Chapter 3
Ronan
I walk back inside the building, but I stop just past the doors and turn to watch Colton. Colton.
I keep repeating his name in my head when I’m not replaying the way he said mine. Something tight is building in my chest, enough that I have to stop and take a slow breath. I don’t know what’s happening to me. All I know is that Colton is mine.
When Declan claimed Xavier, Mom called it imprinting.
She said it was something people like us do sometimes.
At the time, I barely listened. It sounded ridiculous.
Too emotional. Too irrational. There’s no actual data to support it, no evidence, no measurable explanation. I wrote it off as bullshit.
But now—
Now I’m standing in the middle of a lobby, struggling to breathe because a man I met less than an hour ago just walked away from me. And I’m starting to wish I’d paid a lot more attention.
I watch him buckle Ollie into the car seat.
His hands are steady, careful as he checks the straps twice before closing the door.
But he keeps looking over his shoulder. At the parking lot, the street and every passing car.
When he finally gets into the driver’s seat, he grips the steering wheel with both hands and bows his head against it.
He stays like that for a second. Then two.
He looks defeated. And suddenly I have to know what’s going on inside his head.
It takes him several minutes before starting the car.
Once he pulls out, I quickly leave the building and get into my own vehicle to follow.
I don’t go back for the things I left in the office.
Usually, that would send me into a death spiral until I corrected it, but that feeling of not completing a task doesn’t come.
I’m not taking my focus off him for the time it would take me to pack everything up.
I want — no, need — to know where he is going.
Something inside of me is saying that I have to.
Pulling the BMW 7 Series into traffic, I follow him.
When I saw him walk into the room and smile at me, I knew what a drug addict felt like taking their first hit.
I want more — more smiles, more dimples, more of him saying my name, more touches.
I want my hands on him and his on me. He’s already becoming my addiction.
I won’t be satisfied until he is mine. The baby complicates things.
It means he’s been with a woman at some point.
Would he be open to being with a man? He belongs to me, so he’ll have to be.
The first step is to find out how to keep him.
I could call Mom, but then I think about the exact person who has the data I need.
I punch the phone button on my steering wheel. Xavier picks up on the second ring.
“Fuck, Ronan, you actually know how to make a call? I thought you only sent texts.” Xavier laughs.
“Why do you stay with Declan?”
“What?”
I take a deep breath. I hate repeating myself. It is a waste of time. He hears the question, so he should just fucking answer it. “I asked why you stayed with Declan,” I repeat slowly.
“I heard your question, but it doesn’t make any sense. I love him, but I have a feeling that is not what you are asking.” I hear movement on his end of the line, then Declan says, “Who are you talking to?”
“Ronan. He wants to know why I stay with you.”
“What the fuck? Give me the fucking phone.”
“He called me.” I roll my eyes. Declan is possessive of Xavier, and I’ve never understood it. But I’m starting to see why.
“Why are you asking my fiancé that?” Declan’s deep voice comes through my speakers. He’s not yelling, he’s calm. Which means I have struck a nerve with him.
“I want to keep Colton, and I need to know why Xavier stays with your psychotic ass.”
“Who’s Colton?”
“None of your business. Now put Xavier back on the phone.” I’m getting impatient. I need answers so I can plan my next steps. Finally, Xavier comes back on the line.
“Do all psychopaths do this sort of thing? Or is it just your family?”
“I don’t have time right this minute to go through the psychology of our makeup. Could you just answer the question?”
“Declan makes me feel wanted and cared for. I’ve never had anyone choose me. He makes me feel safe.”
“Is that before or after you were kidnapped?” I hear Declan growl in the background. He hates being reminded of what happened to Xavier. The men involved are no longer breathing, so I don’t see the big deal. Then I have a thought.
What if someone kidnapped Colton? A tightness I’ve never felt before squeezes my lungs. The thought shouldn’t have this effect on me, but it does.
“You asshole. Just had to bring that up. Now I won’t be able to take a piss by myself for the rest of the day.
Look, Declan gives me everything I never had before, and I’m not talking about the stupid amount of shit that he buys me all the time.
He gives me stability, a home, and, as fucked up as you all are, a family.
I know that his obsession with me is his way of loving me.
And I love him for it. He makes me happy. ”
“Okay.”
“Okay, that’s all you got? Just okay.”
“Yeah, you answered my question. I need to go.” I disconnect the call as Colton pulls into a shitty-looking pay-by-the-week motel.
He parks, gets Ollie from the back seat, and carries him inside.
He has to step around garbage as he makes his way to the room.
He quickly comes back out and grabs the bags.
This place is not where he belongs. The leather squeaks as my fingers tighten around the steering wheel.
It would be simple to get him kicked out, but then I nix the idea.
I remember the punishment for doing that to Xavier, and I don’t want to have to write out my reports to Mom by hand again.
I shiver just thinking about it. Who in their right mind uses paper?
I wait a few more minutes, but Colton doesn’t come back outside.
I can see the light of the room around the door.
It doesn’t even fit into the jamb properly.
There’s only a single lock. There’s no deadbolt.
This place isn’t safe for them. I call the head of my security.
“Taylor,” he answers.
Taylor is a retired Marine. He was part of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. His responsibilities include special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, and offensive operations. Taylor also knows about our family’s business. He’s one of only a handful who do.
“I’m dropping you a pin. I want the man and child in room 112 watched. No one gets into the room. If he leaves, I want him followed. Shadow him and stay unseen. I want hourly reports.”
