Sloan shook his head. “Don’t overthink it, Rowen. I want honesty, not a perfectly planned response. I’m not going to kill you if I don’t hear what I want.”
I licked my lips and stared at him seriously. “Yes, sir, Fionn will be a sensible boss. He needs a lot of training, but he has what it takes. He needs to harden up and show the men who doubt him that he can do the job, though. He’s got the balls to do it, he just needs to use them.”
Sloan looked at me for a long moment, and I kept my back straight. After a little while, he chuckled. “I was so different at his age. I was ready to take over the Company, and not long after my dad died, I became the boss. Sometimes I wonder if I was too easy on him. Dad was a hard man to live with. He sent me on hits when I was sixteen. Fionn hasn’t killed a man yet. Maybe I did him an injustice.”
“With all due respect, sir, but I disagree. Fionn isn’t ye, and the circumstances are different. He’s got potential, a lot of it.”
Sloan made a sound I couldn’t interpret, but he didn’t say anything else. He grabbed the letter and tore open the envelope before removing the paper and reading.
I waited, watching the way his mouth twitched, but I couldn’t tell if it was in irritation or amusement.
Finally, he glanced at me and tossed the paper on the desktop. “Elio seems to like Fionn. I suppose that’s a positive. They’re around the same age. Fionn will need allies when the time comes.”
I hadn’t been asked a question, so I stayed silent, fingers curled around the arms of the chair.
“Elio agreed to meet and discuss the situation, which is something, at least.” The boss leaned back in his chair and stared at the letter for a long moment that felt like hours, and when he finally glanced back up at me, he flicked his fingers. “Go get your boys and take them home. I’ve got a lot to think about.”
I bowed my head and shot to my feet. I got to the door and was close to freedom, when—
“Rowen, did you hear about the tiger in Miami on the news?” The amusement wasn’t hard to detect in Sloan’s voice this time. I looked at him, and he was smirking. “That was our men.”
I grinned. “I wish I was surprised, but I’m not. I’d seen it online and wondered.”
“You haven’t spoken to them?” He cocked his head.
“No, sir. Cillian and I aren’t much on speaking terms when we live together, let alone being in different cities. And Aspen is Aspen. He doesn’t like chatting much to begin with. Vail and Fallon have had video calls with them, but as far as I know, they haven’t told them anything about tigers.”
Sloan laughed loudly. “Yes, well, that was them handling a Reyes distribution location.”
I chuckled. “Glad to see they’re giving the Reyes men hell.”
He waved his hand, and I took it as a dismissal. I headed right down the hallway full of pricey and stolen artwork. I knocked on the gym door as I opened it, walking inside and taking in the scene before me. In the middle of the room was a large, red padded floor mat, and Fallon and Conall were currently facing off with their hands curled in fists in front of their faces. It was harder for Conall, who still had a cast on his lower left arm, though I suspected the hardened plaster would hurt if Fallon got hit by it.
Fallon punched out in slow motion, and Conall ducked before hitting Fallon’s abs gently. Their fighting form was good.
Fallon nodded eagerly in response. “Exactly like that!” The pride in his voice had me grinning. “When someone goes to punch you, take advantage of their size. They won’t expect you to retaliate that way. Better yet, go lower and hit them in their family jewels. That’ll stun them for a while and give you enough time to make them your bitch.”
Vail and Lor sat cross-legged on the floor on the other side of the mat, their attention firmly on Fallon, as though he was telling them the greatest thing in the world. I couldn’t help it when my heart gave a loving jerk. Vail was mesmerized, eyes wide and soft lips popped in a smallOin the most adorable way I’d ever seen. And I didn’t blame him one bit.
While Fallon had a shirt on this time—thank God—he was like a perfect, immortal being completely in his element. The sweat on his arms gleamed and the shorts he wore gave everyone, including the bodyguards around the room, a good view of the muscles in his thighs as they strained. His blond hair was up in a bun, and it made my fingers itch to pull it down and watch the strands spill around his face.
Conall laughed. “Do I want to make them my bitch?”
Fallon nodded seriously. “Fuck yeah. Trust me, after your first takedown, you’ll want to find Sloan and ride him for a week straight. Maybe you’ll make him your bitch, too.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as Conall’s laughter deepened.
“Fallon!” I yelled.
Fallon’s gaze jerked toward me and his mouth curled into a large smile. He straightened, dropping his hands from in front of his chest, then gave me a wave. “About time you got here. We were supposed to be done an hour ago. Where’ve you been?”
“Come here.” I gestured him over to me, and he heaved a sigh, making Conall laugh even harder. Fallon had a bounce in his step as he skipped his way to me, though, and his eyes danced with mischief that made me wonder if he’d known I was here the entire time.
“Yes, dear?” He winked.
I grabbed his sweat-drenched gray T-shirt and dragged him in close enough that his breath tickled my neck as I put my mouth next to his ear. “Training Conall does not mean making bitch comments about the boss,” I whispered.
He sighed. “I wasn’t—”
