“For being here.”
He lifts my chin with his thumb and forefinger, bringing my eyes to his. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, angel.”
I search his face in the dark for any sign of insincerity but all I find is total honesty in his expression. “Tell me something,” I say, my voice quiet, timid.
“What do you want to know?” He asks, keeping his hold on my chin.
I wet my dry lips, and his eyes briefly catch on the motion before returning to mine. “Anything.”
He thinks for a moment before admitting, “I threatened to fire one of my oldest employees right before I came here.”
I pull back ever so slightly. “What? Why?”
Killian blows out a rough breath and drags his free hand down his face as I observe him. The frown lines on his forehead seem more prominent tonight than the last time I saw him. And as I watch him mull over my question, I notice the deep set to his shoulders, almost as though he’s carrying the weight of the world upon them.
“There’s this kid. Jaxon. A few months back, he approached me in the street while I was working and asked me for a job. He’s young. Not even in his twenties yet. My first thought was, this kid is brave, you know? Toapproach someone in the street and ask them for a job like that.” I nod, understanding.
“He looked…” Killian trails off as he searches for the word. “Lost. And I felt a kind of kinship toward him.”
“So, what did you do?” I ask, hanging onto every word.
“I hired him.” Killian shrugs. “But after a week or two, he started showing up late for work. He was slower than everyone else. Weaker. And it didn’t take long for Callen to pull him on it.”
“Callen is one of your employees?”
He nods. “Yeah. He started making comments about him being late or dragging ass at work. So, I pulled Jaxon to one side. I asked him why he was turning up late and why he hasn’t bothered to come dressed in appropriate work clothes. And he told me.”
He pauses, taking a deep breath and I wait for him to continue. “His mom is an alcoholic. Every day, he gets up and gets his little sister ready for school, drives her there and then comes to work. He couldn’t afford work clothes because he didn’t have his first paycheque yet and if I had to guess, that money would be used to put food on the table.”
My heart cracks as I picture the teenage boy helping his little sister to school every day, picking her up and making her dinner all while their mom loses herself in a bottle. The image in my mind is a familiar one. One that only heightens the ache in my chest as I watch Killian relive his childhood through the boy.
“Killian,” I say, taking his hand in mine, but he just shakes his head.
“I warned the others to back off him after that. I told Jaxon he can take his time coming to work in the morning.I bought him his work uniform. But Callen just wouldn’t let it go. I caught him today, giving Jax shit about being late and being slow. So, I gave him a warning.”
God, this man.
Despite all the shit he had to deal with growing up, his heart never changed. He cares so deeply about everyone around him. He saw a young boy living the nightmare he lived growing up and he gave him hope. And I know that having to give one of his employees a warning is probably killing him inside. “You did the right thing.”
He slumps back against the sofa in defeat. “I know I did. But it feels shitty. I don’t want to be that boss. I don’t want my employees to think I’m a dick. But I couldn’t take it anymore, Dais. You should’ve seen the kid. Every time Callen made a comment, I witnessed a little piece of light leave his eyes, and I fucking hate that.”
Suddenly, the storm happening outside doesn’t seem so important anymore. What’s happening right here in front of me is. Killian is opening up to me. He’s sharing a piece of the life he created in my absence.
I know he told me this because he was trying to distract me from my own anxiety, but somehow, I have become the one comforting him.
I’m so used to being the one that caused this man pain and heartache that it’s easy to forget that there could be other things that plague him. And him sharing this small piece of vulnerability with me feels like an olive branch to a future friendship between the two of us.
CHAPTER 27
KILLIAN
Daisy stopped trembling a while ago, yet I keep her held tightly against my chest. Her body is relaxed in my lap, and her breathing evened out a few minutes ago, indicating she has fallen asleep. Still, I don’t move.
I need the comfort just as much as she does.
Something shifted between us tonight.
I don’t know what made me tell her about Jaxon and the whole ordeal between Callen and I, but when she asked me to tell her something, it just tumbled out of me.
