Conall let out a sad sound.
“No, sir,” Cillian said quickly. “I put ’im where I meant him to stay and look at this. It’s certainly not ye I was worried about. We will be talking.” His tone was harsh and reignited my rage from earlier.
“I didn’t want to be locked in!” The anger roared to life in me and I grasped my knees tightly.
Mr. Killough chuckled. “What were you saying about teaching, Vail?”
My heart galloped because Mr. Killough was dangerous—he’d taken on thirty-six Italian mafiosos single-handed. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I stared at him and struggled to recall the conversation we’d been having before the guys got home, but soon enough Mr. Killough was giving me the same pained expression Lor did... and they even looked alike when they did it. “Sorry, can you remind me of what we were talking about?”
Mr. Killough stared for a few seconds longer, then his eyebrows danced up and back down. “You refused my offer to find a job for you to do because of something to do with teaching.”
Aspen grunted. I glanced across the room, and his deep brown eyes were wide. Like Cillian, his close-cut black hair was more styled than usual, and he looked so good in his suit it was extra terrible to see the judgment on his face. His mouth twisted into a frown.You did what?his glare seemed to ask. He stared at me like I was stupid while he straightened his broad shoulders, and my face flared hot. My stomach sank despite the fact that I searched for the freckles on his umber cheeks; they normally made me happy.
I shrugged. “Thank you, Mr. Killough. I get sidetracked in my head. Uh, yes, I owe it to my students. They’re so committed. And I like teaching. Telling stories. But Cillian says it’s too dangerous now.”
“There goes that lip,” Rowen murmured softly, and I frowned at him.
“Why?” Sloan asked and stared around at my guys.
“The... uh, well the current issue we dealt with, but ye know how it can go,” Rowen said and stared at me sadly.
Mr. Killough sat back and studied the depths of his glass. He glanced at me, and I felt just miserable at the thought of not getting back to my classroom.
“I worked hard for that position. It wasn’t easy for me,” I said quietly.
Mr. Killough blew out a breath. “The message was sent, yes?”
The guys nodded at him, and Rowen snapped out a crisp, “Aye, sir.”
“The people we’re dealing with are businessmen.” Mr. Killough knocked back this whiskey the same way he had the last one, and everyone waited while he finished and slid the empty onto the coffee table. “They’ll get that memo.” He shrugged. “I see no reason why, after a few days have passed to allow for message delivery, you shouldn’t be able to go back to your teaching position. You must keep in mind everything we’ve spoken about.”
“Really? Oh, thank goodness.”
Cillian’s face was red, and he darted his attention between Rowen and Mr. Killough. “You honestly believe Vail’s in no danger after tonight?” He bit at his lips, and it seemed like he had a lot more to say but held back.
“No more than anyone else in this room. Give that its due consideration, however. I suggest protecting your belongings, Cillian.” He ran his fingers lightly over Conall’s collar. “I merely stopped for an update. I was out with my pet. He deserved a nice evening in the city. I happened to be in the area. It is done, then?”
“It went off without a hitch,” Rowen said and perked up.
One of the men in the hallway coughed, and whatever spell Mr. Killough’s presence caused that had hung over the room—keeping everyone on razor’s edge—broke. Cillian rose and paced toward Aspen, where he said something too low for me to hear. Mr. Killough pulled Conall to his feet, and he was graceful about going as he stood at Mr. Killough’s side. I blinked as Mr. Killough paused to ruffle my hair with another chuckle. “How many filthy Italians did I kill?”
“Thirty-six.”
Mr. Killough threw back his head and laughed. He patted Cillian’s shoulder on his way to the door. “G-good luck,” he said, taking a deep breath. He wiped his thumb at the corners of his eyes.
“Hope to see you again,” Conall said and waved at me.
“If you’ll all excuse me, I have a pet to discipline.”
Conall smirked at him, and Rowen glanced at the ceiling while Cillian stared directly at Conall, almost like he was imagining what Mr. Killough would do to him. I was stuck in the same trap.
“Do you like that?” I blurted.
Mr. Killough turned and lifted his eyebrows at me. Conall laughed, and there was actually some pinkness on his cheeks, even though he hadn’t looked remotely embarrassed about anything that had happened so far this evening.
“He’s a powerful man. His punishments are so painful and awful.” He winked. “I can barely withstand it.”
Mr. Killough smacked his ass hard enough the crack echoed around the room, almost like a warning, and Conall glanced at him and bit the corner of his lip. “We can make that true if you keep going.”
