Chapter 28 Conal
Conal
Satan's fucking balls, my brother had one hell of a hard fist. We'd fought a lot over the years. Mostly over girls, which was why we'd come to an agreement about sharing the ones we both liked. I didn't mind sharing women with Ronan, and he felt the same way.
Sharing was way easier than knocking the hell out of each other in a jealous spat. It wasn't like the girls stuck around for a long time, anyway. The minute they made noises about wanting a commitment, he ran for the hills.
This was why I didn't want him involved with Verity. Not only was Verity Thea's sister, for fuck's sake, which was a bad idea for many reasons, but she wasn't like the usual girls he fucked.
If he hurt her, she'd fall apart like a house of cards. I didn't have a degree in psychology, but even I could see how vulnerable she was. Like I'd told him, she deserved better than his fuckboy ways.
I hadn't forgotten the dead look in her eyes the night she walked into the ocean and we dragged her out. Although she'd never admitted it, I knew she'd gone to a dark place.
But I couldn't dwell on it tonight. Not with Declan breathing down my neck like a fucking dragon on crack.
"If one of you doesn't explain why the fuck you've trashed my kitchen, I'll not be responsible for what happens next," our older brother stated while cracking his knuckles ominously.
I swallowed hard. Next to me, Ronan did the same.
We were both in the shitter.
"We had a minor disagreement," I replied, forcing a smile while wincing as my bust lip split all over again.
"Nothing serious," Ro added. "Just…twin shit."
"Did it have anything to do with Verity?" Dec skewered us both, getting to the crux of the problem with zero effort. I swear the bastard could read our minds sometimes. Or, more likely, he knew us too fucking well.
"Erm no?" I inwardly rolled my eyes. Ronan was terrible at hiding stuff from Declan. The number of times he'd landed us in trouble because he couldn't lie or at least pretend we hadn't been up to anything.
"Please tell me you haven't done anything I might not like."
"I took Verity to the shooting range." Declan's eyebrows shot up at my announcement.
"And?"
"And Ronan doesn't think it's a good idea, so we argued."
Shooting lessons were the trigger, but the discord ran a lot deeper. However, explaining that to Declan was a big no-no.
My older brother looked thoughtful. "Why don't you agree with Con's idea, Ronan?"
Ronan scowled. "She has us. She doesn't need to know how to kill people. That's my job."
"She needs to know how to protect herself when she leaves," I reminded him again.
I had an idea that would be sooner than I'd like. Today, in the kitchen, my angel had had the skittish look of a deer preparing to flee the wolves. And given all that had happened since she arrived, she would be safer if she flew back to the US.
"She's not leaving." My brother's stubbornness knew no bounds.
Declan sighed and eyed the mess. "She'll be leaving at some point, most likely when the authorities arrest her father again."
"Any news on him?" How hard could it be to track down an old man with no cash or assets?
"No. The bastard has gone to ground. They can't find him, and so far, neither can Milo nor any of my contacts."
"He must have left the country." If I were him, I'd have fled to a country without an extradition treaty with Italy, such as Jamaica. Given how his empire fell apart, I doubted there was much left for him in Italy.
"Yes, it's possible, but there's still a risk he'll go looking for his daughters."
"I feel sorry for him if he finds Thea," Ronan snorted. I grinned despite myself. Yeah, the old bastard would definitely regret it if he crossed paths with her. If Thea didn't kill him, Kyril or Dario most definitely would.
Declan half-smiled for a moment before his gaze snagged on the mess we'd made.
"I'll let you know if I get any news about him. In the meantime, clean this fucking mess up before Mrs. O'Mara castrates you both."
As soon as he was out of earshot, my twin turned to me with a glare.
"You hurt her and you're dead to me."
I stepped back in surprise at the venom in his voice.
"Hurting her is the last thing I want to do." The thought of hurting my sweet angel made me feel sick inside. She'd been hurt enough in her life.
"Then stop acting like a jealous twat."