“Yes, sir.” He hangs up. That is another reason I work well with him.
He does as he is asked and doesn’t waste time.
His sister was killed by her abusive ex-husband.
She had taken refuge at the shelter run by Mom’s foundation.
He found her when she left the building.
It pissed Mom off, so Dad was tasked with making the fucker pay.
He met Taylor while loading the ex into the trunk of his car.
Instead of adding Taylor to his body count, he allowed him to take his own revenge. A job was offered, and Taylor accepted.
Fifteen minutes later, I get a text letting me know security is in place. Colton will be safe until he is back in my sight. If security fails as they did with Xavier, I will kill them all.
With that handled, I spend the next few hours at the center pretending to care about what I’m doing. I don’t hear a word anyone says. Every thought circles back to Colton.
By the time I get back to the penthouse, my skin feels too tight again. My phone rings just as I’m putting away my shoes. Hitting the Bluetooth in my ear, I answer. I want to get the call from my dad over with so I can find out more about Colton.
“Hello,” I answer impatiently.
“Ronan, why do you have a detail watching some motel on Riverside? Are you going off-book? I checked with your mom, and you’re not on anything right now.”
“They’re there to keep Colton and Ollie safe.”
“Who are Colton and Ollie, and why do they need protection?”
“Colton is a computer programmer I met today, and Ollie is his baby.” There is silence on the other end.
“Explain.” Dad sighs into the phone.
“I was working at the center when Ollie fell asleep in my lap. I met Colton when he found him. He’s a computer programmer and needs a job, so I’m hiring him tomorrow.
He just moved to town with his baby and is staying at that shithole.
Until I can move him in here, I need to make sure nothing happens to them.
” How hard will it be to get him here? Will he come willingly?
I’m running scenarios in my head and almost forget that I’m still on the phone. I never lose focus like this.
“What the fuck is with you boys? Your mom and I are just leaving dinner, we’ll stop by your place in about 15 minutes so that you can explain this to us.”
I hear the disconnect in my ear. Why do they need to come here for me to explain?
Didn’t I just do that on the phone? I go into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich and wait for my parents — more wasted time.
I want to start my background on Colton.
I barely kept myself on task at the center because I wanted to do it then.
My hands itch with the need to open my computer and dig.
But if I do that, I won’t be able to stop when my parents get here.
The doorbell rings, and I let my parents in.
“Explain this situation to me,” Dad says as soon as he steps into my apartment. I look down at his shoes and then back up at him. Rolling his eyes, he toes them off.
“I already did.”
“What he is trying to ask, poorly I might add, is the why of all of it. You met this boy and his baby, and now you are not only hiring him, but you mentioned moving him in here.”
“Yes. That is what I already said. And as to the why, it’s because he is mine.”
“He has a child, Ronan. You can’t just decide that someone is yours and you’re moving them in.” Dad says.
“Declan did, and you allowed that.” I stop myself from telling them it will happen with or without their approval. My mom studies my face. I’m not sure what she is looking for.
“When you say he is yours, do you mean the same way as Xavier and Declan?”
“Yes.”
“You said he had a baby. How do you know if he would even want a relationship with another man?” I shrug; it is a moot point.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Do you know how crazy that sounds?” Dad walks over to my couch and sits down.
“I’m not sure how to make you understand this.
All afternoon, after I left him at that shitty little motel, I’ve been going crazy.
My skin is too tight. I need him here with me.
” My mother rubs her hand over my shoulders.
It is the same as a hug. Of all her boys, I’m the least inclined to hug. I only allow it on special occasions.
“Okay, start with the job first. I wonder what he is going to do with the baby while he is working.”
“I told him to bring the baby to the office with him.” My mother smiles widely.
“What time?”
“He will be there by nine.”
“How old is Ollie?”
“I have no idea. Young and little.” I spread my hands about two feet apart. “He was walking — well, kinda — but he wouldn’t answer me when I asked him questions. Either he can’t talk or is too stubborn to.”
“You were at the center today. Is that where you met him?”
“Yes.” I’m getting tired of these questions. I need to get my research done.
“What was he there for?”
“He had food and some tiny clothes in his cart.”
“Fine, I can work with that. Come on, Kieran, let’s go. I have some calls to make.”
Dad still looks confused by all of it, but when Mom says, “Let’s go,” you go.
My parents have been together for almost thirty years.
My dad is absolutely obsessed with her. Unless he is obtaining a target, they’re never far apart.
He wouldn’t allow it. By most social standards, it’s codependent, but for them, it works.
I wonder how long it will take for Colton to acclimate to being with me all the time.
Just being away from him now is making me twitchy.
Xavier is hardly ever out of Declan’s sight.
Even when he meets his friends to hang out, Declan watches from close by.
I go into my office and boot up my computer.
Using information from his résumé, I begin researching Colton Harris.
The references that he used are all over the country.
Something doesn’t sit right. I can’t explain what it is, but I decide to dig a little further.
I hack into the first one and look at their finances around the time Colton did work for them.
I soon find out he’s not, in fact, Colton Harris, but Colton Peterson.
Why did he lie about it? What is he hiding — something he’s done, or is he hiding from someone?
I keep digging. The more I uncover, the more my blood boils. I send a text to Taylor.
Me: How many men do you have watching?
Taylor: Two
Me: Double it. I want updates every thirty.
Taylor: Done