. Young Mr. Killough, your uncle wishes to see you in the basement,” Mr. Hopper drawled. The elderly butler always looked blasé; his stoicism wasn’t anything new.
I gave him a sharp nod and turned to Daire. With a smile, I reached out for his hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be right back.”
Daire swooped down to kiss me, and I froze. I hadn’t expected him to do that so casually in front of Company men. I wasn’t going to complain. I returned his kiss and held back a whine when he pulled away.
“Remember who you are, boy. You’re a Killough. This company is your birthright.” He brushed his thumb over my cheekbone.
I closed my eyes, reveling in the tender moment while in his strong arms, before I gave him another smile. “Yes, Daddy.”
Mr. Hopper coughed, his eyebrows jumping just enough that I could hardly recognize the usually foreboding man. The moment may have been fleeting, but it was enough that I considered it a win. It was rare for anyone to catch him by surprise. Grinning wider, I winked at Daire and left him and Aodhan there as I walked down the hallway toward the stairs that led to our special torture room in the basement.
I descended the stairs and paused at the bottom. In the middle of the torture room a man hung naked by his ankles. Blood flowed from various cuts down the length of his body until it trailed over his arms and dripped off his fingers like waterfalls pooling onto the cement floor below.
A few of our men stood to the right side of the room, quiet and waiting, while Sloan sat in a chair on the left. His elbows were on his knees, hands covered in blood that dripped onto the floor with the rest of it. His white dress shirt was splattered in blood and the stains were stark against the pale material. The sight of him was sinister, a reminder of his power.
Sloan’s cold stare tracked me as I stepped farther into the room. “Fionn.”
A queasy sensation bombarded my stomach, twisting and knotting until I thought I was going to puke. Bile burned my throat. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a dead body—even one so mutilated. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to it. It was rare for my uncle to be so hands-on with.... When he did there was usually a point to prove.
“Uncle. Mr. Hopper said you wanted to see me. Aodhan’s here.”
Sloan hummed and held out his hand to one of the men on the other side of the room. The man handed Sloan a damp towel. “Good,” Sloan murmured as he took his time to carefully clean his hands of blood. “Do you know who this man was?”
I glanced at the body. His face wasn’t familiar—though, that meant little with how torn apart he was. “No, Uncle.”
Sloan smiled, a menacing quirk of his lips that sent a shiver up my spine. “His name was Markus Gill. His wife was Rina, the sister of Reed Olsson.”
Oh—Reed Olsson was a man we’d recently captured. He’d stolen drugs from Sloan and hidden them. Four of our men—Cillian, Rowen, Aspen, and Fallon—had taken turns in torturing Reed for information. In the end, it was our specialized thief, Oisín Kelly, who managed to get it from Reed. Oisín discovered that Reed placed the drugs in the most obvious place—his sister’s house. As payment, Oisín got to keep Reed as his own.
I nodded.
“Hm. Some of our men questioned me about leaving Reed alive. They wanted him dead.” Sloan crossed a leg over his knee and held out his hand. The man who’d given him the towel opened his suit jacket to pull out a sheathed cigar. Sloan popped the end of the cigar in his mouth and our man lit it up for him. “They complained I was weak to let Reed live.”
I waited. My fingers twitched as Sloan took a puff of his cigar before blowing out a stream of smoke. The sweet aroma of tobacco and cherries tickled my nose.
“The thing about being the boss, Fionn, is that we get to decide when it’s beneficial to kill someone and when it’s not. I could’ve killed Reed, yes, but he was still useful. By giving him to Oisín, I fulfilled a favor and kept one of my most important men happy—ensuring the strict loyalty of a valued asset. Reed is Oisín’s toy now, but also his responsibility. Any trouble he causes, Oisín will have to pay for.” Sloan took another puff and stood, rolling his shoulders, before he filled the air with more smoke. “I killed Reed’s sister to prove a point. Her husband, this coward—” He waved at the hanging body. “—ran away before we could get there. Left his wife behind. It took a while to find him, but we did.”