"I'm not jealous," I lied, but the fucker just laughed.
"Yeah, you are." He grinned. "Feel free to join me later when I make my Pixie girl come so hard she passes out."
Before I could reply, he sauntered out of the kitchen, leaving me with all the mess. This was one of those times I wished I'd murdered the cocky bastard while we were still in the womb.
As I sighed and reached for a broken chair leg, debating whether to shove it up Ronan's ass, my phone rang.
Maeve.
Fuck my life. I'd told her we were over, but she kept calling and messaging. After rejecting her call, I collected the rest of the broken chair pieces and tossed them into the kindling basket. We'd need to buy some new chairs, but an online shopping spree could wait.
Maybe Ronan was right, I mused, as I covered the plate of food Verity hadn't touched and placed it in the refrigerator. Then it struck me. Had she eaten anything today?
She'd lost weight lately, another sign she wasn't coping well.
Before I could overthink it, I made her a ham and cheese sandwich and cut a slice of coffee and walnut cake. She needed to eat something, as we had a gym session in the morning.
I chose not to speculate whether Ronan was currently with her. I'd knock on her door, and if she didn't answer, send a message to let her know there was food waiting outside for her.
No sound came from her room when I reached her bedroom door. Was my brother not with her?
When I knocked, I heard a faint curse, and then the door swung open.
"What?" If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now.
"You didn't eat your dinner, so I brought you some food." I thrust the plate at her as she stared up at me, her brown eyes almost black in the sparse light from her bedroom.
"I lost my appetite," she huffed with a sigh, refusing to look at me. My eyes snagged on a canvas tote bag with a few items stuffed in. Was she planning to leave? Over my dead body!
"You need to eat, Verity." I decided not to mention the go-bag.
"I can stand to lose some weight," she said under her breath while picking at the loose tee she wore. "You should leave now. I'm tired."
Anger flared. Why did she always put herself down? She wasn't fat. Far from it, in fact.
"You do not need to lose weight," I snapped. "You're perfect as you are."
Her eye roll said she didn't believe me, so I pressed forward.
"Who told you otherwise?"
She shrugged, but didn't stop me from entering her room. Since she hadn't taken the plate, I walked over to her nightstand and placed it on there.
"Guys." Guys? Which motherfuckers, aside from the asshole who'd been sending her hateful messages, had said that? If she gave me names, I'd make sure to re-educate them.
"Tell me who," I gritted out while planning how I'd make them see the error of their ways.
"So you can pay them a visit?" Her snort of amusement said she'd read my mind.
"It's fine. I know I'm a little overweight.
It's my Italian heritage. When I put weight on, it goes straight to my boobs and ass.
" Both of which I adored, only I couldn't exactly tell her so.
Not without sounding like a pervert. So I focused on her face instead.
Deciding it was better to steer the conversation back to food, I pointed at the plate.
"Food is fuel, Verity. You're back in the gym tomorrow morning, so you need to eat."
"Oh, goody." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I can't wait."
"Sit!" I barked, tired of waiting for her to eat something.
She jumped in surprise, not expecting me to raise my voice.
"Sit?" One eyebrow quirked up. "Am I a dog?" While I enjoyed her sass, as it rarely made an appearance, I didn't like her repeated refusal to eat anything.
"Sit down on the bed and eat something right now or I'll be forced to spank your ass."
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"You'll…spank me?" She almost choked on the words.
"Yes. Now do as you're told." I took a step toward her, but she shot over to the bed, blushing so hard it was a wonder the room didn't spontaneously combust.
I watched as she grabbed the sandwich and lifted it to her mouth. Her eyes met mine, gleaming with defiance. Was she taunting me? Did she want me to spank her?
"Eat, Verity."
"I'm not sure I can," she whispered in a breathy voice that had my cock pulsing in my pants.
"If you don't, sweetheart, I'll pull down your panties, bend you over the bed, and spank your perfect ass until it's as red as your cheeks."