Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
KIERAN
Ronan might have put me in charge, but his presence is always on my shoulder with every step I take as I stalk toward Finn’s cell.
It’s as if he sits perched on my shoulder, the angel to my devil. Or maybe we’re both devils at this point.
The amount of money I had to pay Jackson in order to keep this quiet from Ronan is enough to make my eyes water, but I had no other choice. I had to be sure the deal was done before I divulged the fact I gave Finn an out without consulting him first.
When Finn spies the contract in my hand, his lips pull back into a smile, and I fight the urge to set the damn thing on fire.
“That better be what I think it is, Sullivan.”
“Actually, it's your last will and testament.”
Finn huffs a laugh, the hollow sound echoing off the concrete walls. “I thought Ronan would have talked you out of it.”
When I say nothing, Finn raises his eyebrows.
“You haven’t told him.”
“No.”
“Interesting…”
“I’m not here to chat, Finn.”
“Clearly.”
“I’ll have Doyle read the contract out loud to you, and then I’ll be back in the morning for you to sign it.”
“You do realize you need to untie my hands in order for me to do that.”
“I’m aware, which is why I’m leaving it to the last possible second. And you better sign the damn thing, considering all the trouble I went to.”
“Only after I’ve made sure there are no loopholes.”
“I think that’s the least of your worries right now.” I glance around the cell. “Doyle!”
Doyle appears in the doorway, and I thrust the contract into his calloused hands.
“Finn here needs a bedtime story. I’ll be back in the morning for him to sign it.”
The warehouse is quiet when I step outside, but the hum of the city feels louder than usual.
The night air is crisp, and I take a long, deliberate breath as I consider my next move.
It would be easy to force Finn to sign the contract before I head home, but something stops me. Or rather, someone.
Ronan.
I’ve never had much of a conscience, but apparently, it likes to rear its ugly head the moment my brother leaves me in charge.
I left him a few clipped voicemails earlier, asking him to call me, but my phone has been quiet most of the day, so I’ve decided he’s got until tomorrow morning to call me back.
Otherwise, I’m going to seal this deal, with or without his approval.
On the way home, I swing by the Chinese takeout and pick up some food for dinner as well as a bottle of wine.
I feel guilty for how distracted I was when Riley called earlier to tell me about the internship, and I want to make it up to her.
She deserves to celebrate her good news, and I’ll make sure to show her how proud I am of her all night long.
When I arrive home, I find Riley sprawled out on the couch with her hair piled on top of her head as she scrolls on her phone. She looks up when the elevator doors ping open, and her face breaks out into a huge smile that makes my chest swell.
God, she’s so beautiful. How did I ever survive coming home to an empty apartment before her?
“Look what I’ve got.” I set the takeout bag and wine on the coffee table.
“What’s this for?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I lean in and kiss her.
It’s quick at first, but when her lips part, I deepen the kiss, slowly stroking my tongue against hers until she’s moaning at my touch.
“Congratulations,” I whisper when we break apart. “I’m so proud of you.”
She bites her lower lip to hide her smile, and I quickly kiss her again before heading into the kitchen to grab some glasses and plates.
I pour us both some wine, but when I hand Riley a glass, she sets it down immediately without taking a sip.
I lift my own glass to my lips and quietly watch her as she starts opening the takeout containers, the smell hitting us both immediately.
“Smells so good.” She starts plating up her food.
But after half an hour, she’s barely eaten anything, and her wine still remains on the coffee table, untouched.
“You okay?” I’m suddenly unsure of my choice of food.
Maybe we should have gone out to eat instead, somewhere fancy.
Is that what she was hoping for?
“Yeah,” Riley says a little too quickly. “I’m fine. Just… Lucy came over earlier, and we had a few too many drinks, so I’m feeling a little queasy. Nothing some greasy Chinese food won’t fix.”
I don’t believe her. The slight furrow in her brow and the faint flush on her cheeks give her away.
Something is off, but whatever it is, she clearly doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Are you home for the rest of the night?”
“I’m all yours.” I reach out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear.
She leans into my touch, and I gently stroke her cheek.
“Maybe we could watch a movie?”
“That sounds great—”
My phone starts buzzing on the table, and one glance at the screen has my food threatening to come back up.
Ronan.
I get to my feet and snatch up my phone. “Sorry. I really need to take this.”
Riley nods and goes back to pretending to eat her food as I quickly dart down the hall toward my office.
“Ronan,” I press my thumb to the keypad to unlock the door.
“Kieran, I just got your message. What’s going on with Finn?”
I lock the door behind me and head over to the bar to pour myself something stronger. The wine will not be enough to get me through the conversation I’m about to have.
