TWENTY-SEVEN
“OKAY, OKAY, GEEZ, husband,” Whisper said into her phone then hung up. “We’re going back to the mansion, want to come with us?”
If they were the only ones left, Conn may prefer just to stay at Stag.
“I’ll wait,” she said, accepting her friend’s hug. “Have fun.”
“No doubt about that.”
Whisper rushed to the door at the back of the room to exit. The one to the club balcony, not the office. Hmm, must be a reason she was avoiding it, could be she didn’t want to step on any toes. They didn’t know who might be working down there. If Raze was heading out, Play might be too.
She washed up her and Whisper’s dishes, dried, and put everything away. Time trudged on, tiring her. Washing her face, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, she went through the motions of getting ready for bed. Whether it was there, at the mansion, or the loft, she couldn’t imagine there would be any need to be social before she and Conn crashed.
If Strat was still there, he might have hung around under the misconception he had to be there so long as she was. Her friend didn’t have his phone, and her purse was in the office. With what he’d been through in the last couple of days, last couple of weeks really, Strat deserved a break. At the mansion, he’d be looked after, though he may prefer staying at Stag if Ford stayed.
Music still pumped from the club, bass rocked the walls, maybe some of those stragglers got in after all.
She’d check with Conn before going down to the basement for Strat, just in case. Vex would be restrained, but she still preferred to let her man know her location. Anywhere he was she was safe, something she’d assert to him any time he forgot.
“…simple as that.”
The words carried at the same time she opened the curtain to the office, so she didn’t know if it was the voice or the face she recognized first.
“Lach,” she said to the man in the middle of the chesterfield, fingers linked on his head, legs outstretched, crossed at the ankle. “What are you doing here? Where the hell have you been? I haven’t heard from you for ages.”
Conn was propped on the front of his desk, whiskey at his lips.
“Yeah, and if it wasn’t for this guy…” Lach nodded toward Conn. “I wouldn’t even know you’re still alive. Talk about dropping off the fucking map.”
“Have you seen Dad?”
“Do you care?” Lachlan asked, making eye contact with Conn as he put the glass on the desk. “Want to finish this later?”
“Aye.”
Lach stood, but she rushed over to the rug, extending an arm toward each of them. “No, not later.” Uh, from Lach’s face, her attention went to the stag head under her feet, then to Conn. “Are we okay?”
“Aye.”
How many secret conversations could the man have at once? Nicole’s body was gone, and there was no sign of blood or death. Didn’t mean there wasn’t forensic evidence lying around. Guess that was why they needed a hush-hush basement stairway in the playroom. Getting rid of a corpse in a crowded nightclub may be a little awkward without discretion and secret passages.
“Why are you meeting at this time of night?”
“Never notice your boyfriend does a lot of business in the dark?” Lachlan asked, though there was a glimmer of a smile behind those words. “We’re just keeping things steady.”
“What does that mean? What is ‘keeping things steady’? What is that?” She went to sit, pulling her brother down with her. “Conn said he’s talked to you about the dad stuff.”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re okay with…?” No way her brother would be. Conn could’ve coerced him, not that she didn’t trust her guy, but he knew how to get what he wanted. “He’ll stay as Superintendent.”
“Yeah,” Lach said, no hesitation.
“Do you know what that means? He’ll keep his job, his position, his power—”
“And use it for McDade ends, I know the drill.”
Who was this guy? Her brother, her Lachlan, could never be relaxed and okay with the implications of that.
“You’re okay with… What’s going on?”
“It’s late.” Conn tossed the last of his liquor into his throat and discarded the glass. “We’ll pick this up another time, McLeod.”
No snark or hostility, the men’s relationship had changed, and she’d missed the whole thing.
Lach smacked a hand into Conn’s and they shook quick. “I’ll be around in the p.m.”
“You’ll get all the access you need. Need a ride?”
“No, I’m good.” Her brother came to kiss her head. “Be good, little sister.”
“Be good?” Without responding to her question, Lachlan left, giving her only Conn to gape at. “What is going on?”
