Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
KIERAN
It goes against every instinct I have to leave Riley Walsh alone in my penthouse with one of her little sorority friends, but business doesn’t stop just because I’ve got some spoiled princess under my roof.
I make sure to double-check the security system just to be on the safe side before heading out to meet Brennan and Cormac at the warehouse where we’re still keeping Finn.
Brennan’s car is already parked out front when I arrive, the sleek black exterior looking out of place against the rusted metal exterior of the warehouse.
I figure my brothers must have traveled together, so I pull up alongside Brennan’s car and kill the engine.
Before I climb out, I pull up my security feeds to check in on Riley and flick through the different camera angles to find her and her friend are nowhere to be seen, which means they must be in her room.
So, she can be obedient…
The temptation to look in on the camera feed that is in her room is almost too much to bear, but I’m not that much of a pig. Though, I’m sure Riley would disagree.
She might be a Walsh, but she also deserves some privacy. So, before I can give in to temptation and see what she’s getting up to, I shut off my phone and climb out of the car.
The inside of the warehouse reeks of blood and the faint smell of gasoline.
I enter through the side door and catch the low sound of someone groaning from the far end of the corridor leading to Finn’s cell.
My footsteps echo against the concrete flooring, announcing my arrival long before I enter the cell.
Brennan is crouched in front of the chair where Finn is tied. Blood stains his knuckles, and there’s a deep scowl on his face as he glances over his shoulder at me.
“You’re late.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
He straightens, wiping his hands on a rag that’s seen better days.
He jerks his chin toward the limp body behind him. “Still not talking.”
“Of course not, he’s fucking unconscious.”
Finn’s been in our possession for weeks, and still, he’s yet to say anything of importance. In my opinion, we should stop wasting our time torturing him and just slit his throat, but, of course, Ronan is the one to make that call, not me, and he thinks he can still be of use to us.
“That was an accident,” Brennan mutters.
I shake my head as I walk around Finn, slowly assessing his injuries.
He’s shirtless and covered in blood and bruises, with his arms and feet tied to the chair with rope that is soaked with blood. One of his eyes is swollen shut and his nose is crooked in the opposite way to the one it was when I broke it the last time I was here.
The guy is a complete mess, but somehow, he’s still alive.
“You could have warned me you knocked him out before I made the drive over here.”
“I thought you’d want to get away from Riley?” He chuckles, and I shoot him in a glare. “Or have we suddenly decided we like her now?”
“Of course not.”
Brennan grins. “No need to be so defensive.”
“I’m not being defensive.”
Brennan shakes his head, chuckling quietly to himself as he cleans up the rest of the blood on his hands.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” He tosses the rag at Finn’s feet.
As I follow Brennan out of the cell, I suddenly realize that Cormac isn’t here. “Where the fuck is Cormac?”
“How the hell should I know?” Brennan forces the back door open with his shoulder.
“He was meant to be joining us.”
“Well, he didn’t.”
“No shit. At least tell me he’s tailing O’Keefe.”
Brennan shrugs as he leans back against the side of the warehouse and looks up at the sky, letting the sun warm his face for a moment.
“I haven’t seen him in a few days. I’ve been watching O’Keefe alone, but there’s been nothing out of the ordinary to report. It looks like he’s keeping his head down.”
“Have you tried calling Cormac’s burner?”
“Straight to voicemail.”
I ball my hand into a fist and send it slamming into one of the rusted metal panels.
Brennan doesn’t even wince, but then again, he’s had almost three decades of experience with my temper.
My knuckles scream, but I ignore it as I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Ronan.
“I don’t have time to talk about Riley—”
“Where the fuck is Cormac?”
“He’s…busy.”
“That’s not an answer.”
There’s a pause, and I glance at Brennan, but my youngest brother is standing with his eyes closed and his face tilted toward the sun.
“He was meant to be here. But instead, he’s left Finn’s interrogations up to me and a fucking Ken doll.”
“Hey!” Brennan snaps.
“Where Cormac is isn’t any of your concern, Kieran,” Ronan says firmly.
“Pretty sure it is, brother.”
“Not unless I say so, and this time, I’m saying keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you.”
Ronan can try to hide it all he wants, but I know him too well. I can hear the tightness in his voice he gets when he’s lying through his teeth.
“You know something.”
“Kieran, not now.”
“When, then?”
“Later.”
I grind my teeth, but before I can say anything else, the line goes dead. I let out a string of curses, and Brennan cocks an eyebrow as he catches my eye.
“Well?”
“Something’s going on.” I pace back and forth, kicking at the gravel beneath my feet. “Ronan’s covering for Cormac, and I don’t know why.”
Brennan pushes off the wall. “Don’t drag me into that. I’m not getting caught in the middle of this.”
“He’s our brother; it’s inevitable that you will.”
We fall into step beside one another as we head around the side of the warehouse to where our cars are waiting for us.
“Well, not today, I won’t. I need to head to a meeting at The Blackthorn.”
