45. Chapter 45
AHREN
Connor stood in the open doorway, face turned up against the setting sun, steaming cup of coffee in hand.
"You look oddly peaceful considering the chaotic mess we're knee deep in at the moment." I said, coming to stand beside her.
She shrugged, sipping her disgusting hot bean water. "The dogs were pawing at the door and looking up at me with those—eyes. I figured they needed to pee, so I let them out."
I offered her a half smile. "Thanks."
"You two ok?" she asked.
I barked out a laugh. "Yeah. Better than ok."
She arched her brow. Her lips parted, then snapped shut with a nod.
"Say it."
She shook her head. "Nope. Not my business."
"Since when did that stop you before?" I teased.
"Tierney's new to relationships. I just don't want to see her get hurt. That's all."
I stepped backward, my arms folding across my chest, suddenly defensive. "I didn't-"
Her hand flew up, halting my reply.
"I know. I get it. The problem is, you're so thick headed that you don't get it." she turned, facing me head on. "Do you really think that given the contents of that phone call, she was just itching to have you fuck her brains out?"
"I—she-"
Her head shook from side to side. "No Ahren.
She wanted to stop you from doing something stupid and getting yourself killed.
She offered you her body to work out your frustrations on.
It—she's still learning about relationships and I don't want her to think that's normal and healthy, because it's not. "
"I—"
"Also, your bedroom is not as soundproof as you think." She rushed out, burying her face behind her coffee mug.
A smile broke across my face, and I nodded. She was right, of course she was.
"We're fine, Connor. But for the record, I'll apologize and work on handling my own shit next time. I don't want to fuck this up."
"She's an odd combination, isn't she? Wide-eyed and innocent, yet calculating, almost cold-blooded." She mused.
I nodded. "Yeah. That's my girl."
"Where is she?"
"She's sleeping. I wore her out-"
"Nope. That's the end of that convo. Next subject."
I barked out a dry laugh. "Fair enough. "
"So, you're all calm now?" she asked, her voice softer and more tentative than I was used to.
Yet another reason to hate this fucking bitch. She had knocked the fire out of the two strongest women I'd ever met. While Tierney seemed to be getting hers back, Connor had been shaken to her core. She might not ever be the same, and I hated that.
"Yeah. I told you. I'm fine."
"She's changed you."
"Yeah, well. I can't quite put into words what I feel when we're close. It's deep—primal, she's mine. There's no other way to say it."
She shook her head slowly. "That's good. Not what I meant, though. Wrong her."
"What do you mean by 'changed me'?" I scoffed.
"Well," she started, a sly smile curling on her lips, "you've always been an arrogant, cocky asshole. As long as I've known you, anyway. But since all this started, well—now you're an angry, arrogant, cocky asshole."
"I—"
"Not saying your anger isn't justified. But the anger makes you less charming." She pinched her fingers together. "Just a little."
"Thanks for putting up with me."
She smiled and nodded.
"Another thing. While you were—busy. You got two messages. I didn't mean to snoop—"
"But you couldn't help yourself. Yeah, I know." I teased, bumping her shoulder.
“Anyway, someone named ‘Scotty’ messaged saying the titles were ready. He's concerned about you not being in your office lately and wants to hand over the keys, so to speak, in person.”
I sighed heavily. In all the chaos, I had forgotten Richardson and the delays with his paperwork. My attorneys had confirmed the issues were legitimate ones, so he was still breathing—for now.
"I'll take care of him. Thank you." This wasn't Connor's doing. No point in taking my additional frustration out on her.
"You also got a message from someone named Henri. He said, 'the game is on' 'tip is on the house' Not a fucking clue what any of that means, but I figured you'd know."
"Fucking hell." I growled. "It means she reinstated the orders on Tierney and me. The good news is that some hitters won't like the back and forth and will sit this round out. But the price is pretty high, so it's hard to say. Twelve hours max, before they come for us."
"This—Henri person, how does he—"
"He's one of us."
"And he owes you?"
"No." I laughed. "He actually messaged me after the last favor and told me he wasn't willing to go any further. We were on our own. Not sure what possessed him to even clue me in on the order."
"I don't appreciate you changing the rules. Play the game as I set it or the consequences will be—severe." Tierney said, stepping into the kitchen. "Those were her exact words. I think she's pissed that we canceled the order."
"She's probably not too happy about the fire at Jason's, either." Connor rasped. "It wasn't part of her plan."
"Fuck." A cold fury settled into me as I paced the kitchen. We had pulled that stunt to cancel the order, because we couldn't fight on two fronts. And we had help. Both Henri and Jax had been instrumental in our success. Without them—fuck!
Tierney pressed her lips to mine, halting my restless pacing .
I only hesitated a few heartbeats before wrapping her in my arms. I allowed the warmth of her body pressed against mine, and her heart beating just beneath my palm to ground me in this moment.
Connor was right. I thought my father had beaten the emotions out of me long ago.
Turned out, they were only locked away. Since being freed from their prison, they had been running wild.
The more positive ones had been effortlessly channeled into my relationships with Connor and Tierney.
Anger, on the other hand, seemed to fight for constant control of me—most of the time, it won.
I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "I should message Henri and Richardson."
She nodded, stepping out of my arms.
"Don't worry about the order. It'll be fine."
She nodded and turned away a little too quickly.
My fingers curled around her arm, turning her to face me.
My eyes searched hers. "You do know I'll keep you safe, right?"
"Yeah." she answered, her voice high and tight.
"It's just—I really hate being on this end of the scope." She offered me a half smile, but her eyes still held worry.
I sucked in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. She was scared. It was hard not to take it personally. I had taken on the role of her protector. Fuck, if there was anything I knew how to do, it was use a gun. I wanted her to feel safe, but I couldn't force the feeling.
"I'm fine. Really. Take care of your messages. Then we can put our heads together and try to figure out what's next."
"It'll just take a minute."
The phone chirped in my hand. The corner of my lip quirking up as I read the message from Henri. "sitting this one out. Paid in full"