Chapter 5 #3
Fionn and I glanced at each other, and he pursed his lips. I gave him a small nod. I didn’t trust them, but Ronan could keep an eye on them.
Fionn returned his attention to Kyran. “Very well, but if you betray us, we’ll make your death the lesson.”
“Ye don’t have to worry about us,” Tiernan said, but that didn’t make me trust him.
A few days later, I got a phone call from the warden about when I could see Sloan, and the visit happened to be the same day he contacted me. So, I had Ronan arrange a ride while I prepared. I’d offered to drive myself, but Fionn shot down the idea.
“Absolutely not. Sloan would kill us if we let you go alone. Take a Company car and Ronan. That’s an order.”
“Aw, you care about your papa?” I pinched his cheek, and he flinched away with a glare.
“I changed my mind. Go alone and get kidnapped.” The corner of his lips quirked, and I laughed.
“You’d miss me.”
By the time I was ready with a plug firmly shoved in my arsehole and made it downstairs and out the front, Ronan was waiting for me beside a black BMW. He inclined his head as he opened the back door for me.
“Sir.” He offered a tight smile.
I gave him a nod. “Thank you, Ronan.” I slid into the back seat and waited for him to come around to the other side.
As soon as he was situated, the driver took off, and I settled in for a long ride.
It was about an hour and a half drive, depending on the traffic, and considering it was a weekday, I didn’t hold hope for it to be quick.
I went from playing on my phone to staring out the window. I’d tried to have conversations with Ronan in the past, but when he was on duty, he was very stern. He took his job seriously, and Sloan appreciated that. So did I, but I missed conversation with him.
A weirdness swelled in my stomach and I rubbed a palm over my abs, not quite sure if the feeling was nerves or the illness I’d been fighting rearing its ugly head.
My skin was clammy today and I hated how hot it was in the car, even though our driver had the air blasting at what I assumed was a nice temperature. Everyone else seemed fine.
Finally, I gave in to my body. I napped for half an hour or so. By the time I opened my eyes, yawning, we were pulling to a stop at the end of the bridge that led onto Rikers. Private cars were allowed across, but the warden said he’d have someone waiting to pick me up at 3:00 p.m. on the dot.
I stared at the bridge, my stomach squirming with nerves.
This was the first time I’d visited Sloan.
He hadn’t wanted me to come, determined to be out as soon as possible, but the fact that he’d asked to see me now made me anxious.
Did he think he was going to be stuck in here?
Fuck, I hoped not. I needed him at my side, in our bed.
I didn’t know how to live without him. Weeks had been long enough.
Ronan cleared his throat and held out his hand. “Sir, I’ll need your phone. They won’t let you take it in. Any other personal belongings will be stored in a locker. I brought a lock you can close it with.” He pulled out a padlock from his pocket while I passed him my new phone. “The code’s 5678.”
I stared at him as I took it and slid it into my own pants pocket. “How . . . do you know that?”
He gave me a small sad smile. “My cousin’s in here. He’s doing ten years for assault. I visited him a few times.”
“Right.” My throat worked as I glanced out the window again.
Sloan. He was so close, yet so far. How did I get him out of this hellhole?
Ronan winced. “They won’t let you take your collar inside, sir. You’ll need to leave it here, too.”
My eyes widened and my hand flew to the collar on my neck.
I smoothed my fingers over the leather. “What? But this is—” Of course I wouldn’t be allowed to wear it inside.
The buckle was made of metal and there was a tracker embedded in the clasp.
Swallowing around the lump that formed at the base of my throat, I pressed my thumb to the fingerprint scanner and it beeped before the collar released around my neck. I gave it to Ronan. “Take care of it.”
My skin felt bare without the weight of the collar and unease crawled in my chest.
“I’ll protect it with my life, sir.”
I chuckled. “You don’t have to go that far.”
He gave me a strained smile as a white car pulled up beside us. A guard lowered the window, and I did the same.
“Conall Morrissey? I’m here to take you over to Rikers.”
I exhaled, nodded, and raised the window again before I turned to look at Ronan. “I’m fine from here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Ronan clenched his jaw. “Maybe I should take you to the door. I don’t trust someone not to make a move and attack you, sir.”
“No. I can protect myself. But if something does happen to me, get revenge.” I offered him a grin and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m going to see Sloan. He wouldn’t bring me here if there were safety concerns.”
With a final smile, I exited the car and entered the back door of the guard’s vehicle. He drove forward immediately, taking us over the bridge. He stopped in front of a tall fence topped by barbed wire with a small entrance that led into a blue-and-white building.
He turned toward me. “You can go in now, Mr. Morrissey. They’re waiting for you inside.”