“He offered us a deal.”
“You got him to talk?”
“Not…exactly.”
There’s a beat of silence before Ronan talks again. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. Finn has agreed to give us information for a price.”
“What kind of price?”
I snatch up a vintage bottle of Macallan whiskey and take a swig straight from the bottle before setting it down on the bar top.
“His freedom.”
Ronan barks a laugh. “Please tell me you weren’t stupid enough to fall for that.”
My hand tightens around the neck of the bottle, and I take another gulp as Ronan lets out a string of curses on the other end of the line.
“For fuck’s sake, Kieran, you agreed? What the hell were you thinking?”
I run a hand through my hair and force myself to take a breath so I don’t launch my very expensive bottle of whiskey at the wall.
“It’s done, Ronan. I’ve had the contract drawn up and everything. I’m going back in the morning to seal the deal.”
“The guy’s a compulsive liar. You know that. We can’t trust him, Kieran! He lies about everything just to save his own skin.”
“He has information that proves that someone on the inside is paying him to wreak havoc on our family, including murdering our father.”
“That’s utter bullshit. He only said that to get you on his side. And clearly, it worked.”
“Brennan confirmed the documents on Finn’s laptop.”
“Brennan knew? I’m going to kill him too.”
“Once the contract is signed, Finn will hand over the bank statements that reveal the identity of who is behind the payments.”
“This is a fucking waste of time. We all know it’s Sean behind the payments.”
“That’s not what Finn said.”
“Well, that’s what Riley said, and I trust her word a hell of a lot more than Finn’s.”
Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that.
I still haven’t asked Riley for the evidence she offered our family, but it seems my hand is being forced. I’ll need to check it out before heading back to the warehouse tomorrow morning because if it does indeed conflict with Finn’s information, I need to know before he walks free.
“According to Finn, someone within our own ranks is behind the payments.”
“Of course he’d say that! He knew you wouldn’t want to risk making the same mistake I did with Stephen, especially now that Riley is in the picture.”
My brother makes a good point, but I’m not about to tell him that.
“If he’s lying, I’ll take care of it. You asked me to step up, and I’m stepping up. Not every decision has to cross your desk first.”
There’s a pause, and it’s heavy enough to feel like it’s pressing down on my chest. I take another shot of whiskey and hiss through my teeth as it burns my throat.
“You’re right.” Ronan’s sigh sounds more frustrated than resigned. “All we can do is hope you made the right choice. Just…don’t screw this up.”
“I won’t.” But even I can feel the unease settling in my stomach as I hang up the phone.
One wrong move and everything will come crashing down. And it seems Ronan will be all too quick to place the blame on me.
When I eventually emerge from my office after draining a third of the bottle of whiskey, Riley has cleared away the dinner things, though her full wine glass still remains on the table.
“Everything okay?” she asks as I take a seat beside her and place an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my side.
I force a smile. “Yeah. Just work stuff.”
She nods before snuggling up against me.
I grab the remote and start a movie, hoping it will distract me, but I can’t focus.
Every scene, every word is background noise while my thoughts keep returning to the deal I made with Finn and the fragile thread I’m walking.
Halfway through the movie, I glance down and find Riley fast asleep. I can’t help but smile, considering the fact I’m the reason she got such little sleep last night.
After turning off the TV, I gently lift her into my arms and carry her upstairs to bed.
She stirs, murmuring something I can’t understand, before burying her face in my chest, and I let myself enjoy the feeling of her sleeping in my arms before settling her down on the bed and draping the comforter over her.
“Sweet dreams, little dove.” I press a kiss to her forehead.
My thoughts are a whirlpool of Finn, Ronan, and Riley, and I’m too wired to sleep, so I slip out of the room and return to my office.
Every decision I make feels like a gamble, one misstep away from disaster, and I can’t help but fear I’m being reckless just to try and prove myself to Ronan.
I pace the office, pouring another glass of whiskey to steady myself.
The warmth spreads slowly, but it does little to calm the tension knotting in my chest.
Talking to Ronan has put me on edge, making me second guess the choice I made. But that’s just what he does.
Nothing I do or say is right, and I’m starting to realize that’s never going to change. Ronan will always be the leader, and I will always come second.
But I’m not just doing this for Ronan. I’m doing it for Riley, to protect her and the life we’re slowly starting to build together.
I close my eyes for a moment and picture her smile and let the memory of her laughter ring in my ears.
Tomorrow, Finn will finally walk free. But for tonight, I hold onto the image of Riley’s smile and swear to myself that I’ll protect her, no matter what it takes.