Conall nodded and glared, and while I hadn’t ever seen him cause a scene in front of the men, I could imagine all the sarcastic shit floating around in his head because he’d started talking more to me. He wasn’t some shy little house husband to a mobster.
Sloan shrugged Conall’s look off and stepped away from us. I couldn’t tell what he was doing, but it involved his phone and turning his back to us so he couldn’t see Conall trying to set him on fire with his mind. When the boss turned around, he was composed, as usual.
“There is a very good reason I have that car trackable. It’s unique. If anyone cared to investigate, they would know it was yours, pet.” He shook his head at Conall. “You should’ve never given them permission to take it, and it has nothing to do with the price. You’re going to be—”
“Not right now,” Conall said softly. “You can tell me all about how you’re punishing me when they’re home. I’m worried.” He touched his collar, and Sloan took Conall’s hand in his before kissing across his knuckles.
Rowen and I glanced away when the boss hugged Conall. A couple of minutes went by while they talked quietly together, and I awkwardly avoided looking at anything except the tips of my shoes.
“Go to the city.” Sloan’s voice startled me, and Rowen and I swung around to face him again. “The car is in a parking garage right now. I’ll let you know if it’s on the move and update your team. Go with them,” he said to the other men in the room, which at a quick head count was eight guys. “Rowen’s in charge if there’s trouble.”
Most of the men were people who worked security around the house, and I wasn’t sure I liked this, but Rowen was fast to say, “Thank ye, Boss. We’ll get them and bring Lor and the car back here.”
Sloan nodded.
Everyone raced to their vehicles now that there was a plan, and the drive into the city was tense. The headlights from the opposite lane hit Rowen’s stoic face every now and then, casting him alternately in shadows and bright Technicolor. I wasn’t exactly a happy camper, but the closer we got to the city lights and tall buildings, the farther Rowen hunched over the steering wheel until his teeth were bared in a nasty snarl I’d never seen.
“Of all the stupid shite,” he ground out. “Taking the boss’s pet’s bloody fecking car.” He laughed and shook his head. “But why can’t we get them on the phone?”
“It’s funny when you think about it,” I said, grinning.
He glared at me.
“Or not. I mean, it was irresponsible.” Coughing, I glanced out my window. “I would never do anything like that.”
“Too bloody fecking right,” he grumped.
I smiled toward the window, but I was still worried. I jumped when my pocket vibrated and dragged my phone out. I’d gotten a text with a new address. “Looks like the car’s parked near a diner on 9th Avenue now. If I remember right, there should be street parking there.”
Rowen grumbled, and I had to laugh, since we were getting closer to finding them—I hoped. We lucked into a spot because someone was pulling their truck out as we got close to the address, and Rowen cursed under his breath the whole time. When we got out of the car, we could already see some of the men who had come to the city with us standing near the door of West Wind Diner. The tan brick building was only two stories and had old-fashioned white limestone masonry around the top, and it was surrounded by apartment complexes that had at least twenty floors or more.
Rowen swiped his card on the meter beside his Lexus. The men seemed to be waiting for us, and I nodded at them as we got closer. I recognized Allan, one of the guys who spent more time in the kitchen talking with the girls than doing actual work. He was tall and fit, but he appeared uncomfortable being out on a job. I hoped I never looked that bad.
“Are they in there?” Rowen asked.
“Yeah.” Allan turned and pointed at the wide glass window.
Lor and Vail were inside seated in a booth, both with pie in front of them and talking a mile a minute. Their forks waved around and they were all smiles. Vail looked amazing, as usual. He blushed and laughed at something Lor said, which made his handsome face glow. He nodded and his dark blond hair flopped onto his forehead. I wished I knew what they were talking about. His pretty brown eyes crinkled at the corners and his rosy lips pursed before he laughed again. Fuck, I loved his mouth. Snorting, I elbowed Rowen, and he let out a small sound that was pure relief, then rushed inside. I was hot on his heels.
“Ye scared the life out of us, ye beautiful dope.” Rowen slid in beside Vail, and the blue vinyl on the seat squeaked as Rowen gave him a hug.
“Oh! Oh, Rowen, how did you get here? Hi, Fallon. You’re looking dashing tonight. I love that shade of gray on you.” He enthusiastically squeezed Rowen back with a bright smile, and I stood a little taller.
“I know it’s all you can do to keep your eyes off me.”
Vail laughed, clearly in one of his hyper good moods. “We just had the best time! Have you ever heard of the Border Reivers and the songcatchers of the early 1900s?” He beamed at me over Rowen’s shoulder, as if he thought maybe I had, so I felt bad when I shrugged. “Oh, Fallon! This is great. We can order more pie. They have peanut butter pie. It’s delicious. Oh, wait, you shouldn’t be eating pie. Burgers! They have good ones.”
“No, love, we can’t,” Rowen said softly as he sat back, and then he glared at Lor, who ducked his head. I got the feeling he knew exactly why Rowen was pissed.
“Okay, so before anyone yells at me, Conall said we could borrow the car!” Lor did thebig, sad brown eyesthing even better than Vail, and I found myself silently willing Rowen to let it go. Lor had a baby face that made him look extra innocent, despite his dyed-black hair with a white stripe in the middle. The skeletons that danced between snowflakes across his thick, black winter sweater were also adorable. Fuck, he was reallycutetonight.
“Why weren’t either of you answering your phones?” I asked, all at once irritated. I liked Lor, and I didn’t think Vail wanted to do anything with him beyond having a good friend, but his boyfriends didn’t even get this much alone time with him most days.Fuck.Now that we knew Vail wasn’t in trouble, jealousy nipped at me.
“Aye, that’s a bloody good question,” Rowen grumped.
“We were at MCU in the music hall.” Vail beamed at us. “We had our phones off to keep from interrupting the string ensemble, and I guess I forgot to turn mine back on. There was an Appalachian group there that played the most amazing music. It was positively haunting. And there’s so much rich history there—”
“Vail, I was worried someone had stolen ye again,” Rowen said, then pecked a kiss on his lips that turned into a short, sweet make-out session.
