Chapter 3 #3
Fionn nodded. “You heard him. Conall and I will discuss your arrival and whether we want to send you home again or put you to work, but we’ll decide when we’re ready. You answer to us. Don’t forget that.”
Senan swept in front of me and winked, as though I hadn’t nearly planted him on his arse moments ago.
His jaw was already bruising, a red mark spreading across pale skin.
“I can be very useful to ye, sir. I’m wickedly talented with me tongue.
” He paused when Fionn tensed beside me.
“I meant, I’m charismatic, of course, among other things. ”
“Enough!” Daire charged toward Senan. “Don’t think I won’t share with Sloan that you’re flirting with his pet. That won’t go down well with him. Go find a hotel before I advise Fionn and Conall to send you directly back to Ireland.”
“That won’t happen,” I said. “If we choose not to use them, they’ll be visitors to our basement.”
Senan clapped Daire on the shoulder in a way that made me think he was stupid. Daire seized his arm and yanked it behind his back, and while Senan hissed, he also laughed, too. Crazy fucker.
Daire shoved Senan out the front door.
Tiernan followed, but not without a pointed look over his shoulder. Their younger brother, Kyran, rolled his eyes and trailed behind at a bored pace.
The shock and humiliation warped into a burning anger that consumed me. I ground my teeth. “Can someone tell me why no one bothered to inform me about these cousins?”
Silence filled the foyer.
Fionn finally laid a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know why Uncle Sloan didn’t tell you. I suppose, like you said, because they aren’t important. They’re good enough at their jobs. They’re ruthless when they need to be.”
“Aren’t important?” I repeated, letting the words rebound in my head until it hurt.
“He has cousins. Cousins. Not distant relatives. I thought you were his only close family. I mean, I knew he had a sister, but he never talks about her. I just assumed she left the illegal life completely and they had no contact. But now I find out he has cousins, and apparently second or third cousins or whatever the fuck Eddie is.”
Fionn grimaced. “We have quite a few family members over in Ireland. And then there’s Ceallach and Orin and their sister Siobhán. Their dad, Ward, too.”
I held up a palm to him. “I know about them. I’m fine with them. But these other guys? They’re close cousins, right?”
“Yeah. Their mom is Grandfather’s sister. Sloan’s aunt. They’re Killoughs.”
I shrugged off his touch, a sense of betrayal stirring low in my stomach. How did I not know any of this? Fuck. I thought I was up to date with everything. It was all one big lie.
Daire watched me, not moving, not speaking. He had to know how pissed I was, and he wasn’t silly enough to reach for me. He didn’t have the right to touch me, not like Fionn.
I backed away from them.
“I need time alone.” I spun on my heel and stomped toward the staircase and up the steps, which I took two at a time until I was at the top before I rushed toward our bedroom. Guards watched me from the corner of their eyes, but they kept their positions against the walls.
When I finally reached the room, I slammed the door shut firmly and fell face-first onto the bed. I punched the pillow with a yell of frustration. Fuck. I hadn’t felt this useless since the first year with Sloan.
Fury vibrated through my head until it began to hurt, but I struck the mattress over and over again until I felt a little better.
I sat up and wriggled until my back was against the headboard, sighing. Massaging my forehead, I weighed my options for my next steps, but there wasn’t much thought required. I was still furious, my blood pounding in my ears. I knew what I needed to do.
Taking a calming breath, I yanked out my phone from my pocket and found Sloan’s burner number in my contacts. I tapped call and pressed it to my ear, waiting.
The ringing was fuel for my anger. The longer the grating tone went on, the more toxic my rage became until the call cut out because Sloan hadn’t set up voicemail.
I tried to contact him again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Nothing.
Finally, I threw my phone as hard as I could against the wall on the other side of our bedroom. By the sound of the clunk and more than one piece hitting the floor, I suspected I’d broken it. I didn’t care.
Maybe he would learn a lesson when he tried to call me and I didn’t answer.
I didn’t know how long I stared at the ceiling before the urge to find my safe space had me storming out of the bedroom and downstairs. I avoided as many people as I could.
A few of the men eyed me, their distaste obvious in their beady stares.
There were soldiers I trusted, but then there were the snakes waiting for the chance to strike.
