Chapter 17
17
DAIRE
I hesitated at Fionn’s door, hand floating in the air ready to knock. I didn’t know what Sloan had said to him, but it couldn’t be good with the way Fionn had rushed out of the office. Following Fionn wasn’t a choice. I had to make everything better for my boy. If that meant defying Sloan, then so be it.
Sighing, I rapped my knuckles on his door before walking in.
He was standing beside the window, his shoulders stiff and posture rigid. Everything about him right now reminded me of the boy I’d tried hard to ignore over the years. This wasn’t Fifi or my boy , this was Fionn, the overworked and stressed nephew of Sloan Killough.
“Fionn?” I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I pulled him back against my chest and held him as tight as I could. “What did he say?”
From this angle, I caught the tightness of his jaw and the moisture in his eyes as he stared out toward the massive lawn and the greenhouse Conall liked to visit. The remnants of tear tracks stained his cheeks. “Did you know?”
“Know what?” I grasped his shoulders gently and turned him toward me, and he kept his hardened stance, as though he wasn’t sure if he could trust me or not, and that hurt the most. His knuckles were bloody and I brushed my thumb over them gently. My heart gave a painful tug.
“Lorcan O’Guinn is my cousin. Sloan’s nephew.”
“What?” I gaped. “Cousin? Nephew? How?”
He searched my gaze, and while he was, the realization hit me. There’d been reports but nothing concrete.
“Lorcan Lee?”
He grunted. “Apparently, he’s Grandfather’s son.”
“Fuck. I’ve heard the rumors, but I didn’t think they were true.” I held him tighter.
His mouth twisted in displeasure. “Yeah, well, apparently he is. Sloan’s known since his father died. This entire fucking time. He’s known who Lor was, too, and he didn’t fucking tell me. This is like one big cosmic joke. This nobody can take everything away from me. The Company is mine .”
“Fionn, listen to me. Look at me.” I clasped his face between my palms and turned his head so he had no choice but to stare into my eyes. “Sloan will not do that. He trained you from the very beginning. You are his apprentice. He chose you.”
“Because he had no other choice. Now he has Lor, and he likes him. Everyone does.”
I frowned. “And you think Sloan doesn’t love you, Fifi?”
He tried to pull away from my hold, but I didn’t let him. “Let me go, Daire.”
“No. In this room I am your Daddy, and you will listen to me.”
“Daire.” He struggled harder and went to shove my chest, but I dragged him into my arms.
We’d wasted too much time already, and I wasn’t going to let this come between us. I refused to watch him wonder what if as though Sloan would ever consider giving the Company to anyone but Fionn. That’d never happen. Sloan loved Fionn like a son. He was hard on Fionn, sure, but only because he had to be. Sloan wanted nothing more than for Fionn to succeed, to gain the confidence and willpower needed to be the boss.
“This company is yours. Sloan knows that, everyone fucking knows that, boy. Even Conall.”
He trembled so much that I felt the vibrations down to my bones.
“Let me go,” he said, voice dark and unrecognizable. All the agony he felt dripped out through his tone, and it shattered my heart into pieces. This wasn’t my boy. He was broken, trapped in a shell of fear. I had to bring him back to me.
“No.” My grip tightened. “Never.”
He swung, and I didn’t have time to duck out of the way before his fist connected with my cheek. I stumbled backward—surprised more than hurt—and he made a move toward the door to escape. I came back to my senses before he could reach the exit and wrapped an arm around his waist as he struggled.
“Let me go, Daire. You fucking asshole, let me fucking go or I’ll have your head for this.”
“No.” My cheek throbbed, and I made a mental note to praise him on his punch later, when he wasn’t fueled by the kind of fury that could destroy a man.
He kicked, and I moved just in time to avoid my cock being a target. There was nothing I could say that would calm him down. He was panicking about losing his place not only in the Company, but in his family, and no words would get through to him while he was like this. I needed to find a way to center him quickly.