“If you see Cormac, tell him I want to talk.”
Brennan climbs behind the wheel of his car. He waves a hand before speeding away, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him.
It’s nearly seven by the time I pull into my private parking garage.
I kill the engine and sit in silence for a minute, my knuckles still aching from earlier.
A bruise is already starting to blossom beneath the skin, and I silently curse myself for losing my temper.
But it seems no matter how hard I try to rein it in, it always seems to get the better of me.
In less than an hour, I will be sitting across from Riley Walsh in a dimly lit restaurant where we’ll share a meal and a bottle of wine.
It’s not lost on me that I’ve never done such a thing with a woman before.
Normally, I pick them up at a bar, bring them back to a hotel room for the night, and send them on their way.
I’m walking into uncharted territory, and that scares the shit out of me. Not that I’ll let on. The biggest mistake I could make right now is to show any sign of weakness or vulnerability in front of Riley.
Contract or no contract, she is not to be trusted.
The apartment is quiet as I step off the elevator. I take the stairs two at a time up to my room and lock the door behind me before stripping out of my clothes and jumping in the shower.
By the time I’m buttoning up a black shirt and checking the time, it’s already five past seven. I quickly head downstairs, but when I don’t find Riley ready and waiting for me, a familiar surge of rage courses through my body.
“Riley!”
Silence.
Of course, she’s not ready on time. She’s probably doing this on purpose to test me.
“I swear to God…” I start pacing back and forth in front of the stairs.
My shirt suddenly feels too itchy against my skin, and I want nothing more than to rip it off and head straight into the gym to work off some of my frustration.
But I know that Riley and I need to show our faces in public if we’re going to make this relationship believable, so I can’t back out of the date now.
“Riley—”
My voice falters at the sound of footsteps.
I turn around and glance up the stairs.
Riley is standing there, wearing a pale blue silk dress that clings to her curves in ways that make my throat go dry. Her auburn hair is loose and cascades over her shoulders, and her green eyes are lined with a subtle gold shimmer, making them appear even brighter.
For one stupid fleeting moment, I forget how to be annoyed.
She looks like sin, and she fucking knows it.
“Took you long enough.” I peel my eyes away from her before I end up starting this night off with a raging erection.
“It’s five minutes.”
“It still makes you late.”
I keep my eyes averted, but I catch her descending the stairs out of the corner of my eye.
As she approaches, I stupidly flick my eyes to her just as her breasts are at my eye level, and I almost drop to my knees.
Her curves were no secret, considering the skimpy little outfits she’s been parading around my apartment in for the past few days. But somehow, this dress makes them even more delicious, and from the flash of thigh I catch through the slit in her dress, that much more accessible too.
I am well and truly fucked.
When Riley reaches the bottom of the stairs, I step aside without a word and head for the elevator because I don’t trust myself not to put my hands on her and lead her right back up the stairs to my bed.
I need to remember that tonight is nothing more than a lie, a performance to send a message to Sean O’Keefe. That is why I’m doing this.
The silence between us is thick as we ride the elevator down to the parking garage.
I sneak a glance at Riley and notice a faint blush is already staining her cheeks, but if she can feel my gaze on her, she makes no move to acknowledge it.
She fiddles nervously with the hem of her dress, which has my eyes flicking down to her thighs.
Christ, she looks incredible.
I knew tonight was going to be torture, but not this kind of torture.
The moment the door pings open, I step out first so as not to have to follow behind Riley. My cock is already semi-hard as it is, and I don’t need to see how well the thin silk of her dress clings to her ass.
“Are you not going to open my door for me?” she asks when I walk around to the driver’s door of my BMW.
“I’m not your husband yet.”
“Asshole.”
“You don’t want me to call you princess, and yet you insist on me treating you like one.”
“Seriously? Opening a car door for a woman is nothing more than basic manners, Kieran.”
Fuck, the sound of my name on her lips has me subtly adjusting my cock.
Our eyes meet across the top of the car, and it feels like my body has been hit with an electric shock.
This woman is like a flame incarnate. Every inch of my skin feels like it’s on fire, and I haven’t even touched her.
I can tell from the fierce determination on Riley’s face that the only way she’s going to get in the car is if I open the damn door for her.
Biting my tongue, I stalk around the front of the car, making a point to stand a little too close to her as I lean in and reach for the handle.
Just as I suspected, her throat bobs as she looks up at me, and I have to bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop from smirking.
I open the door without breaking eye contact, and Riley’s cheeks flush pink, the same color as her plump lips, and I feel that familiar surge of blood rushing south.
I’m walking a very thin line here by getting so close to her, but part of me is tempted to find out what happens if I dare to cross it.
“Happy now?” I murmur in her ear as she moves to climb into the car.
“Not even a little bit.”
“Brat,” I mutter under my breath as I slam the door shut.
I can’t let myself get distracted by a smart mouth and a silky dress.
Tonight, I need to focus on the plan and the war that is on the horizon. But I have a feeling that’s going to be easier said than done.