I gave him a curt nod and rubbed my chest, willing my racing heart to calm. I stepped out of the car and headed through the small gate in the fence and up a couple of stairs into the visitation area. Another guard met me as soon as I entered.
“Mr. Morrissey?” he asked in a gruff tone.
“Yes.”
He held out his hand. “I need your ID.”
We went through the process. I filled out paperwork and signed consent forms. They instructed me to leave my belongings in the locker like Ronan had said they would.
Then came the security screening. I stepped through a metal detector before enduring a pat down that had my skin crawling and my teeth clenching.
When nothing was found, they directed me to follow another guard.
The entire situation was surreal. Despite being involved in illegal activities my entire life, I’d never been in a jail.
The guard spat on the floor as he stalked forward, leading me down a narrow hallway, and I scrunched my nose in disgust. He glanced back at me, giving me a once-over. “You’re Killough’s pet, huh?”
“Obviously.” I held my chin high because I didn’t know if he was trying to intimidate or provoke me.
His eyes darkened. “You’re his bitch.”
“I’m his partner.” I gave him the sweetest smile in my arsenal, hoping to hit him right where it hurt.
Despite his ridicule, I couldn’t help but raise my fingers to my bare neck.
The lack of leather against my skin was uncomfortable and I hated that I was going to see Sloan without my collar.
There was a level of betrayal in my heart because of it, but there was nothing I could do.
“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” The guard rolled his eyes and turned his back to me as he shoved open a door and waved me through.
“This is the room you’ll be staying in for the conjugal.
We’ll bring your master in soon. You have an hour when he enters.
” He gave me a final assessing glare as I walked over the threshold, and then he slammed the door shut behind me.
I gave him the finger through the closed metal, even though he couldn’t see it. Arsehole. Maybe when Sloan got out of here, we’d deal with this prick together. It certainly gave me butterflies to think about what we could do to him. No one talked about us the way he did.
I sighed and glanced around the room he’d stuffed me in.
There wasn’t anything particularly interesting.
The area was exactly as I’d imagined it would be—all cold gray walls and a single bed that looked like it could break at any moment.
In the corner was a toilet and a sink, and it looked like the jail cells I’d seen on true crime shows I secretly liked to watch in my spare time.
The door opened, and I spun around, my heart thumping so loud it was like jet engines in my ears. Seeing Sloan step in was one of the best things that had happened to me in the last few weeks and the sight knocked the breath right out of my chest.
“Sloan . . . .”
Guards stepped in behind him, and I slid my gaze down his body, finally picking up on his hands cuffed in front of him. They unlocked the cuffs and retreated, leaving us alone again after slamming the door closed. The entire thing was a stark reminder of where we were.
He’d changed in the short time he’d been here.
The dark roots of his bleached blond hair were growing and taking over, while exhaustion bruised the skin beneath his eyes.
This man standing in front of me wasn’t my Sloan, not fully.
The confidence he usually exuded was dwindling and there was fatigue in his gaze that made my stomach roil.
“Sloan.” I shot forward, and he opened his arms, drawing me against his strong chest as I burrowed into his solidness.
He drew me in securely, and I curled my arms around his neck, gripping him tight.
The cold, hard scent of soap I wasn’t familiar with fanned out around him, and I scrunched up my nose.
This wasn’t my Sloan. He’d always smelled more earthy.
Warm. Now, the staleness of jail lingered on his skin. “Boss.”
“Shh. It’s okay, Pet. I’m here.” He stroked my hair, and I shuddered at his touch.
It had been far too long since I’d had his hands on me and the thought of having to walk away from him again was unbearable.
Life with him made sense, but without him it was a mess.
I missed him, even though I heard his voice regularly.
When he released me, I stumbled back after losing my balance, but Sloan grasped me before I could fall on my arse.
He frowned. “Are you okay?”
I took a deep shuddery breath as a wave of heat rolled through me. Nausea swelled in my stomach, but I pushed the sensation away as much as I could. I gave him a small smile. “Just missed you. Being here in the same room is overwhelming.”
Sloan’s eyebrows furrowed and he stared at me for too long, his sea blue eyes narrowed curiously, before finally, he gave me a sharp nod. He believed me. Smirking, he stroked his thumb down my cheek and across my jaw. “I thought you missed my cock.”
“It’s attached to you, isn’t it?” I teased, earning a laugh from him.
“Last time I checked it was. Want to make sure?” He raised one eyebrow, and my heart flipped, a new kind of heat spreading through me. This was Sloan Killough. Some of his fire returned, making his pale cheeks flush a little brighter.
“Come here.” I dragged him close, mouth slamming over his. We only had an hour, so I was going to make the most of it.