Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
KIERAN
Riley and I have barely spoken two words to each other since our little encounter with Sean’s men yesterday. A few days ago, I would have been reveling in the peace and quiet, but after the night at the pool, I find myself missing the sound of her voice.
Fuck, I’m in deep.
I thought perhaps she was too, but now she’s acting…different. Every time I look at her, it’s like she’s somewhere else, lost in her own thoughts.
Gone is the girl who clung to me in the middle of the pool like she couldn’t get close enough to my body, who kissed me like she wanted to forget the rest of the world even existed.
What the hell changed between last night and this morning? Because I have a feeling it’s not just the run-in with Sean’s men.
She knew the risk that followed us back from Vegas, so my actions should have come as no surprise. After all, I was only trying to keep her safe, and she knows that. Which means her mood must be because of something else.
Was it the sex? Has the post-orgasm high worn off and left nothing but guilt in its place?
I frown at the thought as I continue to grind the beans for my espresso.
It’s barely seven in the morning, but I’ve already finished my workout and checked in with Brennan regarding the fake marriage documents.
I try to kid myself it’s because I’m productive, but in reality, it’s because waking up to an empty bed this morning felt like a kick in the teeth.
As I set my espresso cup on the tray and press the button to start brewing the coffee, the gold band around my ring finger catches my eye, and I almost flinch at the sight of it.
If I had my way, I wouldn’t bother wearing one, but Ronan insisted on making this marriage appear as legitimate as possible.
But until my wife can stand to look me in the eye, the ring seems like a colossal waste of time.
The moment we arrived back at the penthouse yesterday afternoon, Riley disappeared to her room to study. At the time, I believed her, but it’s been over twelve hours, and she hasn’t left her room once, not even to eat.
I’m about to bring her up a plate of breakfast when her footsteps sound, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Anyone would think you were avoiding me,” I tease in the hopes of diffusing the tension as Riley appears wearing a pair of running shorts, a Columbia t-shirt, and a scowl that would send most men running for the hills. “Do you want a coffee?” I reach for my espresso and hold it out for her.
The fact that I’m even trying to make amends has me wondering where the hell my balls have gone. But at this point, I would happily hand over the keys to every car in my garage to Brennan if it meant putting a smile back on Riley’s face, which says a lot.
Riley ignores my offer and pads over to the fridge.
I watch her every move like a hawk as she starts pulling out berries and a tub of Greek yogurt.
She still refuses to so much as look at me.
“Riley, talk to me.”
Still, I get nothing.
Grinding my teeth, I move to step in her way so that she can’t reach the bowls, but she barely even acts like I’m there. She just walks past me like I’m invisible, as if I didn’t have her legs wrapped around my waist forty-eight hours ago while she moaned my name into my mouth.
She opens up the cutlery drawer.
“Riley, I swear to God, if you don’t talk to me—”
“You’ll do what?” She throws her spoon down onto the counter.
I’m so taken aback by the fact that she’s actually looking at me that my words get lodged in my throat.
“What is it you’ll do if I refuse to talk to you?”
“I don’t want to fight with you. I just…want you to act like I exist.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“I thought that was the last thing you wanted! I thought you wanted me to stay the hell out of your way.”
“What?”
“Ever since I got here, you made it perfectly clear how much you hated me being around. But now that I’m doing just that, suddenly you want to talk? I can’t seem to win with you.” She abandons her quest for a bowl and snatches up the blueberries instead.
“Riley—”
But she’s already climbing back up the stairs.
I run my hand down my face as her door slams.
How the hell did I manage to fuck this up so damn quickly? Hell, maybe what I thought was building between us was one-sided, and Riley Walsh is a better liar than I thought.
I grit my teeth and try to shove the thought away as I down my espresso before taking the elevator down to the parking garage.
Right now I need to get my mind off Riley before I lose it, so I decide to go and pay Finn a visit to put some distance between me and the suffocating silence back at the apartment.
Finn doesn’t look up when I enter the room.
When I spoke to Brennan earlier, he told me he stopped offering him food three days ago, hoping a little hunger might loosen his lips.
But it seems the bastard has got more discipline than I gave him credit for.
“Morning, sunshine.” My voice comes out flat and sarcastic as I drag a chair across the floor and sit across from him.
He flinches slightly at the sound but still doesn’t meet my gaze.
I guess that makes two people who now refuse to look at me.
I push Riley to the back of my mind. “Still enjoying our hospitality?”
Finn remains silent.
