He sighed, fingers curling against my chest. “I suppose I can think about it.”
“That’s all I want.” I grinned and stepped back, dislodging my hold on him. He frowned when I winked. “To that red post halfway down the beach. I get a head start.” I took off, my shoes digging into the sand as I pumped my arms and shot forward.
“Hey! That’s cheating!” Vail laughed and chased after me. It didn’t take him long to pass me, and no matter how much I pushed myself, I knew I didn’t have a chance in hell. He was going to win.This round.
17
VAIL
We’d settledinto the mansion after about a week, more or less treating it the same as we would our home, and I was enjoying the beach access. Every day I ran and stared at the ocean, thinking about how my life had changed. When I added up the pros and cons during those moments of clarity, I wished I’d gotten to where I was at with my guys with less violence. I wished my father was still alive. I wished my mother was still in the city.
I missed my family.
But I had a sneaking suspicion that if a devil had popped up and told me I could only be this happy with the sacrifices I’d already made—my father, my career, my old boring life—I’d have taken it. I was only a man, and the love that was being poured over me was too good to give up.
One day, after I’d eaten breakfast with Conall, I got a phone call from a miserable Lor, who was being discharged from the hospital.
“Were you serious about giving me a place to stay while I get better?” he asked. I almost couldn’t understand him because his voice was so quiet. My heart nearly broke at his pitiful tone.
“Yes, of course. I’ll come pick you up.”
Aspen surprised me by volunteering to go into the city to get Lor, and Aspen was also the one who helped me walk Lor up the left side of the double staircase in Mr. Killough’s mansion. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with Lor’s legs, he was extremely tired and weak after his time lying around in the hospital. Conall put him in a smaller room than the one I was sharing, though it was every bit as nice with a mellow sage-green theme.
“Do you want to do something with us later?” I asked Lor while Aspen took over and lowered him down onto the bed. “You know, you could probably go stay with your mother if you preferred because—”
“Don’t tell him about that,” Aspen said, giving me a frown. “He’s fine here.”
Lor kept his attention glued to his hands. He fidgeted and flushed bright pink. I couldn’t get away from the feeling that he was acting guilty about something, but that was ridiculous. His dyed hair was growing out, and I brushed my hand over his head until he glanced up, brown eyes as innocent as ever.
“It’s safe now?”
“Yes, but you’re welcome here, kid,” Aspen murmured, shooting me a look I couldn’t decipher.
“I’m tired,” Lor said and closed his eyes. “Really tired.” As if to prove a point, he wavered on the spot. We helped him get under the blankets. The doctor we’d talked to before taking him from the hospital had sworn he was going to be fine.
Nevertheless, I worried.
Every time I asked if he wanted company, he told me he was too exhausted. I’d never been shot, so maybe that was normal. Aspen agreed that Lor needed rest. When Aspen realized I was worried, he promised the doctor who’d seen Fallon would come and examine Lor. There wasn’t much I could do, other than keep offering to sit with him.
Time flew by, and no one seemed to be in a hurry for us to leave, so I didn’t worry about it. I figured Cillian would be the one to tell us when we were going home again.
I’d just come in from a run with Rowen on a blustery Friday morning, and we’d had a fun shower together—Cillian had joined us and they’d put me on my knees. We’d barely managed to get dressed and wander out to join Fallon and Aspen in the small living room, where the TV was on, when there was a knock at the door of our suite. Fallon was sprawled on one of the gray couches and went to stand with a dramatic sigh.
“Feck off,” Cillian grumbled and stomped toward the door while Aspen snickered and plopped down next to Fallon. They’d been spending a lot of time together, and it made me smile when Aspen nudged his shoulder against Fallon’s uninjured side. My heart did a weird flip that was almost as good as when Aspen did that to me. And to see Fallon give him a smile back? I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening there, but it made me want to go over and hug them—so I did. I’d somehow managed to be dragged down on Aspen’s left so I was leaned up against his side when Cillian came back to us with a perplexed frown on his face and a cream-colored envelope in his hand.
“What ye got there?” Rowen asked as he dropped down onto the other couch.
“You look nice. I like that sweater on you,” I said, not only because it was true and the blue made Rowen’s eyes shine brighter, but because I’d noticed he enjoyed compliments. I wanted to give him any I could think of just to see his cheeks go rosy. Every time I told him something nice he blew out a breath and scowled at me while his lips struggled not to smile.
He waved me off.
Cillian rolled his eyes, and Aspen gave me a nudge as if to tell me I was doing a good job with Rowen, which hadmyface heating.
Cillian tossed me the envelope and I fumbled it. I picked up the letter, running my thumb over the quality paper that made me moan. I was such a sucker for good stationery supplies. I frowned to see my name on the front in fancy black calligraphy. Shrugging, I opened the flap on the back. Inside was an intriguing red piece of paper edged in gold.
“One of Sloan’s errand boys dropped it off.”
I tugged the fancy paper out. All it had on it was an address in Midtown. Confused, I raised the paper so Aspen could see it, and he chuckled, his breath a warm breeze in my ear.