I swallowed and fought to keep my attention on my uncle—I could taste the metallic tang of blood on the air.
Sloan walked toward me and stopped right in front of me. “This waste of space wasn’t useful, so he died. If someone talks to the cops, they aren’t useful. They die. Do you understand?”
I tilted my chin up to meet him head-on. “Yes, Uncle.”
“Aodhan. Should he die?”
I shifted with unease. Aodhan was Daire’s brother. He would never want him dead, but what did that matter to Sloan? To the Company? He certainly would never run to the police. “No, Uncle. I think he could be useful.”
Sloan made a sound in the back of his throat. “He directly questioned my authority and touched what belonged to me. Did you know that?”
I licked my lips nervously. “Yes, Uncle.”
“What use do I have for a man like that?”
My fingers twitched at my sides. Sloan’s gaze was hard on me, demanding responses. I curled my hands into fists, then uncurled them again. I wanted to give him answers —I had a duty to him and the Company—but I also needed to protect Aodhan for my Daddy. He’d always been alone in fixing Aodhan’s mistakes, and now he had me to help. “He kills, right? And he’s good at it. We could always send him out on dangerous assignments.”
“He defied my orders.” Sloan raised his dark eyebrows. “How do we trust him?”
I took a deep breath. “Send someone with him. Someone who can keep him in line.”
Sloan’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Hmm. Good.” He patted me on the shoulder, and a shot of pride joined the terror of giving the wrong answer. “Go wait for me outside my office. I’ll be there shortly.” He flicked a look at the men. “Get rid of the body and clean up. Call Caden.”
I held in a snort of amusement. Caden was a Kings of Men MC biker who worked under Jamie Shannon’s boyfriend, Hunter. A small new chapter was set up in New York, and they had begun to work closely with us. Caden ran a cleaning service that dealt specifically in bodily fluids and corpses.
Sloan slapped me on the back, and I took it as a gesture to go upstairs like he’d ordered. I tilted my head in respect and made my way toward Sloan’s office, where I found Daire and Aodhan waiting.
Aodhan was leaning against the wall, unimpressed by the expensive and very real Paul Cézanne painting that cost well over two hundred and fifty million beside him. Daire stood straight with his arms crossed. They were in a quiet conversation, and I was surprised to see a small smile on Daire’s face. Maybe for once Aodhan wasn’t causing trouble.
“Hey, Kitty,” Aodhan greeted with a wide grin.
Daire shot me a surprised glance and his face melted into a warmth that made my chest squeeze. I didn’t care who was watching as I strode directly into his waiting arms. I kissed Daire’s jaw, and he gripped my hand. I tilted my head back so he could slant his mouth over mine in a drawn-out kiss that had my toes curling in my freshly polished shoes.
“Hi,” I murmured against his warm mouth.
“Hey, boy. How did it go?” Daire brushed his nose against mine, and I sighed in pleasure.
“I think I did good?”
He hummed. “I didn’t expect any less. Good boy.”
I shuddered under his praise. “Sloan looked happy when I answered one of his questions. I can’t remember the last time that happened.”
Before Daire could respond, Sloan’s familiar footsteps echoed through the hall. I turned to see him striding down the hallway still wearing his blood-splattered shirt. I’d expected him to get changed, but I supposed he appeared more dangerous to Aodhan if he looked like this. He had washed his hands, though, which left his skin clean.
He paused when he reached us and gestured for Aodhan to follow him with his finger.
When Daire and I went to do the same, Sloan shook his head.
“No. Only Aodhan. We need to have a discussion.” He pointed at us. “You two stay here.”
I hesitated, but Daire placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it in reassurance.
Aodhan winked at me. “It’s okay, Kitten, I can handle the big bad wolf. Maybe he’ll blow me—I mean blow the house down.”
Sloan rolled his eyes and strode into his office with Aodhan cackling behind him.
The moment the door clicked shut, I groaned. “Sloan’s going to kill him, isn’t he?”
