“Worried.” He blinked and sat up a little. “It’s okay. I’m worried, too. It’s an uphill battle for me, but it always has been. I might’ve been fucking around while Cillian was gone, but I promise I’ll train hard and lay out everyone I climb in a cage with, just so you don’t have to lose a second of sleep.” He winked at me, then blew a kiss at Rowen.
Rowen huffed out the most disdainful noise I’d ever heard, and Fallon and I both chuckled.
Fallon leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, and I was only too happy to kiss him back. Rowen turned off the light, and we settled in that way with Rowen holding me while Fallon and I shared kisses. After he fell asleep again, I still lay awake, staring at the ceiling, because I’d seen him after that horrible fight in New Gothenburg.
I’d seen him in the hospital.
And I never wanted bruises that awful all over his body again.
“Do I have to support this?” I murmured in Rowen’s ear.
“No choice, angel.” He squeezed my middle, and I held Fallon even tighter, determined to do all I could to make sure he was able to keep his promise and knock everyone out. I wanted him safe and happy. Most people would’ve probably tried to keep me from moving in with my guys because they wouldn’t consider itsafe.
Damn it, Rowen was right. I had to support Fallon any way I could.
7
ROWEN
The work weekwent by quickly. The boss had me running boring errands that gave me a headache from the tediousness, but I did them without complaint. The religious part of me was relieved that I wasn’t killing anyone, but deep down in a place Iknewexisted inside me, I wanted to get blood on my hands—figuratively, and maybe literally, too. The urge to do something that had my heart racing tickled my insides like the sin it was.
By the time Friday afternoon came, I was antsy in a way I wasn’t used to because it had been years since I’d gone this long without being in danger. As soon as I got to the Killough mansion, with a letter from Elio Folliero in my hand for the boss, I headed inside and straight toward his office. I knocked, and he ordered me to enter.
The faster I got this done, the quicker I could find Fallon where he was teaching Conall self-defense—this time with the boss’s blessing—and take my boys home.
Sloan sat behind his desk in his black leather office chair, a pen in his hand and his attention on the paperwork in front of him. He glanced up and gestured for me to come inside with a crook of his finger. I closed the door before I walked in farther. He pointed at one of the black leather armchairs in front of the desk, and I took the seat, needing no more direction from him, then stayed quiet. I’d done this enough times with Cillian and Aspen to know the drill, but it was weird to be in here alone without them at my side.
The boss continued with what he’d been doing before I’d entered, and it took him a few minutes to finally sigh and drop his pen. His gaze slid up to me and he gave me a half smile that made me startle. “Rowen.”
“Sir.” I bowed my head in respect and held up the letter. “A response from Elio Folliero.”
He grunted but didn’t reach for the envelope or hold out his hand. “How did he seem to you? Fionn says he’s ready to talk.”
“Talk” was a relative term. You could talk about the weather, or what you did that day, or you could discuss the tensions rising between two mobs that were meant to be allies. Folliero was young, but he’d grown a set of balls, and I had to respect that. “He’s uh... Italian.”
Sloan laughed deeply. “That says everything, doesn’t it?” He tapped his desk in thought. “He’s become hostile since we made a deal with the Giordanos.”
I winced. “That’s our fault, sir.”
Sloan shook his head. “No, it was bound to happen eventually, and my pet likes Vail. They’re friends. They weren’t as much back then, but Vail has given my pet something he desperately needed. A true confidant. I’m glad I made a deal with those shady fuckers to save Vail.”
I blinked at the harsh language and my mouth twitched. Sloan made a habit of not swearing, believing it to be uncouth, so it was nice to see him curse. It didn’t happen often enough, though that was also why I preferred working for him. He had morals and pride, and if we were loyal to him, he would treat us well.
“To answer yer question, sir, Folliero is giving nothing away. He learned a lot about masking his emotions.”
Sloan nodded. “Good. The boy needed to master the skill eventually. After his boy toy got hurt, he was showing too much weakness.”
“Ye’ll be happy to know Matteo’s back at his side.” I grinned.
“Happy is an overstatement.” He chuckled. “But Matteo leads Elio in the right direction.” Finally, he held out his hand, and I passed him the letter. He didn’t open the envelope, placing it on the desk instead. “You’re a reasonable man, Rowen. Loyal. Smart. You’re a man of God.” He leaned forward, elbows on the sturdy wood in front of him and hands clasped. “I need you to be honest with me.”
Those words would never lead to anything good, but I nodded sharply. He was my boss and what he wanted, I gave him. “Aye, sir.”
“Do you think Fionn will be a capable boss one day?” He tilted his head curiously.
I froze at the loaded question. All the Company men had their opinions on the matter, some with the idea that Fionn would lose the business after Sloan’s death, while others already claimed loyalty to him. It was a heated argument I usually avoided. Who knew what the future would bring? But now Sloan was askingme.
I swallowed and considered my words carefully.
