Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
KIERAN
I get home just after six-thirty in the evening, still wired from my meeting with Brennan at The Blackthorn.
It wasn’t supposed to run so long, but Brennan’s always had a gift for talking in circles. By the end of the meeting, I was ready to wrap my hands around his throat just to get him to shut the hell up.
He’s worried about Sean and wants to know if there’s a retaliation plan in place.
I simply told him to stop asking stupid questions.
Of course, there’s a plan.
Sean O’Keefe is going to bleed for what he did to our father, and I’m going to make sure that I’m the last face he sees before he ends up in the ground.
I walk through the front door, tugging off my jacket and tossing it onto the back of the couch when the sound of footsteps on the stairs catches my attention.
I look up, and everything else vanishes.
Riley is halfway down the staircase, wearing an obnoxiously tight black dress that shows off her legs. Her auburn hair is curled and loose around her bare shoulders, and her lips are painted that same shade of red as the night we got married.
My mind is halfway to the gutter when she freezes and guilt flashes across her face.
My jaw clenches as I sink my nails into my palms. “Going somewhere?”
She doesn’t answer right away. She just presses her lips together and adjusts the tiny purse on her shoulder.
From the looks of things, she was hoping she could sneak out before I got back.
“You do realize I have surveillance on this place, right? Cameras, sensors, the whole nine yards. So, I would know if you tried to sneak out even if I hadn’t walked through that door.”
“I don’t care,” she heads the rest of the way down the stairs.
Her words stop me cold. “You don’t care? Since when?”
She shrugs, still not looking at me. “Since I decided I’m tired of being watched all the time.”
Her defiance is like a slap in the face.
The girl who curled into me in Vegas when she thought Sean’s men were outside our hotel room, the girl who flinched when they followed us back from the airport, that girl is gone. And in her place is someone who doesn’t give a damn.
Well, unlucky for her, I do.
I step closer. “I don’t get it. You were scared out of your mind a week ago at the thought of Sean tracking us down. What makes you think New York is any safer than Vegas?”
“Maybe it’s not.” She finally meets my eyes.
I almost wince at the lack of warmth in them.
“But I can’t put my life on hold because of what Sean might do.”
“So, where are you going dressed like that?”
“Out. To a party with Lucy.”
“A party?” I spit the word like it’s poison. “You’re going to some frat house, wearing that?”
My eyes rake over her dress, but this time, the sight of so much bare skin doesn’t have my blood heating with arousal. It has it boiling with undiluted rage.
“Is there a problem?” She raises her brows.
“Yeah. There’s a huge fucking problem. You’re not going.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“Why? Because it’s not safe? Or because you don’t like the idea of me around other guys?”
I’m about to fire back when my eyes catch on something that makes me stop short.
Her left hand is bare.
“Where’s your ring?”
She glances at her hand like she hadn’t even realized it was missing. “In a drawer upstairs.”
My body is practically vibrating as I fight the urge to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to her room.
“Put it back on,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Why? It’s not real anyway.”
“That’s not the point!”
Riley doesn’t even flinch. Her expression just becomes colder as she glares at me.
How can she not see what she’s doing to me?
She’s been icing me out for days, and now she goes and does this?
Fake or not, that ring says she belongs to me.
And the thought of some drunk college asshole putting his hands on her and trying to grind on her in the middle of a packed party has me seeing red.
“No! You’re not going.”
“And who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around like that?”
“I’m the man keeping your ass alive while Sean O’Keefe has people watching this house.”
“And why is that, huh? Oh, yeah, because you decided to antagonize him!”
I don’t flinch. “Actually, sweetheart, you’re the reason O’Keefe is out to get us. He wanted to marry you, remember? If you prefer, I can arrange for that to still happen. At least that way you can annoy him every day instead of me.”
She laughs bitterly, but the blush creeping up her neck gives her true emotions away. “You would love that, wouldn’t you? To ship me off to Sean. I’m sure you wouldn’t even give it a second thought.”
“Where are you getting this narrative? If you recall, I’m the one who made sure you had someone watching your back while you were on campus today.”
“Why can’t Jace just come with me tonight if you’re so worried?”
“My men aren’t on call so you can play dress-up and go whore around with drunk idiots who can’t even hold a conversation.”
Her mouth drops open. “You are such a bastard.”
“And you’re being reckless.”
“Reckless? You’re the one who lured Sean’s men into a gunfight while I was in the damn car, but I’m reckless?”
“That was strategy.”
“That was stupid. Just like this whole situation. I’m done trying to understand whatever the hell your problem is.”
