Chapter 15 Conal
Conal
I'd seen my stupid fucking brother with Verity when I crossed the lawn, heading back toward the house after a chat with the guards on duty. Neither one of them had had the sense to close the blinds. Thank fuck Declan hadn't seen them getting it on. He'd have lost his shit.
Verity was way too young and na?ve for my brother. He went through women like other guys consumed beer.
Thea's sister was nothing like the women he typically went for: confident, brassy females who knew exactly what they were getting. If he used her and then cast her aside like an unwanted toy, she'd not cope.
Verity had had a traumatic childhood, full of loss and tragedy. Although she did a great job of hiding her problems, I knew she'd spiraled these last few years.
I had hoped she would open up to one of us, but as far as I knew, she'd stayed quiet. Not even talking to my youngest sister, her best friend.
The library lights were low when I walked in, but I saw them, locked together in an embrace on the window seat. Jealousy slid up my throat, tasting like acid. I shoved it back down.
We were all bad for Verity. She needed a nice, normal guy, not a member of a notorious crime family.
"What the fuck?" Verity's eyes widened in shock, and her face flushed red with embarrassment when she saw me. She tried to scramble off Ronan's lap, but he refused to let her go.
"Jealous, brother?" My asshole twin winked, his grin widening when he caught my glare.
"Verity, go to your room while me and this dickhead have a chat."
I hated treating her like a child, and from her scowl, she didn't appreciate my tone either. But the minute Ronan loosened his grasp on her, she hopped off his lap and shot out of the library like her ass was on fire.
The minute she'd left, I punched Ronan in the face. He'd drunk enough that his reactions were slower than normal, so I had no problem ducking his retaliatory slug to my jaw.
"Damn!" He laughed, apparently not giving a shit about his now-bloody nose.
"What are you playing at?" His complete lack of remorse wound me up to the point I really wanted to floor him.
"Oh stop bitching." The fucker rolled his eyes. "I see how you look at her, too. You want her as much as I do."
"No, I don't," I lied. "She's too young for either of us." Too damaged, but she didn't deserve such a label. I shook my head to dispel the thought. "You know I’m with Maeve and you aren't interested in a relationship, so leave her the fuck alone." My fists clenched as he continued to smirk at me.
"Maeve isn't your girlfriend. She's a pain in the ass you need to dump."
The urge to thump his smug face again hit hard. What exactly made him qualified to hand out relationship advice? He'd never had a proper relationship in his life. One-night hook-ups did not count as relationships.
Before I could point this out, Declan strolled in dressed in his usual suit and shirt.
"Is there something you two need to tell me?" His deceptively calm voice sent warning bells off in my head.
I looked at Ronan and he raised one eyebrow, puzzled. We both shrugged.
"Verity ran upstairs looking upset. I assume from Ro's bloody nose he or the both of you had something to do with that?"
Ah, fuck.
"She's upset?" Ronan's smirk fell away. He seemed genuinely bothered. Which was not like him at all.
"Yes." Declan folded his arms across his chest. "So what did you two fuckers do to upset her?"
Ronan and I looked at each other. We could lie, but Dec was a mind reader, and he'd figure it out.
"I kissed her," Ronan admitted with a gives-no-fucks glint in his eye.
"You kissed her?" repeated our older brother.
"Yes. Got a problem with that?"
"Yes, I have a problem with that." Before Ronan could argue, Declan punched him, splitting his lip. "You fucking asshole!" he roared. "Can you please try to keep your dick in your fucking pants for five fucking minutes?"
"That's a lot of fucks," Ronan joked, using his tee to wipe the blood off his face. "And five minutes? I'm offended." Declan swung for him again. But this time, my dumb brother ducked in time.
"Look," I interjected, acting as the peacemaker as usual. "He made a mistake. He's drunk."
Ronan glared at me, outraged. "Kissing her wasn't a mistake!" For fuck’s sake. Did my twin have a death wish this evening? It was the only explanation.
"Like I said, he's pissed as a newt, so ignore his ramblings," I plowed on. Declan glowered at us both, not believing my bullshit.
"Enough! I don't give a fuck why you did it. All I care about is that you don't repeat it. Verity is off limits. Are we clear?" It had been ages since our older brother laid down the law, but when he did, only a fool would ignore him.
Declan had calmed down a lot since he took over the family business from our pa, but he still had a vicious temper.
As several members of the O'Rourkes could attest. If Ronan went against his express order, he'd be living in a world of pain before long.
Being blood related wouldn't protect Ronan from the beating of his life.
But that wasn't my concern. My stupid brother could take care of himself. What bothered me more was hearing Verity had left this room upset. I knew how fragile she was, and I refused to let my brother fuck with her for his own amusement.