“No,” Daire said with a certainty that surprised me. I glanced at him, and he gave me a gentle kiss. “If he was going to kill him, he would’ve done it already. What did he say to you downstairs?”
I took a deep breath. “That as the boss we have to choose who lives and who dies based on their usefulness.”
He chuckled. “Makes sense. Sloan’s a tactician. Everything he does is planned, and while he can’t account for everything, he’s quick on his feet when he needs to be.” He waved his hand toward the office door. “Aodhan is one of the best hit men in the world, maybe even better than Ardan—don’t tell him I said that.”
I laughed.
“Sloan can use him. Aodhan’s a loose cannon, but with the proper motivation, he can be...managed.”
“Maybe someone to watch over him?” I offered, remembering what I’d suggested to Sloan. “There are many men we can trust to keep an eye on him.”
“Not many who can keep up with him.” Daire frowned thoughtfully. “Aodhan is like a cheetah on cocaine. He’s always on the go, moving at a hundred miles per hour even when he’s standing still. He has enough energy for a thousand men.”
“We have a lot of men, I’m sure we can find someone.” I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, and he curved his around my waist, dragging me against him. He swooped down for a kiss, and I closed my eyes, relishing the taste of his mouth against mine. Everything about this , about us, felt just right. He loved me and wanted the world to know. I was enjoying every second of this new feeling. I didn’t want any of it to end.
“You are so beautiful, boy,” he whispered against my cheek. He traced my cheekbone with his mouth, dotting kisses across my skin until his teeth were nipping at the top of my ear. “I want to eat you up.”
“That can be arranged,” I murmured with a wide grin. “Any time, any place. I’m yours to feast on, Daddy.”
Daire chuckled hotly in my ear before he nibbled on my lobe. “You’re such a good boy. I couldn’t find a better boy than you.”
A shudder of pleasure danced down my spine, and a keen slipped from me before I could stop it. I flushed, but Daire’s chuckle deepened as he pulled back to cradle my face in his huge hands. He stroked his thumb over my cheekbone and tilted my chin up, peppering me with more kisses.
I didn’t know how long we stood there, kissing gently without any real rush, before the door to Sloan’s office opened again. I didn’t jump away like I might’ve once. Instead, I slowly broke our kiss. When I turned out of Daire’s arms, I was met with Aodhan’s amused face.
“Don’t stop on my account.” He smirked as he shut the door behind himself.
Daire grunted. “How did it go?”
Aodhan shrugged. “Looks like I’m going to be sticking around for a while.”
“You can get your own place,” Daire responded without missing a beat.
Aodhan laughed. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll be in and out of New York. I have a new partner.”
“Who?” I was curious who Sloan thought could match Aodhan. There hadn’t been much time between our conversation and him turning up here, which made me wonder if Sloan had already decided to pair Aodhan up with one of our men before I suggested it.
Aodhan crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “An Italian. Your ex, Kitten. Michele Scotti.”
“He’s not my ex. We never—” In the end, it didn’t matter. “Why an Italian?”
Why did Uncle choose Michele, of all people? How could we trust the Italians after they’d hidden the book from us? We still hadn’t heard from Elio.
“Apparently, I have a special assignment. The boss arranged something with Folliero. We have a common enemy.” He winked at me. “Too bad, huh? Will you miss me?”
“No.” I mirrored his posture and crossed my arms. “Stop calling me kitten.”
His laughter grew louder, and he bent his fingers, making a scratching gesture at Daire. “Rawr.”
Daire pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Aodhan, stop.”
Aodhan held up his hands, then made a zipping motion over his mouth. “I’m done. And now I have to go meet my new boyfriend.” His laughter was back, loud and boisterous—this wasn’t the same quiet man who’d been in the car with us. This was the real Aodhan. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” With a final wink, he stalked down the hallway like a man on a mission.
I watched him go with a frown as the door opened again. Sloan stuck his head out.
“Fionn, come in here for a moment. I want a word.”
A sharp shot of fear fired through me. I took a deep breath to center myself. With a small smile to Daire, I followed Sloan into his office and gently closed the door.