I forced him toward the bed as he continued to fight me the entire way. His yelling echoed around the room, but I didn’t think anyone would come in.
I threw him onto the mattress face-first. When he went to get up again, a scream tore out of his throat. Before he could move, I dropped on top of him, pressing my arm against his upper back to hold him down.
“Fucking get off me! I’m going to have you killed for this. I’m the fucking apprentice. I’m Sloan’s nephew. Fuck you, Daire.”
“You are my boy.” I pressed my weight down on him as he kicked up at me again. “I am your Daddy. I’m going to give you what you need. Even if you fight me the whole way through it.”
“Fuck off!” The sound that left Fionn came from the deepest recesses of his chest, so painful that it was like a knife straight to my heart. I’d never expected to see my boy like this, and I never wanted to again.
My hand came down hard on his ass, the crack of it reverberating louder around the room than his screams had. He froze and a choked gasp fell past his pretty lips.
“You will listen to me,” I ordered, my voice calm yet firm, leaving no room for argument. I struck his ass again—this time hard enough for a moan to crawl up and out of his throat. “I’m your Daddy, boy, and I have you. Do you hear me?”
He sobbed, his voice broken and raw. “It’s my company.”
“It is, boy, it is your company. Sloan’s not going to give it to anyone else.”
Another smack to the ass and the cries quieted down. I didn’t let up, striking his cheeks over and over again—until there were only moans slipping out of his pretty mouth. His spine was still tense, but his shoulders had relaxed and he was no longer struggling.
“Are you okay?” I murmured into his hair, rubbing a soothing circle on his ass.
“Yes.”
I winced at the rawness in his voice.
“I will be. Thank you, Daddy.”
“We’re not done yet.” I grabbed his shoulders and sat him up on the bed, smoothing my thumbs over his tear-streaked cheeks and wet chin. He stared at me like I’d hung the moon even as sadness lingered in the depths of his eyes. “I’m going to take you apart now, boy. I’m going to strip you naked and lie you down on the bed. Then, I will eat you out until you writhe under my tongue—begging to come. Only when I’m done with you will I fuck you until you can’t remember your name. Is that all right with you, baby boy?”
“Yes.” The breathiness in his tone made me smile. “Please, Daddy? I need you so bad.”
“Come here.” I pulled him in close. Stroking my fingers down his neck, I took the time to trace every dip and curve of his jaw and face. I petted my thumbs under his eyes, down his nose, across his eyebrows, and around his ears. I wanted my boy to feel my devotion with every touch. I wanted him to feel loved. Worshiped.
He closed his eyes, exhaling through his nose as I leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek, licking at the trail of tears he’d left behind. “Daddy.”
“I’m right here, boy. I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
I took my time undressing him, one piece of clothing at a time. His tie, then his suit jacket. Once his shirt was unbuttoned, I kissed the expanse of his chest and stomach, mapping the upper half of his body with my hands and mouth. I pressed my nose into his armpit and inhaled, and he moaned.
“You smell so good. Fuck, you make me hard, boy.”
“Please take care of me, Daddy,” he whimpered.
“Always.” I traced my hands over his ribs and up again to his shoulders before I slid his shirt off his arms.
Next, I worked open his belt and pants before dragging them and his underwear down over his ass. He lifted his hips, and I pulled the clothing off his legs completely, along with his shoes and socks, leaving him naked for my hungry eyes.
I scraped my nails over his thighs, and he trembled. His cock was already hard and leaking at the slit. “Does that feel good, Fifi?”
He leaned forward, chin tilted toward me, silently begging me to kiss him. I placed my lips on his, our kiss slow and sensual as I continued to explore every curve, muscle, and dip. I avoided his cock, and when my fingers skimmed over his inner thighs close to his balls, he whined.
“Shh. Not yet,” I murmured, mouthing kisses along his jaw. “I have you, baby boy. Trust me. Let Daddy take care of you.”
