Chapter 19
Ronan
Colton blinks up at me. I grip the back of his neck as I have so many times before. My thumb traces his pulse, and I can feel it speed up. He needs me, he needs what only I can give him. I need him not to fight it.
“I’m going to order some dinner from the cafeteria. Anything in particular you want?” I ask.
“Nope, I’m not picky. Make it something small, I’m not really that hungry.” Colton says.
“You didn’t finish lunch. You’ll eat. I’ll get a couple of subs and salads.” I pull him in for a kiss. I keep it light, barely a brush of my lips. I want to deepen it. But we still have a couple of hours left before we call it a day. I place the order and return to my own work.
Thirty minutes later, a light knock on my door comes, and I call out, “Come in,” before going back to my computer.
“Good evening, Mr. Murphy. Would you like me to set this up in the sitting area or on your desk?” I look toward the voice I don’t recognize.
Our on-site cafeteria only allows approved staff to deliver to my family.
This guy is not one of them. I stand and close the distance, only the cart he’s pushing between us.
“What’s your name?” I ask harshly.
“Nash, sir.”
“Where are the usual guys that deliver? I don’t know you.” I push the cart ahead with one hand, ready in case he moves a single muscle.
“I don’t know who the regular guys are. I just started two days ago. Shelia Van hired me.” His voice wavers, and I can smell the nerves coming off him.
“Ronan, why are you scaring the poor guy? He’s just doing his job. Does it really matter so much to your routine who delivers the fucking sandwiches?” Colton tries to step between the new guy and me. I pull him back behind me.
“I don’t know what I did to offend you, but whatever it is, I’m sorry. I really need this job.” He holds his hands up. Before I can reply or react, another voice comes from the doorway.
“What’s going on?” I don’t take my eyes from the potential threat in front of me. He’s not a big guy. In fact, he’s close to Xavier’s size. Uncle Duncan comes to stand beside us.
“Ronan?” he asks.
“He’s not cleared.” My eyes focused on Nash, watching for the slightest twitch.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Nash, sir, Nash Campbell,” he answers quickly.
“Stand down, Ronan. He’s on the list. It was sent out in a memo to the family yesterday. He’s vetted. Apparently, you have been so focused on…” he searches for the word, “other things that you missed it.”
The tension lessens but doesn’t fully leave me. I don’t like change first of all, and right now I don’t want new people around Colton.
“Just leave the cart there,” I tell him. He nods and, with a quick glance at Duncan, he runs from the room like his ass is on fire. Duncan watches him leave.
“Did you really have to scare the piss out of the guy?” Colton asks.
“I’m not taking chances with you. Assuming gets you killed.” I tell him. “What are you doing here, Uncle?”
“Saving a job or a life, it seems. I finished with the contracts that Colton had copies of. I needed to ask him a couple of questions.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Murphy?”
“The contracts that I reviewed were written by someone with a law degree or a degree adjacent. There’s a judge’s signature on the guardianship paperwork for Ollie, although I couldn’t find it registered in Oklahoma or any state.”
Colton shifts and grabs hold of the chair in front of him. His breathing picks up, and he goes pale. Gripping his upper arm, I sit him in the chair just as his knees go out. I crouch in front of him, my hand firmly on his neck. But this time it’s not calming him fast enough.
“What the fuck is it?” I ask.
“Father…” he tries again to take a deeper breath. “My father was… is an attorney. He’s the only one that it could be.”
“Colton, look at me,” I demand. I place one of his hands on my chest, making him breathe with me. It takes a couple of minutes, but he gets himself under control.
“Sorry, I’m okay. I just kept thinking, in the back of my mind, that my parents were being forced to give up Ollie. But if he wrote the fucking contract, that means he’s part of it.”
“They made their choices and will pay the consequences.” I lay my forehead on his.
“What’s going to happen to them?” he asks quietly.
“Threats are eliminated, Colton.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Remove the danger.” He stares at me, his eyes intent on me. I think he is going to ask me another question, but Duncan stands across from us and clears his throat, breaking the tension between us. “There have to be more files. Have you come across any?”
“Not yet. I’m figuring the main information hub is stored locally at their headquarters, and I haven’t found a way in yet. I’m hoping Finn or Taylor can fix that sometime tomorrow. I’ll let you know.”
“Good.” Duncan leaves the office, but Colton doesn’t seem to notice. He hasn’t moved from the position he has been in for the last few minutes.
“Colton,” I say his name, but he doesn’t acknowledge me. Taking his chin between my thumb and forefinger, I tilt his head up to meet mine.
“What’s going on in your head right now?”
He glances down.
“Look at me, Colton, and tell me.”
“They’re monsters,” he says quietly. “I knew that they were going to give up Ollie, but for some reason, it just hit me. My parents are directly involved with the whole thing. Father was a shit lawyer, and when we moved, he went to work for a payday loan business owned by the organization. I never understood why. Why would he not use his degree?”
When he doesn’t continue after a beat, I ask, “So what are you thinking?”
“It’s a front. If he’s the one writing those fucking contracts and filings, then that’s where he’s doing it from.
He never worked from home, even though he had a home office.
” His voice doesn’t have any emotion to it.
Usually, his voice changes with every emotion.
But this… this is flat. Empty. This is him breaking.
“Then we don’t start with the church. We start with him.” I tell him.
“How could they do it? Why? For fucking money? Ollie deserves better than that. He deserves a family that loves him and wants him. Not fuckers that would sell him.” He grits out the last part, and yes, the fire in his eyes comes back. “I want to tear them apart. I want to make them suffer.”
“You won’t have to. And Ollie has what he deserves.”
Colton huffs out a breath. “Yeah, he has me. But…”
“Ollie doesn’t just have you anymore.” I tighten my hand on his shoulder. “He has us.” I look him straight in the eye. “And so do you.”