“That makes sense, since they’re mafiosos. I’m not afraid.” Vail plastered himself against Rowen in a hug.
Of course he wasn’t. How could he be when he’s been sleeping with four of us for a while now? The fact that he wasn’t scared about the meeting terrified me. I didn’t want him to rush into dangerous situations for the thrill.
“I believe the boss will take care of him,” Fallon said as he dumped olives onto his plate before moving on to bacon. How he was still alive with his diabetes, I had no fucking idea. He ate all the shite in the world. It would catch up to him eventually as he got older, but I supposed when that time came, Vail would set him right. He already got into Fallon’s head about things.
“Sloan’s never let us down before,” Aspen agreed.
I fucking hated the idea of the Giordanos being in the same house as Vail, but I had to agree. I didn’t know how Vail would react once he was in the hot seat, though, knowing these were the men who killed his father. It was as though he’d forgotten about it, pushed the thought to the back of his mind where he couldn’t reach it, and that scared me. We all had a breaking point.
“Right.” I sighed. “Two o’clock, then. I’ll make sure I’m armed respectably.”
“Gonna hide your knives?” Aspen asked with a smirk.
I pointed at him and nodded.
Rowen’s mouth twisted in displeasure. “Two o’clock.”
“We’ll need to teach Vail how to act around them,” Aspen said, staring pointedly at Vail. “He can’t show weakness.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.” I rubbed Vail’s back and kissed his round cheek. “Eat first, bug, then we’ll need to prepare ye.”
* * *
It tookus until one in the afternoon to get him ready as best we could. By the time we were done drilling Vail like the mobsters we were, he was frazzled but prepared. He stood tall and proud and had on a nice gray silk-lined suit with a beige bow tie Sloan had sent one of his maids out to get. His blond hair was brushed back, and his mouth looked succulent. I had to resist messing him up by kissing him roughly. Someone had found two very tiny bandages for his injuries and you could barely tell they were there.
“How do I look?” He spread his arms and spun in a circle, giving me a silly grin. “I think I look good.”
“You’re always so delicious,” Fallon whispered from where he sat on the bed. He pouted. We’d made the decision he shouldn’t be in the office when the meeting happened because he looked like he’d gone through a few rounds ofFight Club, which he had. That wasn’t the impression we wanted to give.
Aspen exited the bathroom and buttoned up his black suit jacket. He looked impeccable, even with his mouth set in a grim line. These types of meetings weren’t his thing, like it wasn’t mine. We preferred to get physical with our fists and instruments. Talking was boring.
The door to the bedroom opened and Rowen stepped through, waving at us. “We need to go. They’ve arrived, and the boss wants us in the office when they come in.”
I nodded and shifted closer to Vail, cupping his face in my hands. He stared, his bright brown eyes shining with trust I’d never seen focused on me before, and my stomach warmed. I would kill for Vail; Ihadkilled for Vail. He’d quickly become my world in ways I hadn’t expected.
“Remember what we taught ye.” I touched my forehead to his and took a deep breath. “Stay calm. Keep yer words short and never show them fear. Or excitement. Meetings like this are about who’s got the bigger willy.”
Vail burst out in laughter and slapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry. You were serious. It’s just... willy?” He cleared his throat and straightened. “I’m serious now.”
I stared at him and raised my eyebrows. “Good, because ye need to be. These men are not puppy dogs, Vail. They tried to kill ye.”
“And they murdered your father,” Aspen said quietly beside me.
Vail’s face fell and something passed across his expression, as though he was pushing the thought deep inside and locking it away. We’d need to fix that sooner rather than later. As far as I knew, he hadn’t even been to his father’s grave.
“Let’s go.” I gripped Vail’s elbow and guided him past Rowen and out into the hallway. We went down the double staircase, through the entrance hall, and down a long hallway that led to Sloan’s office. Two guards were already there, and they opened the door for us so we could step inside.
Jamie and Fionn sat on a plush red couch that hadn’t been present the last time I was here. Daire and Corbin stood behind them, their respective poker faces already plastered on.
Jamie gestured to another couch to their right, also a new addition, and it was big enough for all four of us to sit. Vail took the middle while Rowen and I guarded his sides, and Aspen stood behind us, a true soldier in every sense of the word. At least we had Vail protected now.
When the door opened again, Sloan strode in, his mouth pressed into a thin line as two men in royal blue suits followed him. I didn’t have to know who they were to guess they were the Giordanos. Their smug faces said enough, and Sloan’s distaste for them gave them away. As far as I was concerned, they looked like gobshite in their matching clothes.
Behind them followed four guards—two Irishmen who belonged to us, and two Italians.
“Ah, this must be Dr. Mifflin.” The oldest of the Giordanos, a man with salt-and-pepper black hair and a narrow face, grinned at Vail and opened his arms. From what I knew about him, his name was Carmine, and he took charge, even though he and his brother shared the role of don. According to Jamie, they’d acquired that fine title when Angelo Giordano died undermysteriouscircumstances. So mysterious in fact, he’d turned up mummified in a barrel of salt at a fish-packing plant—or so the story went. It wasn’t like the authorities had ever seen a body; we just had the rumors to go on. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
His brother, Dino, wore a sour expression and appeared to be much younger. His dark hair was devoid of grays, and he had a square jaw, which made me think maybe they were half-siblings. Unlike Carmine, he didn’t seem impressed to be here and sniffed indignantly at the sight of us.