“I do,” he whispered, his words almost lost on a gasp. “I trust you with my life, Daddy.”
“Good. I would die for you, boy. I’d give you the world.” I sucked his earlobe between my lips and nipped it with my teeth. “Tell me, what do you prefer? Me eating you out or sucking your cock? Today’s about you.”
He let out a long breath. “Cock, please.”
“Good manners, boy.” I tugged his lobe before I grabbed him under the knees and pulled him to the edge of the bed. I shifted until I was on my knees on the floor in front of him. His face was flush with pleasure and his pupils were blown. “You’re such a good boy. You’re mine, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Daddy Daire.” He spread his legs and his cock bobbed in front of my face. “I belong to you.”
I brushed my hands over his knees and up his thighs before I dipped forward and darted my tongue out, pressing the flat of it over his cockhead. He inhaled sharply, then whined as I swirled my tongue around the underside of his dick. He tasted salty and clean, and I was addicted.
I licked down his length, following the visible lines of his veins as if it were a game. I feasted on every reaction, from his shivers to the way his mouth opened in a silent gasp. He was beautiful like this—vulnerable, with his eyes still wet from tears.
I took the head into my mouth and sucked while he whimpered. I kneaded my fingers into his legs, massaging the muscles as I took even more of him between my lips. Swiping my tongue under his rigid length, I eyed him to savor his wrecked appearance. Right now was about him, about making him feel wanted and needed. He was mine , and I was going to give him everything I could offer.
I cupped his ball sack in my palm and squeezed. The carnal wail that left him went straight to my trapped cock. His breath hitched and he rocked his hips forward, driving his length deeper into my mouth. His euphoria was so fucking mesmerizing that I hungered for more, to bring him to absolute bliss.
I tightened my hold on his balls again and sucked him all the way down my throat, and he keened, arching his hips off the bed and shoving even deeper. My gag reflex kicked in and I choked.
Fionn quickly pulled back, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean it.”
I coughed into the back of my hand before laughing once I’d caught my breath. “Boy, it’s fine. You are fucking beautiful, did you know that?” I stood and cradled his cheeks so I could kiss him gently. “Now, I’m going to fuck you. Do you want it hard or soft?”
His breath caught. “Hard, Daddy Daire. So fucking hard. Make me forget for a while.”
I nuzzled his cheek, and he closed his eyes with a peaceful sigh. “Anything for you.”
After giving him another kiss, I leaned over to the nightstand and opened the top drawer to grab the lube. I threw the bottle on the bed before I guided him backward until he was in the center of the mattress. I took a moment to appreciate the length of his lithe body, all flat lines and small muscles converging to make a gorgeous specimen of a man. My baby boy.
I removed my clothes, aware of his gaze eating me up as skin was revealed. He licked his lips, eyes dark and hungry, and I smirked down at him when I kicked off the final piece—my underwear. My cock bobbed free, hard and ready to feel his tightness around me.
“Do you want this, boy?”
He exhaled. “No, Daddy, I need this. I need you.”
That’s all I desired to hear. I slipped back onto the bed and settled between his spread legs. I pressed my weight down onto him and kissed him, our mouths moving like a well-rehearsed dance. He whimpered and whined, rolling his hips up so his cock rubbed against mine. I brushed my nose over his when he pouted.
“Please, Daire, fuck me.”
I reached for the lube again and flipped open the lid to slick up my fingers. I opened him carefully, taking him apart with two fingers, watching as his eyes rolled back and precum beaded at his slit. He moaned, hole clenching around my fingers.
“Get your cock inside me, Daddy.”
I chuckled at the pure desperation in his voice, making it deepen and shake with fervor. His cheeks were pinker than usual and his tongue swept out to wet his lips as he stared up at me.