“It’s late. You need rest.”
“Why don’t you need rest?” Though that was beside the point. “Why was Lach here?”
“You want to bar him?”
“No! He’s my brother—”
“Your brother, exactly. Family means a lot here. Do you need anything from upstairs?”
“No,” she mumbled as he got her purse from behind the desk to hand it over. “Where are we sleeping tonight?”
“Where do you want to sleep?”
“Don’t you want to have breakfast with your cousins at the mansion? Is Score coming at all?” Maybe that was a reason to avoid the family home. “He has a toddler.” She smiled. “Not sure I can see you tolerating a little person, without manners, running around.”
“McDade children are taught manners,” he said, slipping off his jacket to put it around her.
“Taught manners?” She blanched. “You don’t mean…?”
He tucked her hair from her face. “Have I ever raised my hands to you?”
“No.”
“And I won’t to our children either. I lived that upbringing, and we do things my way now. Respect comes long before discipline.”
Why, in that moment, did it feel like she had so much to learn from him?
“Is Strat still in the building?”
“Yes. He’s staying with his son, with your permission.”
She nodded. “As long as someone’s keeping an eye on him. Is Ford in trouble?”
“Ford is ideally suited to his role here.”
“Because…?”
“His relationship with Vex has tenure, adds an extra layer of torment. And allows Ford something like payback.”
“As jailor?”
“He’s in the position of power now, leveraging his own retribution.”
That was impressive. Such a simple choice would make so much difference in damaging Evander’s spirit.
“Can you make sure Strat isn’t going out by himself for a while?”
“If you think he’s at risk, that puts you at further risk—”
“He’s not at risk for being him, he’s at risk for what he means to me. That’s why Vex went after him, isn’t it? I told you, people around me are in danger. It seems like every way I turn—”
“You’re a McDade.” He caught her chin on a finger to lift it up. “Aye, we have targets on our backs. The intensity of the threat level will increase the more our power grows.” And it didn’t concern him one iota. “Now, where do you want to sleep tonight?”
“The loft.”
The flash in his eyes may have been surprise, but she saw caution too. Their space, where they’d shared time and bonding, meant a lot to her. But they hadn’t been back there, not together, not since the night they’d gone to her grandfather’s only to be ripped apart.
“Are you sure?”
“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. I understand if you want to spend time with Razer and Play.”
“I don’t care about time with them. You were given the choice, and this is the one you made.”
He linked their fingers to guide her downstairs. A car waited for them on the curb, and they were quickly on their way to her selected destination.
“I want to forget it happened.” Lifting his arm, she wrapped it around herself and closed her eyes to lean against him. “I want us to sleep there, wake up, make love, and be together like we should’ve been. We should never have gone to my grandfather’s. I’m sorry I asked you to come with me. I know we’ve said this before but… I think about it. How we could’ve told him to go to hell and just curled up together, safe. That’s the fantasy I want to fulfill.”
“Hmm.”
Curious about the tone of the sound, she peeked up. “What? What is it?”
“You swallowed those pills in that bed.”
Oh, God. Their heads were in completely different places. “And you don’t want to—I never wanted to kill myself, Mo Grá. I wanted your attention.”
“An extreme way to go about it.”
“You’re an extreme kind of guy. I’d go to any lengths to be with you. Do anything to be at your side. I understand if you don’t want to go back there. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. Is that why you put it in my name?”
“I put it in your name when I thought you’d take the out. You gave up your apartment to your brother. I wouldn’t see you on the street.”
Her brother wouldn’t have seen her on the street either. Still, it was nice he’d been considerate. Funny, so many people were surprised Conn wasn’t violent with her, yet no one knew how thoughtful he was, or how much time he spent looking after her.
“I love you,” she said, relaxing and closing her eyes again. “Mo Grá. Forever and always, I’m yours.”
And she loved that. Just belonging to him was a buzz. The depth of his security, the stability he gave her, no one would understand. Few people found love so strong and sure. She had it and planned to cherish it for the rest of time.