I watched as his shoulders tensed.Hmm. Had Ronan deviated from the plan?
"When we found Verity, some fucker was beating on her. Ronan took care of him, but there might be blowback."
All I heard was the 'beating on her'. The Mont Blanc fountain pen in my hand snapped in half, spilling ink all over my hand. I silently cursed.
"Is he dead?"
"No, but he'll likely need plastic surgery to repair his face."
The fact Ronan had held back came as a surprise. I wouldn't have shown the man the same restraint. Any man who laid a finger on the women in my life deserved to die a painful death.
"I'm not seeing the problem here," I admitted, wiping my hand with a tissue and tossing the ruined pen in the trash can beneath my desk.
"He's the mayor's son, apparently, so his injuries might attract scrutiny. Ronan threatened to finish the job if he talked, but I'm not sure the threat will be enough."
I waved my hand dismissively. The mayor’s son wasn't my focus right now.
"Is she OK?" The thought of some fuck hurting sweet Verity made my blood boil. Thea’s sister didn't deserve to experience a single second of pain. Not after the fucked-up childhood she'd endured.
"Bruised and pissed off, but she'll be fine in a few days."
"Saoirse came home late last night so the girls can keep each other company until she returns to college. Aoife will be back at the weekend, too. For the annual summer party."
Conal groaned. "Fuck, I'd forgotten about that. Fucking Maeve will expect an invitation."
I smiled. "Yeah. Have fun, bro."
"I'd rather stick my dick in a blender than spend any more time in that woman's company."
"I hope you're not dissing Maeve," Ronan scoffed from the doorway, a huge mug of coffee in his hand. "That girl's a peach."
"I'm allergic to peaches."
"My point exactly." The asshole sniggered before sobering and glancing in my direction. "Did he tell you about the bastard who hurt our pixie girl?"
I nodded. "He says you rearranged his face but didn't kill him?"
"Yeah. I should have, though. I won't hold back next time. Not after the way he hurt her. Fucking cunt."
He'd need to get in line.
"I let Thea know Verity is safe and I've asked our contacts in Italy to keep their ears to the ground in case Francesco pops up. Thea says the authorities are trying to recall him to prison, but the fact he ended up released at all suggests corruption somewhere down the line."
"I agree. The whole thing stinks." Ronan pushed away from the wall and dropped onto my sofa.
"Least she's safe here. There's no way her father will come after her while she's with us."
He'd be insane to even try, although a small part of me hoped he did, so I had an excuse to put a bullet in his brain.
"Thea wants me to send Verity back to the US." It was the safest place for her.
"And you think she'll go?" Ronan seemed disgruntled by the idea, which confused me.
"I assume so. I can't see her wanting to hang around here once Saoirse heads back to college."
"She'll be safer with us," Ronan insisted, his jaw set.
Conal turned to stare at his twin. "Seriously? Kyril is even more fucked in the head than you."