I used the lube on my cock before I shoved his legs up to his chest. He whined, toes curling, as I aligned my length with his hole. I didn’t ask if he was ready because it was very clear in the way he rocked his hips, eager to feel me pressed against his entrance. If he didn’t need this so much, I might’ve lectured him on his behavior. Not only for the hit, but for his impatience.
My jaw still throbbed, and between Sloan’s punch yesterday and Fionn’s this morning, I suspected I would end up feeling the pain for days. Like uncle, like nephew. I understood Fionn’s anger, but we’d need to talk about it later.
I dug my thumbs into his hip bones, keeping him still as I thrust, my cock opening him up until I was fully inside. We both groaned.
“Daddy.” He shuddered against me. “Fuck, you feel so good. So fucking wide.”
I slammed my mouth against his, and he grabbed my face, his kisses aggressive as his teeth nipped my lips. He rolled his hips, and we both moaned again when I slid even deeper.
“You’re so tight, boy.” I grasped his thighs and shoved back, staring down at where I was balls deep in his hole. Tantalizing heat spread through my stomach and farther south, settling in my sack at the erotic sight we made.
“Please, Daddy Daire.” Tears pooled in Fionn’s eyes and he scrunched them shut. My passion warred with the empathetic pain I felt for him. I wished he could see himself the way I did. He always acted like he wasn’t good enough, and sure, Sloan pushed him, but Fionn was damned near perfect already.
“I love you, Fionn Killough,” I whispered.
His eyes popped open and he stared up at me.
“I love you so fucking much, and listen to me when I tell you that you are so good . I am proud of you and everything you’ve done, and not just for the Company. You are the best and the only person who can take over after your uncle. I will be at your side the entire time. I won’t ever leave you. You are mine, and I am yours.”
He gasped and grappled at my shoulders. “I love you, too, Daire. Fuck me. Make love to me.”
I smiled and shifted into a better position before I began to hammer into him. The echoes of skin slapping against skin reverberated around the room. The outside world ceased to exist as I lost myself in my boy. There was me and Fionn on this bed and no one else. He was my boy, and I would give him exactly what he needed.
We kissed and fucked, driven by an intense appetite for each other. I couldn’t get enough of him, but simultaneously it was also too much of him—I wanted to explode. He murmured Daddy like a prayer, and despite years of not practicing Catholicism, I felt like a worshiper when it came to him.
I reached between us and grasped his cock, tugging the rigid length in time with my thrusts. He clamped around me, a vise that welcomed me inside, and pleasure seeped through my veins like poison. I could die right now, and I’d be the happiest man who ever existed.
His fingernails dug into my shoulders and he threw his head back with a whine. He was unraveling beneath me. Pride swelled in my chest at my success in making him fall apart. After this, I’d put him back together again.
“Come for me, boy,” I growled. “Show Daddy how much you love his cock.”
Fionn trembled as he arched his back. Sweat gleamed on his forehead and he panted. He thrust up into my fist, riding the waves of his pleasure. Euphoria hit him hard. Then, he stiffened and gasped as he came, his cock jerking under my strokes. Cum splattered across his stomach and chest, some reaching as high as his chin and nose, and if I wasn’t so focused on fucking into his tight hole, I might’ve laughed.
“Oh fuck,” he sobbed.
I continued to pump into him, and the sounds he made had my balls heavy. He shuddered and laughed. It was clear he was overstimulated from his orgasm. I was pounding on his prostate, making it feel all the more pleasurable and painful for him. A suitable punishment for the earlier punch.
“Fuck.” His mouth dropped open and he winced, then moaned as I hammered into his hole at a grueling pace. I was so close it hurt. “Daddy. Shit. Oh fuck.” He trembled harder, his cock jerking as if trying to rise again. “Come in me, Daddy Daire. Fill me up.”
My orgasm hit me hard, a sensation I hadn’t quite felt before, and my world tilted on its axis. My balls drew tight to my body and my insides melted from the heat. A wave of intense torment washed through me as I came, aching so powerfully that I thought I was going to pass out.