By the time I turned around, Sloan was already in the leather chair behind his desk. His hands rested on the solid wood in front of him. There wasn’t any tension on his face, and I took the relaxation as a sign that I wasn’t in any trouble.
I snagged the guest chair in front of his desk. “Did you get it figured out with Aodhan?”
The soft scent of lavender filled the room and I let it soothe the fear. Now that I could admit I didn’t hate Conall, I liked some of the things he’d done around this place. His essential oils were a nice touch with surprisingly therapeutic benefits.
“Yes, we did. Aodhan will be staying with the Company for a while longer. He’ll be working with the Italians to fix a problem. Elio reached out and asked for help, and honestly, it benefits the Company, too.” Sloan opened the top drawer of his desk and removed a shiny silver case. He opened it and pulled out another cigar, eyeing me with a conspiratorial smirk. “Don’t tell Conall.” He held up the cigar. “He doesn’t like it when I smoke too much.”
I chuckled. “That sounds like him.”
Sloan raised his eyebrows. “What happened between you two? Suddenly you’re more... amicable .”
I shrugged. “I want to make you proud, and Conall’s your pet. He’s important to you, which means I need to get along with him.”
That wasn’t the entire truth. After Conall helped me through the Michele and Daire situation, it was difficult to hate him. If anything, I considered him more of a friend, though I would never admit that out loud. When we passed each other in the house, we’d stop to talk or share a smile. It was nice not to use so much energy disliking him. Conall was smarter than I’d first suspected.
“Good.” An emotion I didn’t recognize passed through Sloan’s gaze as he cleared his throat and grabbed his cigar cutter.
After trimming the end, he shoved the cigar into his mouth and seized a box of matches. He made a show of lighting up. I’d never been interested in smoking, even cigars, but Sloan had been doing it for as long as I could remember. My grandfather had died when I was young, but he’d been a cigar smoker as well.
Sloan shook the match before he dropped it into the glass ashtray in front of him. He took a long puff before blowing the smoke out through his nose. “There’s something we need to discuss. Something you may not like.”
My throat went dry and a pit opened in my stomach. I fought to hold back a shudder. Nodding, I sat up straighter. “Of course, Uncle.”
I refused to look away as his emotionless stare bore into me.
Most people thought of Sloan as ruthless and cold, and while he was those things, he’d also tried his best while raising me. It had to be hard for him. He’d just brutally lost his brother, and suddenly, he had his kid to take care of. Sloan had always made time for me when he could. Some nights, we’d sit at the kitchen island eating olives from the jar as we talked about our day. Other nights, he’d give me lessons about being the boss of a large organization like the Killough Company. He’d made sure I was educated and prepared. A tactician in training.
At the start of my senior year, I’d demanded to be let into the Company. To be his underling. His apprentice . He’d needed a month to think about it before he’d finally agreed, under the provision that I graduated with high scores. During the weekends and after I finished my homework, he started to test me with hypothetical situations, and after a few months of that, he brought me out on a couple of excursions . They were mostly safe trips, but I got a feel for what was expected of me if I wanted to inherit the business.
Finally, I’d graduated with a solid GPA, and that was the last time I truly remembered Sloan being proud of me.
He was still my uncle, even if he wasn’t able to fully show me how much he cared for me while I was his apprentice. I trusted him.
Sloan exhaled another puff of smoke through his nose and sighed. “Lorcan O’Guinn. Lor. The one who stays here.”
I frowned, acid stirring in my stomach whenever that name was mentioned. God, I fucking hated him. “Yeah, I know the one. He teaches some of our men’s kids with Dr. Mifflin.”
“Mm-hmm.” Sloan placed his cigar on the ashtray and threaded his fingers together. “He’s the son of Lorcan Lee—even if the idiot doesn’t treat Lor like one.”
My eyebrows furrowed. I wasn’t quite sure where Sloan was going with this. “Okay.”
