Chapter 23
23
FIONN
“I’m fine . I wasn’t even in the ICU for a long time.” I rolled my eyes.
Considering my injuries, I was very lucky. It hurt sometimes to breathe too deeply, but the doctors had me on some nice painkillers, and they’d sent me to a private room about four hours after I’d woken up. They were more than happy with my progress, and I wasn’t in any immediate danger.
Daire glared at me as he fluffed the pillow behind my back, which only made Sloan’s mouth twitch in amusement.
“I’m making you comfortable, boy, so sit back and say thank you , Daddy like a good boy.”
“Uncle,” Fionn whined, but Sloan held up his palms toward him.
“You’re the one dating him, not me, kid. You’re on your own.”
Daire chuckled as he shoved the pillow behind me, and only when he was satisfied did he sit back down in one of the armchairs beside the bed, right next to Sloan.
Sloan had been home at some point because he was back to wearing his suit. From what Daire had told me, Sloan had brought one for Daire, too, so they both looked like their usual selves. Sloan’s suit was navy, a favorite of his, while Daire had on black, and it took everything in me not to say something like “ black again , Daddy ?”
“The nurse said it’s a miracle I’m not in more pain,” I reminded them as I tugged at the neckline of my horrible hospital gown. Sloan could’ve brought me something better to wear, too, but apparently this stupid thing was a requirement. “And that I woke up so quickly. They expected I’d be in the ICU for longer.”
The sooner I got out of here, the better. Being in bed was the last place I wanted to be, but Sloan had insisted it was important for me to listen to the doctors.
“As soon as you’re a little better, we’ll transfer you to EK Memorial,” Sloan said.
I smiled. “The Eoin Killough Memorial Hospital. I liked that you named it after Dad.”
“Yes, well, he was my best friend.” Sloan frowned. “I wish he’d raised you. He would’ve done a better job than me.”
“You didn’t do too bad,” I teased as my grin widened. “It wouldn’t have been easy being a boss of a billion-dollar enterprise and the guardian of your nephew.”
Daire laughed while Sloan rolled his eyes.
“You were a good kid.” Sloan shrugged as the corner of his mouth flicked up. “Eoin would’ve been proud of you. Maybe it’s time I told you how he really died.”
Daire’s laughter choked off, and he groaned, falling back into the armchair.
Sloan shot a narrowed gaze at him. “You told him.” He didn’t sound surprised.
It was my turn to chuckle as I shook my head at him. It was easy to see that they’d been friends for a long time. Despite Sloan being the boss, there’d been an easy interaction between them since I’d woken up that I hadn’t seen in a while, probably since I was a kid. They smiled at each other, and warmth spread through me as I watched them—two of the most important men in my life. This was what happiness felt like, and if it took me getting shot three times to make it happen, then I’d do it all over again. I didn’t tell them that, of course.
I winced when a sharp pain volleyed through me and held up my hand as both Daire and Sloan looked at me in concern. “Don’t overreact. I’m fine . Jesus. Uncle, don’t you have a pet to go home to?”
“I do, but you’re important to me, too.” Sloan sighed. “I didn’t show you that before, and it’s going to change. You’re my family, bo—” He winced, firing Daire a glare. “He was my boy before he was yours, and now I need to find something else to call him.”
Daire snorted out a laugh. “Too bad. I’m his Daddy, you’re only his Dad .”
Sloan grunted, but I didn’t miss the grin that took over his mouth.
“I have a name, you know,” I said.
“Fifi?” The grin shrank into a smirk. “What are you, an elderly lady?”
Daire groaned and rubbed his face while I laughed. “Be glad I told him he couldn’t call me Deedee like he wanted.”
Sloan raised his dark eyebrows and opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was gone as soon as two men in suits—detectives was my guess—walked into my room. Sloan jumped to his feet, spine straight and shoulders tense as they headed straight for him.
“Sloan Killough, we are escorting you to the precinct for questioning. Think we wouldn’t find your gun, Killough? Well, we did.” The detective with a brown mustache grabbed Sloan’s shoulder and spun him around, then yanked his arms behind his back to slide handcuffs over his wrists.
“Are those necessary?” Sloan drawled in a blasé tone.
“You’re a danger to us,” Detective Mustache said with a wry grin. Fucking lying bastard.
I shuffled backward to sit up straighter.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, but they ignored me as they slapped the cuffs closed around Sloan’s wrists.
Daire stood and stepped forward. “That gun?—”
“Shut up, Daire.” Sloan sent him a pointed look, and Daire’s lips pressed together unhappily. I didn’t know what had happened, but I was good at putting two and two together. Whatever gun they were talking about was Sloan’s, but Daire had been the one who’d fired it and probably killed the man who’d shot me. Daire was about to tell them the gun was his, if only to protect Sloan, but Sloan wasn’t going to let him do that.