When I pulled out, my cum spilled onto the bed. I collapsed beside him, breathless and feeling every bit of my age.
He sighed and shuffled onto his side, throwing an arm around my waist. “I needed that.”
“I know you did, boy.” As the pleasure wore off, the throbbing in my jaw picked up again and I flinched.
He frowned and touched the spot where he’d punched me. “I’m so sorry, Daddy Daire. I didn’t mean to hit you. I was angry. That’s no excuse. Fuck.”
I shook my head and laid a gentle kiss on his forehead. “You’re right, it’s not an excuse. It won’t happen again, do you understand? I am your Daddy, boy, but I will not tolerate that, even when you’re upset. There is no excuse for it, am I clear?”
“Yes, Daddy.” He nestled his face against my neck and sighed. “I’m so sorry. Thank you for being here with me.”
“I understand why you were upset, but trust me when I tell you that this company is yours. Not Lor’s. Sloan wants you to lead. Lor’s a good kid, but he’s not a Company man.” I stroked my hand up and down Fionn’s spine and tugged him closer, burying my nose into his hair. He smelled like sweat and sex, and it was perfect.
“I panicked. Sloan likes him more than me.”
“He fucking does not,” I argued, surprising him into glancing up at me with wide eyes. I sighed in frustration at Sloan’s lack of communication. He was a great boss but not the best uncle. “You remind him of Eoin. You look like him, and he might not say it, but Sloan’s scared of losing you. Lor is easy to reconcile because he’s not Eoin’s son. You are . What did Sloan say to you?”
Silence filled the room, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if he’d answer. “He said that I’m his apprentice and it doesn’t change anything.” He groaned. “But he’s told me so many times that I’m not ready to be boss.”
“Of course you aren’t ready, boy. He’s holding back because he’s afraid to lose you. The moment the Italians showed their face, he hesitated and pulled you back from what you were learning.” I growled. “Then, Reyes happened, and now he’s not teaching you what he needs to because he’s being a fucking coward.”
“Uncle’s not scared of anything,” Fionn argued.
I laughed. If only that were true. “Usually he’s not, but now he has enemies who’ve grown balls, and that puts the two people he loves the most, you and Conall, in danger. So yeah, he’s scared, deep down inside. He’s still human.”
Fionn frowned and stared at my chest.
I shook my head and patted him on the ass. “Up. I took you apart, and now I’m taking care of you. We’re going to take a shower.”
He groaned and flopped half on top of me. “Do I have to move? My legs feel like they weigh a hundred pounds each.”
I raised my eyebrows and slid out from under him so I could stand. I turned and grabbed his knees, dragging him toward the edge of the bed. Ignoring his protests, I heaved him up into my arms bridal style. He threw his head back and laughed as I carried him to the bathroom.
“I’m your Daddy, let me take care of you.” I winked at him. “I’ll get you bathed and dressed, then we’re going back downstairs. Understood?”
He smiled up at me, and the tenderness of it tugged at my heart. “Yes, Daddy Daire.”
After I settled him in the shower, I lathered up a cloth and washed his body. The same crevices I had loved on earlier were getting attention again—from under his armpits to the crack of his ass—before I guided him under the water and watched the soap swirl around the drain. I shampooed his hair, taking the time to massage my fingers through his brown locks.
His eyes closed, and I relished the blissed-out expression. This was how it should always be.
Once we were done in the shower, I dried him and dressed him, and he sighed in contentment.
“Thank you.”
I kissed him. “You’re mine, boy. Remember that.”
“I’ll never forget.”
Weeks flew by, and we kept busy.
Fionn called Folliero, and he’d promised Fionn that he had a lead and would get in contact with us soon. Fionn trusted him, so I had no choice but to go along with it. I didn’t have to like it. Sloan had put Fionn in charge of this job for a reason, and I was at his side no matter what.
