Chapter 31
Ronan
I shower and put on a set of the extra clothes that I keep here at the compound. My body is vibrating with the need to get back to Colton and Ollie. The threat against them is no longer at a distance but in our midst.
“Fucking Kenneth,” Declan grumbles beside me. “I should have put a bullet in his head when he lost Xavier.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t. You gave him a pass because Xavier wanted you to.
And we all know that you give him whatever he asks for.
” Finn says unhelpfully. Declan’s eyes narrow on him.
I step away, not wanting to get caught up in their shit.
It would be one more thing to delay me getting the fuck out of here and back to the house.
“Shut the fuck up, Finn, and leave it alone,” Conor says. “He’ll be taken care of now.”
“Are you all going soft now?” Finn glares at Conor. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you have been disappearing all the time. Let me guess, you got yourself a new pet too?”
The dark look in Conor’s eyes is a promise of violence. Finn knows better than to push him, yet here we are.
“Enough,” Dad’s voice reverberates in the room. “You jackasses want to start going at each other? Fine, but only after this clusterfuck is handled. Kenneth is now mine to deal with.”
He has more to say, but is cut off by the shrill alarms of all our phones. I pull mine out. It’s the alarm signaling that the house has been breached. No one says another word as we all run for the cars.
The drive takes too long. I run as hard as I can, my boots digging into the concrete drive.
Chaos is happening all around the house.
I make it to the den at the same time as Dad.
Kenneth is bound hand and foot with a pool of congealing blood under him.
I scan for Colton, but he’s not in the room.
The panic that runs through me is strange and all-consuming.
I faintly register Dad yelling at Kenneth in Irish, a threat yet to come. The doctor is kneeling next to Kenji. There’s blood covering his usually pristine white shirt.
“Where are they?” I demand.
“Mrs. Alessia took them to the sitting room.” Kenji grits out. “They’re safe.”
I don’t wait for anything else before running to the room that holds a stór: my treasure, the man who is my precious one. I promised to keep him safe, and I failed him. That won’t happen again.
I rush into the room. The sight of Colton holding a sleeping Ollie makes the breath I have been holding since the alarm rush out of me. That’s when it hits me. Not only is a stór here, but also a stóirín, safe
When Mom suggests that I speak to Colton in Irish, it dawns on me that he heard my Dad again. Fuck me. Does he find my Dad attractive? If he does, he’ll be even more shocked when Mom shoots him.
I get why Declan is the way he is with Xavier now. I run my nose up the column of his neck until I reach the shell of his ear.
“Coinneoidh mé sibh sábháilte. Is tú mo stór… agus is é Ollie mo stóirín. Ní ligfidh mé duit imeacht go deo. Cosnóidh mé sibh go dtí mo anáil dheireanach.” I whisper against his skin.
“Dear God,” Colton lets out a shaky breath. “What did you just say?”
“I guess you will have to learn the language to find out. I’ll teach you.” I kiss him again. I’m forced to pull back when Ollie wakes and pushes against my chest.
His bright blue eyes, which perfectly match Colton’s, look up at him. His bottom lip pokes out. “Da,” he says, his voice tiny and wobbly. I think he is going to start crying any second, but instead, he turns his chubby face to me.
“Ro,” he reaches for me, his chubby arms wrapping tightly around my neck when I take him from Colton. “Ro-Ro,” he says again.
“Good afternoon, Ollie. You are safe.” I repeat the words that Siri said a baby needs to hear when they wake up. “We need to change his diaper. Just be careful.”
Colton looks at me, wide-eyed, mouth hanging open.
A small laugh bubbles from him, and it’s soon followed by full-on hysterical laughter.
I’m not sure why he is laughing, but I’m just glad that he is.
I study his face. The emotions that have been pulsing through me since the alarm are calmed by the sight of his dimples.
“I needed that,” he says when he finally calms down. “I was so scared, Ronan. Afraid for Ollie, your mom, and Xavier. Kenji was shot protecting us.” His eyes go wide. “Fuck, Kenji. Is he okay?”
“Our family doctor was with him when I came in.”
“What’s going to happen to Kenneth?”
“He pays for his actions with his life. But not before Dad finds out where the others are.” I watch for a reaction.
“He was going to take Ollie and was willing to kill us. I hope your dad makes him suffer before sending him to hell.” Colton kisses the top of Ollie’s head.
“He will.”
We make our way back to the den. Most of the chaos has died down. Taylor is talking to two security guards, and Mom is talking to Gloria about disposing of the rug.
“Is Kenji going to be okay?” Colton asks Mom.
“Yes, sweetheart. The bullet went straight through. Dr. Wright is going to make sure, but he said it doesn’t look like anything major was hit.”
“I want answers, Taylor,” Dad interrupts whatever Colton was about to say to Mom. There’s blood on his clothes and hands, no doubt from Kenneth.
“Sir, there were two small explosive devices set off on the south perimeter of the property. They were placed just outside of camera view. We found the remote detonator, so we do not believe anyone else was on the property. The cameras show him slipping in through the rear entrance while the other guards were taking their positions. He knew the routine and used it.”
“He got to my family, Taylor,” Dad says between gritted teeth.
“Understood, Sir. Protocols will be changed and reevaluated. This will not happen again.” With a slight nod, Dad turns his attention to us.
“How is the baby?” he asks.
“He wasn’t hurt, just scared,” Colton answers.
“And you?”
“Same. Alessia protected us. She shot a man.” Colton lets out a breath. “I don’t think I could ever repay her for doing that. I’m sorry she and Xavier were in danger because of me.”
Dad places his hand on Colton’s shoulder. “Never apologize for that. Alessia would be upset. I don’t like it when she gets upset. You’re part of the family.” He brushes his hand over Ollie’s head. “Both of you. Now, I need to go see to our guest.”
“Are you taking him back to the compound?” I ask. I want to be there, but I’m not leaving them again.
“No, he came to my house, so my house is where he will die. He’s in the basement.”
My gaze sweeps over to Colton. He gives me a small smile, just enough for the dimples to show. “Give me Ollie, and you go with your dad. We will be fine.”
After handing him Ollie, I kiss both of their foreheads. It’s time to get some answers that will end this.