“He locked you out.” It wasn’t a question, but Sloan didn’t seem irked. If anything, he was thoroughly entertained.
“Yes, Boss. We tried asking him to let us in, but he hasn’t yet.”
Sloan flicked his finger, and Alex shuffled out of the way. “Pet.” Sloan knocked on the door, raising his voice just a touch. “Unlock the door. Now.”
It took a few moments, but finally the lock unlatched and Conall pulled the door open with an innocent smile. “Oh, I didn’t even realize it locked behind us. Howsillyof me.”
I held back a snort of disbelief and gave Cillian a sneaky grin, which he returned. Sloan raised his eyebrows and pushed at Conall gently before walking inside. We followed him, and I immediately zeroed in on Vail, sitting on a bench farther inside the greenhouse. He gave us a wave. Cillian stomped forward with a purposeful stride, and when he reached Vail, he dragged Vail to his feet and hugged him tight. It was a marvel to see how much Vail had changed him. I’d never imagined Cillian cuddling anyone, yet here he was, holding on to Vail like a lifeline.
“We’ll get our revenge,” Cillian whispered, loud enough for us to hear.
“Not for a year,” Sloan said nonchalantly. He didn’t bother looking at Cillian, his attention never leaving Conall as he dipped his finger under the red collar on Conall’s neck. “Pet, we’ve talked about this. You cannot avoid your guards.”
Conall smirked and fluttered his eyelashes. “But, Boss—”
“No.” Sloan pressed a brief kiss to Conall’s lips. “You do that again and I will invite everyone to a party and they will witness you over my knee with a red arse from my hand. Am I clear?”
“Don’t tease me,” Conall purred.
Vail laughed, and Conall gave him a wink. I didn’t know what those two had been getting into, but I had a feeling it was trouble. They already seemed like they were best friends.
“Did you and Vail have fun?” Sloan whispered, shifting in closer to Conall and wrapping his arms possessively around his waist. Sloan dragged him so close that the front of their bodies were pressed against each other, and it was hard to look away.
“I like him.” Conall kissed Sloan’s bearded jaw.
Sloan glanced at us and his mouth tilted. “Gentlemen, our business is done. Please stay in the mansion for a few weeks. It wouldn’t hurt to have some company, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy what this place has to offer.”
“The pool’s amazing for skinny-dipping. It’s heated.” Conall’s grin let us know this was not an idle observation.
Sloan’s hand came down on Conall’s arse, and he gasped. “If you’ll excuse us, I have to teach my pet some manners.”
“He’ll never have to stop teaching me.” Conall chuckled as Sloan dragged him out of the greenhouse, and I couldn’t help but watch until they exited completely. When they were gone, I turned back to look at Vail, who was snuggled into Cillian’s body.
The familiar prickle of jealousy weaved through me, the kind I’d been fighting for months now. I knew Vail liked me as much as the other blokes, but a small part of me hated that I had to share him. For once I knew what it felt like to be Cillian. I remembered him always complaining about having to share with me as kids, and I never understood it—until now.
“I’m sorry ye had to go through that, bug.” Cillian kissed Vail’s temple. “Ye shouldn’t’ve had to face them.”
Vail’s attention shifted to me and he smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. I didn’t like the sadness lingering in the depths. “There’s nothing I can do. He’s gone.”
“I promise ye, when the year’s up we’ll kill them both.”
I held back a snort. Cillian was overconfident at times and wasn’t in touch with humans outside of the Company—men who didn’t always want death as revenge. Carmine’s and Dino’s murders weren’t going to bring Vail’s father back.
“Cillian, how about ye and Aspen go back and fill Fallon in on what happened? Vail and I will go for a walk on the private beach the boss has near here. When we come back, we can see what else we can find to get into.”
Cillian’s eyes narrowed on me and the lines on his face drew deeper into his skin. He nodded anyway, to my surprise, and tapped Aspen on the arm. They went on their way, leaving Vail and me alone.
“He means well,” Vail said quietly and stepped closer until he was pressed against me and my arms were around him. “You all have taken care of me from the beginning.”
“We care about ye.” I breathed in the smell of his hair, apple-scented from one of his favorite shampoos. “Vail, ye haven’t been processing yer father’s death.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s gone.” Vail sighed. “I miss running, Ro. If we’re going to stay here for a few weeks, we should go running on the beach. It’s nice not being in danger anymore.”
“Stop changing the subject.”
“I’m not.” He leaned back to stare at me, long blond lashes fluttering against his pale skin. His young appearance always fooled me, and sometimes it was easy to forget he was older than me. “I’m just saying I miss running.”
“Then let’s run.” I brushed my finger over his nose and down his cheek. “We’ll need to go get our joggers on, then we’ll run down the beach. Whoever wins gets to decide where we’re going on our date tomorrow night.”