If he doesn’t start talking, I’m going to lose it, and I’m already on thin ice with Ronan as it is. If he learns I’ve killed Finn before we’ve got any information, I might as well start digging my own grave.
“Look, Finn. I’m a reasonable man, for the most part. I know loyalty is a hard thing to kill, but if the person you’re protecting wouldn’t lift a finger to stop you from getting tortured in some rat-infested warehouse, maybe that loyalty is misplaced.”
No reaction.
I lean forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
“We both know who you’re working for, but what I want to know is why. What is Sean offering you that makes any of this worth it?”
Still nothing.
God, I want to smash his face in. Not because I think it will finally get us some answers— if anything it will probably kill him—but I need to get some of this pent-up anger out of my body that has been bubbling beneath the surface ever since I caught sight of Sean’s men spying on me and Riley.
I was meant to be protecting her, but instead, I buried myself balls deep inside her and lost my focus.
If Sean had decided to send in his hitmen instead of two watchdogs, our night could have ended very differently.
My blood runs cold when I think how close we almost came to coming back in body bags, and that’s the best-case scenario.
“Fine.” I get to my feet and pace around the damp cell.
The place reeks of piss and blood, so I try to only breathe through my mouth.
“You want to keep being a silent little lapdog? That’s your call. But don’t expect me to play nice much longer.”
Finn lifts his head for the first time since I entered the cell, and even with the bruises and dried blood caking his jaw, he still manages to look smug.
It’s enough to get me seeing red.
Before I can stop myself, I kick the chair out from under him.
He goes crashing to the ground, grunting as his shoulder smashes into the concrete floor.
I tower over him, my chest heaving as I try to contain my rage, and his eyes finally meet mine for a split second before his lips pull up into a bloody smile.
“I will break you,” I snarl before storming out and slamming the door to the cell shut before I do something I can’t take back.
As I step outside the warehouse, I pull out my phone to call Ronan.
My hands are shaking from a mixture of anger and adrenaline, and it takes me a moment to dial his number.
It rings twice before he picks up.
“Tell me you’ve made progress.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Finn’s still mute. I’m starting to think the fucker took a vow of silence.”
“Keep at him. He’ll break eventually.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
The sun is beating down on my neck, and my shirt is sticking to my body from the lingering sweat from my workout. I’m in desperate need of a shower, but business has to come first.
“Any word on Lorcan?”
“He can’t get out until Friday,” Ronan says.
“We really need him here. If anyone can get inside Finn’s head, it’s him.”
“I’m aware, but Lorcan also doesn’t know that Finn is in our possession. I’m going to need to debrief him first.”
“He hasn’t seen the kid in years. It won’t be easy be hard for him, considering the circumstances.”
“No. Finn was once part of this family. Bonds like that don’t just break overnight.”
My thoughts drift to Cormac. “Are you sure about that?”
“Let me deal with Lorcan,” Ronan says firmly.
“You always do.” My foot lands on a nearby metal barrel and sends it flying across the dirt path between the warehouses.
I’m about to hang up the phone when Ronan speaks. “Not so fast.”
I pause.
“What’s this I hear about you luring O’Keefe’s men into a shootout?”
I close my eyes and silently mouth a string of curses.
Of course, he heard about my little run-in. Perhaps Riley told him.
“That was a bad call, Kieran.” Ronan’s voice is sharp. “Especially with Riley in the car. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Obviously, I wasn’t. I guess you should just add it to the long list of ways I’ve fucked up lately.” I hang up before I can say something I’ll regret.
I’m so fucking tired of Ronan acting like he’s the only one capable of making real decisions. Our father didn’t leave his empire to just him; he left it to all of us. But it seems Ronan’s forgotten that little fact.
Just because he’s the oldest doesn’t mean he knows everything, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean he gets to talk down to me every time I make a move he doesn’t agree with.
I sink down onto a stack of crates and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees as I try to fight the urge to storm back into the warehouse and slash Finn’s throat as a way of releasing the tension coiling inside me.
What the hell is happening to me?
I’ve never been this wound up before.
Normally, I can laser my focus onto the enemy and ignore all the noise, but ever since Riley arrived on my doorstep, everything feels blurred and messy.
Maybe it’s because I don’t understand her. One second, she’s looking at me like I mean something to her, and the next, she can’t stand to be in the same room as me.
It shouldn’t matter, considering the fact our relationship was never supposed to be real.
But it does matter. More than I want to admit.
But if she wants space, then that’s exactly what I’ll give her. I’m not going to chase after someone who’s already made up their mind about me.
I’ve got enough battles to fight without throwing my heart into the ring too.