Since the whole Aodhan debacle, Sloan was colder to me, and I didn’t blame him, but I also didn’t push. Sloan was many things, but he was smart, and he knew I had his back no matter what.
Fionn didn’t talk about the Lor situation, either, and he asked that I not mention it, so we moved forward as if it had never happened. As far as I could tell, Sloan, in all his wisdom, hadn’t shared that info with Lor. Sloan had secrets—nothing new there.
In a lot of ways, life was back to normal.
Except the part where I now had Fionn in my bed. Or more specifically, between my legs with my cock in his mouth. He stared up at me, tongue rolling around my cockhead and eyes dark with lust.
“Like this, Daddy?” He smooched the underside of the tip, and I groaned, bending my knees and spreading them farther.
I stroked my fingers across his forehead and carded through his hair. “Just like that, boy.”
My phone rang, and Fionn groaned.
“Don’t answer it,” he said.
I shook my head. “It’s Conall.” I’d specially chosen that ringtone for him, so I knew who it was. I reached across the mattress and grabbed my phone off the nightstand, then swiped the screen to accept the call. “Sir?”
“Daire, there’s been an explosion at the new salon,” Conall said.
I stiffened.
We’d learned that Thiago Reyes was starting a line of salons down in Miami, using them as points of contact for selling drugs, which had him in the Company’s territory. To mess with Reyes, Sloan was going to open his own slew of salons, starting in New York City and venturing into Miami. All of this was to fuck with Reyes’s head before we took him down.
Today, Sloan had plans to show four of our men—Cillian and Rowen Shaughnessy, Aspen Kavanagh, and Fallon Maher—the new shop and inform them of our future business endeavors. Sloan had also taken Conall with him.
I sat up and dragged Fionn into my arms. My hard-on flagged at the news. “Is everyone all right, sir?” I put the phone on speaker so Fionn could hear it, too.
“I was hurt. I think I have a broken arm, but I’m at the Midtown apartment now and Rory’s here. I wanted to let you know what was going on. It was a shit show.”
“Who do you think set the bomb?” I asked when Fionn frowned.
Conall cleared his throat. “I don’t know. Sloan dropped me here and took the guys and left. I think he’s going to find out. Remember Sidorov?”
Sidorov was a Russian, and while usually Sloan hated dealing with them, Sidorov had a loathing for our Russian enemies as much as we did, which made having an alliance with him beneficial. He had the women to work the salons, and we had the money and power to support them.
“I bet Sloan’s headed out to see him.” Conall huffed, irritation slicing through his tone.
“Fuck.” I brushed a hand over my face. “We’re coming to you now.”
“You don’t need to,” Conall protested.
“We are,” Fionn chimed in, already moving to slide off the bed. He grabbed his pants and shoved them on, hiding his sexy brief-covered ass. “We’re already at Daire’s penthouse, and it’s near Midtown.”
“Yeah, okay. That . . . uh, sounds good.”
Fionn hesitated before rushing through getting dressed. He was worried about Conall, and so was I. There was a vulnerability in his tone that I didn’t think I’d heard from him. Clearly, the shock was wearing off. We needed to get to the Midtown apartment fast.
“Hang tight, sir. We’ll be there very soon.” I ended the call and dressed.
We went straight down to the garage to my SUV, and I drove us to Sloan’s Midtown apartment, parking in one of the designated visitor spots. Fionn was out of the vehicle before I turned off the ignition, and I had to nearly run to catch up to him on the elevator. His foot tapped impatiently, and his eyebrows furrowed. There was nothing I could say that would calm his nerves because I felt the same way.
Bomb .
We were usually the ones who set them, not the target. The fact that Conall had been hurt in the blast meant Sloan would be out for blood, and I pitied anyone on the other end of that anger.
We made it to the apartment and knocked on the door, and as soon as it opened, Fionn shoved his way past the guards inside. I followed, nodding at the guards as I slipped by.
