“I’ll miss him,” Vail said, barely audible in the room. Everyone focused their attention on him, even Aspen, who sat on my other side. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was there because he was always so quiet. “He was a good man. Brilliant. I remember when I told him I was gay, he sat me down and we watched documentaries about animals in the wild that were gay. It was fun. He related to me, knew how to keep my attention. He knew I liked documentaries, so that’s how he taught me it was okay to be who I am.”
Vail cuddled in closer to me, and we spent the rest of the evening talking about his dad. He told us stories that had us all smiling and laughing, and by the end of the night, when Vail was exhausted and back to being sad that his dad was gone, we all took turns in having a shower before we got into bed with him and hugged him as he fell asleep.
It was a weird dynamic that should’ve made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t mind it.
I liked it.
20
ROWEN
“This idea is fecking mad,”I whispered to Cillian, glaring as he set up the code to the panic room’s door on his phone. “I don’t like having to lock him in that room, Cillian. It’ll scare him. He’s got ADHD. I think being trapped in one space for too long will hurt him. Ye know how he sometimes paces and such. What if he can’t take it?”
Cillian stopped playing with his phone and glanced up at me. He sat at the kitchen island, the plans of the nightclub spread out across the gray oak top. “Ye research that?”
“Of course I did. I wanted what was best for him. Don’t ye?” I sighed and scanned the hallway to make sure Vail wasn’t heading our way from the sitting room. Aspen and Fallon had him distracted, and when I’d left them a few minutes ago, they were talking about what Vail taught, or at least, he and Fallon were while Aspen listened. “I want to keep him safe.”
“And putting him in the panic room’s how we do it,” Cillian said, leaving no room for argument as he stood. “Everything’s in play, Rowen. It’s happening tonight. Lolli, that Virtue whore we talked about, will be there. Saturday night’s date night, and she’s got a doozy.”
Lolli.A few days ago we’d gone over the plans to get to the Giordano cousin. It involved seducing him, and to do that, Cillian hired the help of a whore who often went along with our sneaky plans to get to a man. She was beautiful, with golden skin and hair, legs longer than the Autobahn, and she played her roles so well. We’d caught a lot of different men with her help.
I shook my head, stress pressing down on my chest—worry for Vail. I didn’t know how he’d react being stuck in a locked room, even if there was entertainment down there. The only thing Cillian had taken out was the phones so Vail couldn’t contact anyone.
“Vail,” Cillian called. “Come here, bug. I want to show ye something.”
“Now?” I asked quietly, checking the time on my phone.Shite, it really was time to go.
“Coming!” Vail’s happy voice made my gut churn, and the smile on his face as he came out of the sitting room and into the hallway stole my breath.
He was beautiful, even with the lingering sadness that hung over him like a cloud. The silky blue robe he wore was Fallon’s and a wee bit big and hanging open over a pair of black boxers. He’d talked to his ma yesterday, and they’d spent an hour discussing everything he was allowed to tell her while I sat beside him keeping the conversation on track and away from topics that could get everyone in trouble. The biggest issue for Vail, other than the obvious one surrounding his da’s death, was about the book—his research being stolen. She hadn’t blamed him for any of it, and that had taken some stress off him.
He stopped in front of me and leaned up on tiptoe, and I kissed him, tasting something sweet on his lips, like raspberry. “What are you going to show me?” he asked, gaze flipping between me and Cillian.
“Come with me.” Cillian slid his hand into Vail’s and carefully led him to the pantry to the right of the fridge. Once inside the little room lined with shelves, he opened a trapdoor in the floor, and Vail’s eyes widened as Cillian lifted the cover.
“Wow. What is that?”
“Come on.” Cillian winked at him and guided him down a set of narrow stairs, and I followed. As much as I didn’t want to do this, I needed to be here at the same time to at least make sure Cillian wasn’t too rough with him. He meant well, but sometimes he didn’t know his own strength.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were in our basement. There were boxes to the left and the door to the panic room was on the right. It was thick steel and neither bullets, fire, nor a bomb could get through it—we’d made sure to go with the best quality. The door was wide open.
“What is that?” Vail asked, excitement in his voice. He let go of Cillian’s hand and rushed into the room like a kid who’d found candy, and we followed him, stopping near the door. Inside was spacious, with comfortable couches, a massive TV, a security system with multiple screens so you could watch every room in the house simultaneously, a queen-sized bed, a cupboard full of clothes, and another door that led to the toilet and shower, both with running water. There was no décor to speak of and the walls were a bland white, but no one would die or stink too much, and there was enough to do to stave off boredom. “Oh my God, this is amazing!”
“It is,” Cillian said as his arm shot out to stop me from entering. “And I’m sorry, bug, but ye need to stay here for a few hours.”
“What?” Vail turned to us, his excitement lighting up his face, which was followed quickly by confusion. His mind hadn’t caught up to Cillian’s words, or maybe he’d been tuned out because Vail’s gaze darted to the security screens with fascination.
“It’s for yer safety.” Cillian shoved me backward as he grabbed the door and heaved it shut.
Vail’s yell of surprise became inaudible as the door sealed. The last words I could hear were “Rowen,please” and my heart broke into a million pieces.
“Cillian, ye’re scaring him,” I snapped, waving my hand at the door. “Open it back up, ye silly fucker.”
“No.” He grabbed me by the shoulders. “It’s for his own good, Rowen. Just until we get thiseejittonight and send him on his way with a message. We need all four of us for it.”
I stared at the door, and Cillian grabbed my elbow, dragging me back out of the basement and upstairs. I stumbled after him, my gut churning and my heart thumping in my throat. Aspen and Fallon were waiting for us in the kitchen, their expressions controlled. I didn’t miss the way Fallon winced when he saw my face.
“All right, lads, this is for Vail. We don’t take threats like this lightly. We’ll be back for him soon.” Cillian’s tone dropped and was scratchier than ever, like maybe he was affected by leaving Vail in the panic room, too. If I’d learned anything about him since Vail came, it was that Cillian was human and he cared about Vail.