Daire came to stand at my side, his jaw tight and eyes furious as he watched the detectives. “Don’t worry, Boss, we’ll call the lawyers. This is ridiculous.”
“They’ll try to charge me, but it won’t stick.” Sloan smirked at the detective in front of him, a tall man with a scar across his chin. “But it’s cute that you’re trying.”
“We’ll see,” Detective Mustache grumbled, tightening the cuffs until he had Sloan hissing between his teeth. Mustache grinned, and I lunged forward, ready to fly out of bed and punch his smug face, but Daire caught me before I could.
“Not now, boy,” he whispered into my ear before kissing the top of the shell. “They want us to react.”
“Fucking pigs,” I snapped at them, ignoring the agony that ripped through me as I fought against Daire’s hold.
“Watch yourself,” Detective Scar sneered, pointing a stubby finger at me. “Or you’ll be in cuffs, too, boy.”
“Don’t call him boy.” Daire bared his teeth at him.
Detective Scar rolled his eyes and grabbed Sloan by his elbow, while Mustache grasped the other. Together, they began to lead Sloan out of my room. All I could do was watch, helpless, as they dragged him off. Sloan glanced at me over his shoulder as he went, winking with a sharp nod.
“Fionn, you and Conall are in charge for now,” Sloan called right before they yanked him through the door.
He was gone.
Numbness spread through me for a moment as I stared after him. When panic should’ve begun, something else settled inside me instead—determination. They’d come into my hospital room and ripped Sloan from my side where he was supposed to be. My uncle trusted me to take care of business now, and I was going to do more than that. I was going to destroy those cops.
I went to stand, but Daire placed his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “No. You aren’t healthy enough yet.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he shushed me quietly. “Fifi, listen. You can’t do anything right now. I’ll call the lawyers and get them down to the police station. The best thing you can do is get better.”
I sighed in frustration. Fucking Reyes. This was all his fault. “Fine, but I want you to call in the cavalry. Get Cillian, Aspen, and Jamie back here?—”
“Sloan already did that.”
“And I want the men ready. Where’s Rowen and Fallon?”
“They’re with Conall.” Daire took out his phone and sat on the edge of the bed. I watched him typing on the screen, so I kept talking.
I exhaled in relief and rubbed my chest, wincing. “Good. Conall needs to be protected. Around the clock. When our enemies hear Sloan was arrested, they’re going to get overconfident. I want every man working. If there’s even a sign of any of them being unsettled, I want people to come forward. Now is not the time for hesitation. We need to be united. This company doesn’t have room for men who might rat us out the first chance they get.”
Daire’s eyes sparkled with pride and he smiled. “Yes, sir. I’ll let the men know. We also have men outside your room now, protecting you.”
“What?” My mouth popped open in surprise. “Since when?”
“Since they moved you here. Sloan’s orders.” He shrugged. “He loves you. A lot.”
I fell back against the pillow behind me and rubbed my face. “Call the lawyers. I’m going to start making plans. I’ll need to talk to Conall, too.”
“Yes, Boss.” Daire cupped the right side of my face and kissed my left cheek before laying his mouth across mine. I moaned, returning the soft kisses that turned my insides warm and as wobbly as jelly. I touched his wrist, and he stared at me with a look that would’ve had me naked if I wasn’t in the hospital.
“Daire, that gun they found. I know it was Sloan’s, but did you touch it? Could they find your fingerprints on it?”
He sighed. “Yes. They could. We didn’t have time to dispose of it the right way. You were hurt. Dying. It was chaos. We had no men around, and we were going to get one of the guys to come and retrieve it, but you were rushed into the operating room and we weren’t thinking clearly.”
His words were a sucker punch to the chest, and I gasped harshly. “We need to get rid of it. Find someone in the department who can make it disappear, right?”
He exhaled. “Yeah. We still have some friends there. I’ll see what they can do for us, but even if they take it, they still arrested Sloan on obstruction, something that they can get all of us on if they want.”
I nodded. “We stay strong. It’s obvious they’re gunning for Sloan. They want him, but they’ll come for you, too, because you’re important to the Company. They’re just getting started.”
“Maybe.” He shook his phone at me. “That’s why we call in the experts. I’ll get the lawyers down there immediately.”
“Okay. I trust you to do what’s necessary.” Despite the worry that played on my mind as I thought about my uncle being taken to the precinct, a sudden onslaught of tiredness hit me and my eyes began to burn. I yawned, and Daire sifted his fingers through my hair gently.
“Take a nap, boy. We’ll sort everything out. I promise. Nothing will bring this company down. Nothing.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Daddy.”