Conall was sitting on the couch in the middle of the living room, his arm in a sling but not in a cast. His long dark hair was wet and skin shiny as if he’d showered before he was patched up.
Dr. Rory Higgins sat beside Conall, and they were talking in low voices, but when Fionn burst through the door, Conall gave us his full attention and smiled.
“Hi.”
Fionn rushed over to Conall and sat on the opposite side of Rory. “Are you okay? What happened? Tell me everything.”
Conall sighed and ran his uninjured hand through his hair. “I can’t tell you much because Sloan dropped me off here and took off with the guys. You know what he’s like.” He shrugged, then winced in pain. “We stopped at the site for the salon to check it out. Sloan was telling the guys about his plans, and I walked ahead of them. I was about halfway across the street when I was thrown off my feet and landed awkwardly on my arm. There was debris and dust everywhere. My ears were ringing. I was dizzy. Next thing I knew, Cillian was at my side and helping me stand, and Sloan was calling my name. Cillian led me to Sloan, and then we were in a car on our way here. It was sudden.”
Fionn ran a hand down his face. “Fuck.”
Conall’s mouth pulled upward at the corner. “At least they didn’t get my face. A few scratches, nothing permanent. You’re stuck with me for a while longer.”
Fionn frowned. “Not funny.” He shook his head and smiled. “I kind of like you, so you’re stuck with us for more than a while.”
Conall placed his hand on his chest. “Aw, Fionn, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Want to call me Uncle Conall?”
“No.” Fionn snorted. “Absolutely not.”
Conall pouted. “You’re no fun. Give your Uncle Conall a hug?”
“You’ve spent too much time around Fallon.” Fionn’s phone chose that moment to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket. He jumped to his feet. “It’s Elio. I’ll be back.” He swept farther into the apartment, and I took his abandoned seat beside Conall.
Dr. Rory cleared his throat and stood, walking deeper into the apartment to give us privacy.
I touched Conall’s elbow. “How are you really feeling? Is there something I can do for you?”
He gave me a sad smile. “Can you bring Sloan home? I know he’s out there trying to figure out who did it, but I want him here. I’m scared he’ll get hurt while I’m not with him.”
I chuckled quietly. “Sloan’s a big boy, sir. He can handle himself, and I pity the person who’s responsible for this.”
Conall frowned. “This is bigger than someone like Sidorov. What he has with us is once in a lifetime. I don’t see him making a stupid mistake like using a bomb to try and kill us.”
“You believe it’s Reyes?”
He made a face. “Yeah, I do. This is a war, and Reyes pulled out the big guns.”
I nudged him gently with my shoulder. “Good thing we have even bigger ones than he does. Trust me, someone will die for this.”
“As long as it’s not Sloan or one of ours.” Conall glanced at me carefully, eyes narrowed. “Are you and Fionn good?”
“We’re great,” I said.
He grinned. “Glad I don’t have to order Sloan to kill you for breaking Fionn’s heart again.”
I smirked at him. “You and Fionn have become close.”
“He’s a good guy, and Sloan loves him, so he matters to me, too.” Conall paused, then leaned in closer. “I like him, he’s funnier than I expected, but don’t tell him I said that.”
I made a zipping motion across my mouth. “My lips are sealed.”
We grinned at each other before Fionn came storming back, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He paused in front of us, staring at his phone for a long moment, then sighed.
“Elio found the book. One of his men took it behind his back.”
“I’m assuming that man is no longer alive,” Conall drawled.
Fionn gave him a what do you think ? look. “He’s getting men to bring us the book now. Apparently, he had a look at it and it’s all in code. He couldn’t work it out.”
I stood and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, dragging him closer and laying a kiss on his cheek. “Well then, good thing we have you on our side, huh? You enjoy a good puzzle.”
His eyes turned bright and determined. “You know me so well, Daddy.”