“This is my house. So, while you’re living under my roof, you will follow my rules. If you don’t like it, you can pack up your shit and go.”
“Go to hell, Kieran.” She turns on her heels and storms back up the stairs.
I’m too damn furious to even take note of the way her perfect ass sways with each step.
The elevator suddenly pings open, and I spin around, my pulse still hammering in my ears, to find Ronan standing just inside the entryway.
He raises his brow at me. “Bad time?”
“Jesus,” I drag a hand over my face. “Have you ever heard of knocking?”
“You have an elevator as a front door, so no.”
“What do you want?”
“A drink would be nice.”
I glower at my brother before stalking over to the small bar cart I keep in the lounge, tucked away next to the couch.
It’s not nearly as well stocked as the one in my bunker, as my brothers refer to it, but right now, I don’t care about vintage.
I just want something to take the edge off my temper.
After pouring two glasses of whiskey, I hand one to Ronan and settle myself down on the couch.
I swear I catch a waft of Riley’s perfume in the air, and I bristle.
Ronan takes a seat on the opposite couch. “Trouble in paradise?”
“If this is a social call, save it. I’m not in the mood,” I take a long swig of my drink.
Ronan studies me for a beat before answering. “It’s not. Ciara’s been put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy.”
“Shit, is she okay?”
“It’s just a precaution. Having twins automatically puts her at a higher risk, and she was showing signs of high blood pressure.” Ronan’s brow furrows, and I catch his mask slipping.
The strain and worry are written in the lines on his face, and a phantom weight rests on his shoulders as they slump forward.
“What can I do?”
“I need to be home more, starting immediately. It stresses Ciara out too much when I’m out on business, and right now, that could be harmful to her and the babies.”
“Again, what can I do, Ronan?”
“I need you to take on more responsibility for the next few weeks. Handle the day-to-day logistics, managing any fallout from the O’Keefe hit attempt, that sort of thing.”
I finish off my drink and set down the empty glass on the coffee table, feeling my pulse steady.
“Fine. Whatever you need.”
Ronan nods before exhaling deeply as he looks down at his drink. The tension fails to fade from Ronan’s face.
I frown. “Was there something else?”
“I’m not used to having so much to lose.” He swirls the whiskey around in his glass.
“I feel like I should take offense to that.”
Ronan huffs a laugh. “You know what I mean. Suddenly, the stakes just seem so much higher.”
“Do you ever think Dad felt like that, about us?”
Ronan frowns for a moment. “Honestly, if he did, he was damn good at not showing it. You know what he was like. I swear I can count on one hand how many times I saw the guy smile.”
“Makes me wonder if Brennan is a love child.” I laugh. “How he and Dad can be related honestly baffles me.”
Ronan chuckles, and I relax a little as some of the tension disappears from his shoulders.
I’m used to seeing my brother tense, but ever since Ciara came into the picture, it’s gotten so much worse. God only knows what he’ll be like when the twins arrive.
“Anyway, I should go.” He finishes off his drink and sets the empty glass down. “Oh, and, Kieran?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means.” He nods toward the stairs. “Sleeping with her, living with her, it blurs the lines between work and pleasure. What I just walked in on? That’s exactly the kind of mess I’m talking about.”
My jaw clenches. “Don’t.”
“Kieran—”
“I said don’t. I don’t need a lecture right now. I’m already getting enough of those from Riley.”
“I’m not lecturing you. I’m telling you to keep your head straight. Sean O’Keefe murdered our father, and the woman he was planning on marrying is now bound to you. That’s not a betrayal he’ll take lightly.”
I scoff. “I’m not scared of O’Keefe.”
“Maybe you should be, that way you won’t go around initiating reckless shootouts.”
“You’re seriously bringing this up again?” I climb to my feet, snatching up my empty glass and going over to the cart to refill it. I don’t bother offering another to Ronan.
“This doesn’t end until someone ends up in the ground, and as much as you can piss me off, I don’t want it to be you.”
“You’re really showering me with brotherly love today.” I knock back a shot and pour another. “Regardless of Sean, what I do with Riley in the meantime is between me and her.”
I glance over my shoulder at Ronan.
His face is a cold mask.
“I’m not cleaning up this mess when it all goes to shit.” He walks over to the elevator.
The house is quiet after he leaves, and I’m halfway to the stairs before I freeze in my tracks.
I shouldn’t have said what I did to Riley, but seeing her in that dress without her ring on made me lose my goddamn mind.
Jealousy is not something I am used to feeling, and it’s eating me alive. But not because I think she’s going to cheat.
It’s because I know she doesn’t owe me anything beyond our agreement, and that kills me.