“Ye think what?” Rowen was at our side, his fingers carding through Vail’s hair carefully. “What do ye think, angel?”
“I think they were aiming for me.” He let out a shaky breath and grabbed hold of Rowen, even though he was still clutched in my arms. He leaned into me. “I bent down and then there was a shot and Lor got hit, but I think they wanted me.”
Rowen stiffened and his gaze slid to me, and I stared back at him. I wasn’t surprised by the admission, but that only made this entire thing even more complicated. We would need to inform Sloan of the situation immediately, so he could deal with the impending explosion of them missing Vail. There was probably a hit out on him that was still open.
“You stopped the book. Why would they want to hurt you?” I asked, kissing his ear.
“Because.” He shivered against me. “My.... Fuck. My boss didn’t. He sent the book back to the publisher. And he’s been telling all my colleagues I’m finishing the book. Who knows how many people have heard about it?”
“What?” Rowen jumped back, shock plastered on his face, while I held Vail even tighter. “What do ye mean he sent the book to yer publisher? It’s going ahead?”
He nodded hesitantly.
“We can worry about this tomorrow,” I said, slowly pushing Vail out of the room. “We’ll go to the hospital and see Lor, and while we’re there I’ll contact the boss, let him know shit went sideways.”
I felt Rowen’s pained expression to my core, but this wasn’t something we could fix right now. Sloan would know what to do, but until we could talk to him and tell him what happened, we needed to deal with the current issue, which was getting Vail to the hospital safely. I didn’t see the Italians taking another shot at Vail today, but that didn’t make me any less wary.
Rowen winced. “Let’s not tell Cillian this yet. He needs a good eight-hour sleep before we let him know anything.”
Vail whimpered, and I held him tighter. “Come on. Let’s get to the SUV.”
I drove while Rowen and Vail cuddled in the back. They spoke quietly, and every so often I heard the conversation. Rowen was obviously keeping Vail preoccupied by asking him questions about his work, and Vail sounded a lot calmer by the time we were closer to the city. Cillian had already called me once, but I’d told him to fuck off and go to bed, which he’d laughed about.
“Rowen.”
I glanced in the rearview mirror in time to see Vail lean his head on Rowen’s shoulder.
“I love you.”
The highway lights flickered through the windows, letting me see Rowen’s gentle smile. “I know.”
“I just... I’m sorry I haven’t spent enough time with you lately,” Vail continued, and even though I couldn’t see it, I imagined his adorable frown. “I love you all, and I want to spend time with you. Maybe we could do something this weekend? There’s this Broadway show I’d love to see.”
“You like plays?” Rowen asked.
I listened intently, not inclined to interrupt. I’d learned a lot growing up in my family, and even though I was an only child, my mom had a large family that included three sisters and four brothers, who also had kids of their own. She’d moved and two of my aunts and two of my uncles had followed her from St. Thomas. I quickly learned to share, especially after my father died and my mom’s family took a bigger part in my life. Outside of the Killough Company, they were the most important people I had.
“I don’t mind them. I wish they’d do more about mobs.” He laughed. “Or maybe not anymore. I’m pretty sure I’ve lived enough of the real mob life.”
“We’re sorry, angel.”
“Don’t be. I’m getting used to it. At least it’ll never be boring.” His laughter quieted down to small chuckles. “But I want to make time for each of you. I know you’ve been feeling left out.”
“I haven’t,” Rowen argued, then sighed. “Maybe I have. It’s because ye’re irresistible and I can’t get enough of yer wee self.”
“I know. We should all sit down and talk, maybe make a schedule of when we can spend time together. I like schedules, a lot. Theymostlykeep my mind on track.” He gasped. “Oh wow, I haven’t seen my ADHD coach in too long. Do you think he could come all the way out to Westhampton? Probably not.”
The sound of kissing filled the cab of the SUV and I chuckled, focusing on the road. The highway was packed with cars and it would be another good half hour before we got to the hospital. Vail had already called around to find out where they’d taken Lor.
“I don’t want you to give up the others,” Rowen whispered, barely audible. “I just want my fair share of you.”
“I know. Me too.” Vail sighed pleasantly, then there was more kissing.
I rolled my eyes.
For another ten minutes there was the sound of moans and smooching in the back seat. I didn’t bother looking. I wasn’t the type of guy to get jealous, but I knew Rowen was a softy and needed Vail to stroke his insecurities. Sometimes I wondered how Rowen and Cillian grew up in the same house because they were completely different.
“Aspen,” Vail whispered.
