1
FALLON MAHER
Rage unlike anythingI’d experienced in my life buzzed in my skull and made it hard to think. With all my strength, I swung the bedroom door closed, but when it didn’t slam shut, I whirled around in confusion.
Rowen held the door open. His grayish-blue eyes gleamed with irritation. Glaring at him, I took in his wet red hair, which was darker than usual and combed straight back, and even though I was ready to pound something into a pulp, I was stuck for a second looking at his soft lips framed by his reddish-blond beard. His shoulders filled the doorway. There was an entire room at my back, but I felt hemmed in.
“This is my private space,” I snapped. “Fuck. Off.”
He growled but didn’t storm into my room the way Cillian would’ve. Instead, he pushed the door so hard that it whacked the stop. “Ye need to see reason.” His lilting Irish accent had the same effect on me it always did lately, and I wanted to hear more. It didn’t matter that I was hopping pissed, I loved his voice and liked him talking to me. Why the fuck did he have to be so goddamned annoying?
Even the blue paint and framed boat schematics on the walls couldn’t soothe my foul mood the way they sometimes did, and it took all my effort not to stomp my foot on the gray oak floor.
“What do you care?”
His scowl darkened.
My adrenaline spiked. I had to fight to keep my fists down. I wasn’t scared of Rowen, but he looked dangerous right now, which was a real mind trip.
“I care, ye twit, because Aspen and Cillian aren’t here.” He jammed a finger in my direction. “And Vail’s out, so he can’t talk sense into ye, now can he? I know ye’re young, which makes ye think ye’re invincible, but ye had a medical trauma recently.”
I stormed toward the bathroom.
“Bloody hell, no ye don’t!” Rowen said.
I wasn’t fast enough. Before I could get inside and slam that door on him, he was there with his hand on the knob, and I bared my teeth because I wasn’t about to hit him.
Now I really was trapped.
I stumbled forward until I was leaning against the counter next to the sink. Usually this place stressed me out a little because the top right-hand drawer under the sink counter was where I kept my insulin kit, but right now it felt even worse—more like a prison. The scent of Irish Spring soap tickled my nose and reminded me of Vail and how much he loved being in my shower. He’d told me the black steel outlining the glass reminded him of a British phone booth, which had stuck in my head because it was funny.
I wasn’t laughing now.
“What aboutfuck offis a mystery?!”
Rowen’s nostrils flared. “Cillian has ye gearing up with yer training. Ye can’t skip a doctor’s appointment, especially not one to clear those ribs to get into a ring!” Rowen shouted.
My pulse thundered in my ears and I crossed my arms.
“Ye weren’t awake to see the hell everyone went through, but no one wants ye down and out.” He shook his head at me, as if he was disappointed. “I can’t believe Cillian and Aspen thought this fighting shite was a good idea to begin with.”
“They get me!” I yelled, stalking toward him. “Aspen loves me, and he wants me to be happy.”
“Aye, well, I care about all the othereejitswho love ye, and I can’t bear to see them—or ye—the way ye were in the hospital. And over what? Bullheadedness. No thank ye.” I half expected him to come after me and smack me, but he only rested his hands on the doorjamb and glared. “Now, why did ye do it?”
“Why areyoudoing this?” It was childish to avoid answering the question, but now guilt was swirling in my gut and making my stomach feel awful. “Not even my brother Padraig did shit like this and he’s a fucking cockbag.” My heart hammered, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that Rowen was treating me like a kid. A stupid little brat who couldn’t take care of himself.
He growled, low in his throat, and it did something weird to me. I was still mad, but my dick tingled and I held in a gasp.
“Last I checked, didn’t seem like Padraig feckin’ cares enough about ye. He can’t see past his own arsehole. Ye can’t skip medical appointments, Fallon. I don’t give a rat’s arse how busy ye are or what Conall wanted to do today. None of that shite matters as much as yer health. Conall would’ve taken someone else with him, and besides, he’s not a bad sort. He woulda been on ye to go, had he known.”
My face heated.Fuck, he wasn’t wrong.
“And another thing.” Rowen shook a finger at me, and I wanted to knock it down. “If he’d known, he would’ve probably been fine stopping to see the doc with ye. What were ye doing that ye didn’t think it was wise to leave to see the doctor?”
Guilt writhed in my gut as I stared at the floor between us. I dug my socks in against the slippery tiles.
“Well?” Rowen’s glare was worse than my dad’s, maybe because I cared more what he thought about me.
