“Sir, ye got some tolerable whiskey we can drink? We need one after today,” Cillian said.
Sloan nodded. “Go to the kitchen. There’s a selection in the pantry to the right of the stove. You can drink anything you find there.”
We all left the office, and Sloan walked away immediately. I went to follow him up the stairs, but Cillian grabbed my arm.
“Ye don’t want a drink?” he asked with a frown.
I snorted. “I think it’s time for bed.”
“Bullshite, ye just wanna hug it out with Fallon and Vail.”
“Do you blame me?” I glared at him. “It’s been a long day and I’m fucked.”
He shrugged and turned to Rowen. “What do ye say?”
Rowen sighed and ran a hand over his reddish-blond beard. “Whiskey ain’t me favorite, but a mouthful won’t hurt. Let’s go drink.”
“Hell yeah! Let loose for once.” Cillian ruffled Rowen’s hair and got a punch in the gut for his trouble. He grunted but laughed as he dragged Rowen to the kitchen.
Rolling my eyes, I went up the stairs and toward the suite where Sloan had put us the last time we were here, which hadn’t been long ago. Situations like this weren’t new to us. Being part of the Company meant we were always in danger from some other criminal who thought they were smarter or better than Sloan. Bombs were unusual, though. Typically our enemies were more subtle. Clearly Reyes, if it was him, had big swinging balls.
By the time I made it to the suite and past the overstuffed gray couches and TV in the living room, Vail and Fallon were in the bedroom, lying under the plush gray comforter on the massive bed that was bigger than the one we all shared at home. It was dark, with the only light coming from the open door. Fallon’s soft breaths told me he was asleep, but Vail stared at me from beside Fallon. He had his arms around Fallon’s shoulders, while Fallon’s head rested on his chest.
Vail held up a hand to me. “Come here.”
My body ached and I hadn’t realized how tired I felt until I tugged off my shirt and kicked my shoes from my feet, my muscles protesting as I slid under the blankets next to Vail and kissed his neck gently.
“Are you tired?” he whispered, laying his mouth over mine for a short kiss.
“Exhausted.” I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed him in. He smelled like fresh soap.Clean. It wasn’t the scented soap he used at home, but it was still nice on him. My gaze wandered to Fallon, and I reached out to brush a stray piece of blond hair off his forehead.
“He’ll be okay,” Vail said with a breathy sigh. “He needs to heal.”
“He’s an Irishman. He’ll be fine,” I agreed.
“I worry about you all.” He touched his mouth to my forehead. “I can’t lose any of you.”
“You won’t.” I couldn’t promise him that, of course, but I did anyway. I’d never been one to give false hope, but for Vail’s peace of mind I’d do it. “How was work today?”
“You mean before I was dragged away and informed my boyfriends were in the blast radius of a bomb?” He brushed a thumb around the Band-Aid on my forehead, and I hissed as he touched a particularly sore spot. “It was good. There was this kid—”
I let Vail share details about the teens he taught today and grinned as I listened. He always told stories with flair, as though he was excited about everything he’d encountered, and that was one of many things I liked about him.
“This other kid called me mentally deficient.”
My gaze shot to his face and anger twisted in my gut. I sat up in bed even though Vail tried to stop me. “Who?”
He patted the air as though trying to tell me to bring it down a few notches. “It doesn’t matter, he’s just a rich miscreant.”
“Who?” I asked in a sharper tone.
Fallon grumbled and shifted, then let out a pained groan. He was the only reason I hadn’t been louder and promised death to the kid.
I leaned in closer to Vail and lowered my voice. “Tell me who it was. You are there as Sloan’s employee. He doesn’t take disrespect lightly. Most of those kids’ parents are part of the Company or allies of Sloan’s.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “He’s a boy. I ignored him and started telling him what he needed to do to study—”
“Vail,” I interrupted in a stern voice that effectively shut him up.
