Chapter 17 #2
I turned, catching sight of Conall as he came to a stop beside the decimated greenhouse, eyes wide and mouth agape. His messy hair was falling out of a bun at the back of his head and he still had a red mark on the side of his face from sleeping.
“What are you doing, Sloan?” The words trembled out of his mouth. His gaze slid from me to the wrecked greenhouse and back again, and I didn’t miss the sheen of tears in his eyes.
“It was a health hazard.” I panted as I took off the helmet and gloves, letting them drop to the ground. The hammer followed. I wiped my forehead with the back of my wrist. The afternoon sun bore down on us, the remnants of heat fading. “It had to go.”
Ronan stood behind Conall, irritation flickering over his usually stoic expression. He could think what he wanted. In the end, this was better for Conall.
“It didn’t,” Conall hissed. “That’s fucking bullshit.”
“Language,” I growled out, but he completely ignored me, storming up to me and poking me in the chest.
“Fuck you and your language crap. This was mine. How the fuck dare you destroy that?” He pressed his finger harder between my pecs, anger blazing in his eyes. “You had no right. Why the hell did you do this, Sloan? Why?”
Fury like I’d never felt bubbled in my chest, the clawing panic building until the sense of calm I’d found evaporated.
I grasped Conall’s shoulders tight. “Because I can do whatever I want. This is my house, and if I decide to demolish a building, I will damned well do just that, Conall. I will not be spoken to like that ever again, do you understand?”
Ronan stepped forward, but I shot him a deadly glare, and he faltered.
Conall’s jaw twitched as though he wanted to say something, but I wasn’t done. No, I was just getting started.
“This nearly killed you, Conall. There were fungi spores in there that could have put you in an early grave, and I will not let you go. I will not bury you beside my mother because of some greenhouse. I won’t fucking do that, am I clear?
” I bared my teeth, an ache expanding across my chest, making it tight and suddenly difficult to breathe.
I exhaled roughly through my nose and stood straighter.
“You don’t understand,” he whispered. His shoulders drooped as the fight seeped out of him.
“No, you don’t understand.” I gripped his chin. “I’d burn this world to the ground to keep you safe. If I have to tear down this greenhouse and have you angry at me, then it’s worth it because you’ll be alive.”
“You don’t even know if this is what got me sick, Sloan!” Conall ripped his chin out of my grasp and stepped back. “You have no fucking idea.”
I shook my head and pointed at Ronan. “Take him back inside. Now.”
Conall laughed angrily. “Don’t you do that. Don’t you talk down to me and treat me like a child.” He slapped his chest. “I am your pet, not your prisoner.”
I sliced my hand through the air between us. “I am not talking to you about this. It’s done. Go inside. That’s an order.”
His hands dropped to his sides, a fleeting disgust flashing in his gaze. Blink and I’d miss it, but I didn’t. Seeing the emotion was a knife in the stomach that twisted me in knots.
He stepped back, away from me, and the space between us felt like five hundred miles. Ronan went to reach for him, but Conall raised his palm.
“No.” He spun on his heel and wobbled, and when I went to grab him, he flipped me the bird before storming away. Ronan was right at his heels.
Regret weighed heavily in the pit of my stomach, and I scrubbed my hands over my face. Damn it. I hadn’t meant for it to go down like this. The last thing I wanted was for my pet to be mad at me, but I needed him to see what had to be done to keep him safe.
The rest of the men shifted uncomfortably.
I looked back at the ruined greenhouse, all the release of pressure I’d felt earlier disappearing, leaving emptiness behind.
The skeleton of the poisonous building no longer gave me relief but instead reminded me of my failure.
I’d thought Conall would understand, but the betrayal in his gaze was enough to make my knees wobble.
The back door opened and closed again, and I turned, expecting Conall’s return, but instead I was met with Cillian and Aspen as they made their way across the lawn.
Their black suits were impeccable, like I required from all my men, but I didn’t miss the splatter of blood on Cillian’s collar or the streak peeking out from underneath Aspen’s jacket.
“Sir.” Cillian inclined his head when he reached me. “We’ve done as ye’ve instructed and gave Lee some more attention. He’s ready to go when ye are.”
Lorcan was a thorn in my side that I wanted to get rid of and now was the time. I’d planned on dealing with him this afternoon, but my motivation for punishment had dissipated.
“Keep him in there for now.” I nudged the sledgehammer on the ground with the tip of my shoe. “Maybe treat him to this. I’m sure a few strikes to the knee would be a pleasant reminder of what he did wrong.”
Cillian smirked. “It’d be our pleasure, sir.”
Aspen crossed his arms and his eyes gleamed. He didn’t talk as much as Cillian, but he was a professional at his job. Together, they were the dream team of torturers. Not only loyal, but efficient, too.
“Good. Make it hurt, but don’t kill him. I get that privilege.”
Cillian’s expression turned downright predatory. “Yes, sir.”
Aspen picked up the sledgehammer and swung it over his shoulder.
He grinned, and together they left me alone again.
Well, mostly alone. There were still men standing to the side, their silence deafening and their judgment thick in the air.
Most of our loyal men loved Conall. He brought not only an elegance to the Company, but a level-headedness.
Upsetting him probably pissed them off, too.
I sighed. “Duffy.”
Duffy scrambled to reach my side. “Sir?”
“Make some calls for me. Hire someone who can rebuild a greenhouse, a better one than before. And ask the gardener to save whatever plants he can from this chaos.” I really had messed up and now it was time for me to make amends.
“Ask about safety precautions. Maybe get the soil tested so we can see if this was the source of Conall’s illness. ”
He nodded fast. “Yes, sir.”
I left him there to do what I’d instructed because if Duffy was good at anything, it was following my orders. He’d been around a long time and had trained under Ardan. Before that, he was part of the military.
I headed back into the house and cringed.
Someone had turned the air conditioner down, and the cool air was cold against the sweat on my back, chest, and underarms. Ignoring the nerves that kneaded my stomach about the serious sucking up I’d have to do, I went up the stairs, down more hallways, and toward our bedroom.
Ronan stood outside, his back straight and a hard look in his eyes as he glanced at me.
Yeah, yeah. Get in line. Apparently, everyone was mad at me.
But Conall was the only one who mattered.