When Sloan got out of jail, we’d need to restructure our protection.
I only wanted guys with loyalty who I didn’t have to second-guess.
I swept outside, taking in the warmth of the sun on my skin. The fresh air filled my nose, the spring breeze dancing through the open space of the backyard. I closed my eyes and inhaled until my lungs felt like they’d burst. This was peace.
Smiling to myself, I ignored the guards that hovered around the perimeter as I headed straight toward the greenhouse.
As I reached the exterior, O’Nunan came walking toward me.
He was one of the guards who did regular checks around the premises, and he was thorough.
I liked him and while I didn’t trust him as much as Vail’s men, O’Nunan never gave me trouble.
He was one of the newer guys who’d been promoted to protecting the house, and I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t eye candy.
A grin was enough to make any man or woman blush, if I was the type to blush, which I wasn’t.
The only person who could get a visceral reaction from me was Sloan.
Regardless, O’Nunan was nice to look at—something I’d never tell Sloan.
“Good morning, sir.” He carded his fingers through his sandy blond hair, green eyes glittering under the late morning sun. “How are you doing?”
What a question. The answer was terrible, but I couldn’t share that with him. Sloan would tell me to bury my emotions deep and not show weakness to any of the men, no matter how nice they seemed.
His black suit melded against his hard body, moving with his big muscles and firm shoulders. The tie was a deep green, an expression of fealty to our heritage and mob. The wind ruffled his hair and he laughed.
“Nice day today. Not too hot yet, but not cold,” he said.
“Is that where we’re at, O’Nunan? Talking about the weather.” I grinned. “Because we’re not ninety-year-olds. Yet.”
He laughed. “Some days I feel like it.”
“I can’t argue with that.” I glanced around the yard, taking in the men close enough to watch our interaction.
A few stopped to pay attention, while others pretended to do their job, when in reality, they were trying to listen in.
There weren’t many guys who had the balls to actually talk to me, but O’Nunan was one of the few.
“How’s the boss handling things?” O’Nunan pursed his lips into a thin line as my stomach raged at the question, caught between lingering anger at Sloan but also missing his presence.
“He’s fine. He’s the boss. Sloan knows what he’s doing,” I said. “He has trust in us to handle this business while he’s dealing with the cops.”
O’Nunan’s attention flicked to the side, toward a couple of the men who stopped at the edge of the pool eavesdrop. I wanted them to hear that Sloan gave us orders to run the Company. The more they understood, the better off they were.
O’Nunan leaned in closer. “I heard a couple of the Killough cousins are here from Ireland. Some of the men think the boss wants reinforcements.”
I laughed, mean and angry, rage bubbling as acid in the depths of my chest. My fingers itched to punch something. Or someone. I hadn’t decided yet. Maybe I needed to get into the gym Sloan had built me. Ask for more self-defense lessons from Fallon.
“They’re here. That’s all the men need to know. Why they’re here is not any of their business.” I didn’t know the truth—not until I spoke to Sloan—but if the cousins had come on his orders, they would’ve told us. And Sloan would’ve let me know beforehand. He’d never lay a surprise like this on us.
O’Nunan inclined his head. “I’ll let the men know, sir.”
“Good. And tell them that any contact with the cousins without Fionn’s or my express permission will not end well for them. We will not punish lightly.”
“Yes, sir.”
He moved out of the way as I strode toward the greenhouse.
As soon as I went inside, my breath expunged itself from my lungs, each second a moment of pain I welcomed.
I hadn’t realized how tense I was until I sat down at the stone bench in front of some of my favorite orchids, the humidity and heat controlled air blasting me from the ceiling above.
The tightness in my muscles eased and I exhaled deeply through my nose again, eyes clenched shut as I centered myself.
The sweet aroma of the flowers filled me with calm until my body slumped.
Fuck. I hadn’t realized how angry I was until now.
This place was my safe space, and everything felt right here.
Peaceful. While I was in the greenhouse, Sloan wasn’t in jail, the men weren’t out to betray us, and everything was okay in the world.
I was happy, at least for the time being.
If I had the choice, I’d never leave these glass walls.
The door behind me opened and closed, and I took another deep breath. Not just anyone was allowed in here.
“Conall Morrissey.”