Rowen backed away and tugged Vail loose of Conall’s embrace, shifting him around until Rowen was hugging Vail instead.
Everyone was quiet for a few long, excruciating moments.
“We stay together tonight,” Rowen murmured, staring between me, Lor, and Conall. “Who knows what else this arrest might set into motion? This won’t last forever. Sloan will be back, but until then, we hafta be alert.”
Conall nodded grimly. “How will we survive this?” he whispered.
I shrugged. “Together.”
PARTI
EPILOGUE
ROWEN
I pumped my arms as hard as I could, swinging them as I shifted every ounce of energy I had into my legs. My calves burned and my chest heaved.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Fallon called over his shoulder, laughing maniacally as he chased after Vail.
The morning sun glinted across the calm ocean and the spring weather was heating up, which wasn’t the most pleasant thing when I was running this bloody early. I hated the idea of jogging on the best of days, but now that Fallon and Vail were both challenging me to keep up, it made the entire situation worse. For someone older than me, Vail had speed I could only wish to have. He was beating Fallon, too, for God’s sake.
I grunted when my shoe got caught in a particularly deep dip in the sand and glared at Fallon, whose laughter taunted me as I began to slow down. My lungs were on fire. I felt like I was a hundred years old and out of shape. Finally, I gave in and stopped, groaning as a stitch pulled at my side. I laid a hand on my chest, wincing as I kept walking slowly.
Fallon and Vail had finally stopped closer to the tall rocks, Vail doing a celebratory dance where he waved his arms above his head and hopped between his feet, singing a random song he made up about being a winner. I laughed as I got closer and shook my head.
“Ye naughty wee things. Ye want to kill me, the both of ye.”
Vail clapped his hands and did a wide spin. “I’m the winner. The winner. Come take me out for chicken dinner. I want the good food, and then we’ll get nude. Wahoo!”
“What?” Fallon laughed loudly and curled an arm around his middle, shaking his head. “The things you come up with.”
Vail grinned widely, flashing a full set of white teeth, and finally stopped dancing to bow. “Thank you, thank you. I’m here all week.”
“Ye cheated,” I grumbled, rubbing the spot where my stitch ached.
“What’s wrong? Can’t use the age excuse?” Fallon teased, poking his tongue out at me.
I pointed a finger at him. “Watch it, tater tot. I’m not that much older than ye.”
He scrunched up his nose. “You’re in yourthirties.”
“Thank ye for reminding me.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“I’m almost thirty-nine. I’m older than you.” Vail shrugged. “Age is just a number.”
“Says the one who looks like he’s twenty,” I mumbled, but he heard me and slapped his hands on his hips.
“I stillfeellike I’m thirty-eight on the inside.”
“Ye don’t act like it.” I gave him an exasperated look and pointed down the beach where we’d run from. My stitch chose that moment to give a violent twinge, reminding me that I should train harder. “Ye kicked me arse all the way from our bloody house. That’s not feelin’ thirty-eight on the inside, angel.”
Vail’s cheeks flushed a bright red and he shrugged in embarrassment. “I like to run.”
“And you’re sexy as hell when you’re all sweaty from exercise, too,” Fallon growled, sidling in closer and offering his lips in a pout toward Vail. Of course, my angel complied, grabbing Fallon’s face between his hands and kissing him deeply. They both moaned, and I couldn’t tear my stare away, even if I wanted to, which I definitely did not.
Vail wrapped his arms around Fallon’s shoulders and dragged him closer, and Fallon rolled his hips, rubbing against Vail. Together, they were picture perfect andmine. I hadn’t realized I could love them both equally when this all started, but I did, and I wanted them to always be happy, no matter what the future brought. If I had to send them away from the East Coast to keep them safe, I would. They’d kick and scream as they went, but Cillian and Aspen would help me. We’d made a promise to protect Conall, and we weren’t going to abandon him, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t do whatever needed to be done to keep our boys healthy.
Fallon held out his arm. “Come here, sexy Irishman.”