“Let me tell you a story. My father, your grandfather, was never truly faithful to my mother. He never loved her. Their marriage was set up by my grandfather, who was trying to strengthen his Irish alliances. So, Dad slept around a lot and Mom never cared. She didn’t love him, either, and I’m sure she had her own lovers. Out of my father’s mistresses, there was only one woman I knew about. Dad never loved her, but he fucked her regularly. A maid.”
Sloan rarely talked about his father. From what I remembered as a child, Grandfather had never been very affectionate, either.
He made an irritated sound. “Dad wasn’t a good man, but neither was my granddad. Mom tried, but Dad had me and Eoin under his thumb, while she took care of my sister.”
I frowned. Sloan talked about his younger sister even less than his father. She’d moved back to Ireland when Sloan took over the Company, not interested in being part of the mob.
“He wanted us in the family business. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter was what Dad told me on his deathbed. There were rumors that Lorcan Lee was his son. The maid was Lorcan’s mother. I didn’t know what to believe, until Dad asked me with his dying breath to make Lorcan my chief advisor.”
“Is Lorcan really Granddad’s son?” I asked before I could stop myself. Panic rose in my throat, clogging it.
Sloan laughed, but it wasn’t in amusement. “I wondered. After Dad died, I took a piece of his hair and Lorcan’s spit from a finished can of pop.” He pursed his lips. “Lorcan Lee is my half brother.”
“Damn,” I breathed out, catching myself before I could say fuck . Lorcan fucking Lee. That asshole was the epitome of a loser. I’d always wondered why Sloan chose to keep him in the Company.
Sloan shook his head and leaned back in his leather seat. He tapped the desk with his forefinger. “Lorcan doesn’t know. No one but you and I do now. But Lor is Lorcan’s son.”
It took a moment, but the dots started to connect. “Lor’s my cousin. Your nephew.” I stood, nearly knocking my chair over. The panic intensified and swept south to my lungs, making it difficult to breathe. This was the perfect time for swearing— fuck !
Sloan raised his palm before I could say anything else. “This doesn’t change anything, Fionn. You are my apprentice. I needed you to know the truth. Lor doesn’t know yet, and I want to keep it that way. He’s a good kid who needs some guidance and resources. His father has barely had anything to do with him.”
What about me? I wanted to scream. Sloan treated Lor more like a son than he did me lately. I’d worked my ass off for this company, for Sloan , yet as soon as he discovered who Lor was, he took him under his wing.
Pain sliced through my heart, and I breathed through the agony that tore me to shreds on the inside. I nodded sharply. “Understood, Uncle.”
“Fionn—”
“Excuse me, sir.” I raced out of the office before Sloan ordered me to stay. Until he gave me direct instructions, I could escape, and I couldn’t stay in there for a minute longer.
I nearly knocked Daire down on my way through the hall. I had to get out of here. Sloan said nothing had changed, but that was bullshit. Everything had changed. I would lose everything. It didn’t matter if I was still his apprentice. He liked Lor better than me.
Everyone did.
Lor laughed along with our men and cozied up to Conall and Vail. He might look like some brooding goth, but he had them all wrapped around his finger. They loved him. Fuck! And Uncle Sloan was keeping him here in the house. Why? If anyone found out he was a Killough, too, they’d all want him to be the boss.
Talk about keeping useful people close.
I took the grand staircase two steps at a time and raced down the hallway until I crashed into my room. I slammed the door shut before I broke down in the hall. I tried to take a deep breath but choked on the panic rising in my throat. Terror and anger assailed me, and I didn’t know if I wanted to scream or cry.
Both. I wanted to do both.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t push the air through my lungs. Why couldn’t my body do what it was supposed to?
Tears burned in my eyes, and I clenched them shut, trying to hold the tsunami at bay.
Is this how my entire world crashed and burned? All because of a bastard and his son?
I tried to stumble to my bed, but my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor. I punched the hardwood until my fists bled and finally let myself scream.
Pushing to my feet, I forced my legs to work so I could get to the window and stare out.
I would never give up my hard work for that...asshole! Never!