“I know.”
“And a misogynist. You assume she’s harmless because she’s a woman?”
“Our mother shot our father. You’re the most badass person I know. I don’t devalue her or any woman’s abilities. I’ll just want to kill any man who touches my little sister.”
“I’m not sure that doesn’t still make you a misogynist,” Ash argues, “but I do know you love me.” She wraps her arm around her brother and kisses his cheek. While I know Tiernan would do anything for any of us, Dean and Ash are the two people he loves the most in the world. The sun rises and sets on his sister, and despite his flaws, Ash loves him just as much.
“Wait. Your mom shot your father?” Ollie asks, and shit, I forgot he wouldn’t know that detail. It’s supposed to be a secret between us, T’s mom, and Conan, one of the men in our organization. “That’s, um…really scary.”
“He deserved it,” I say. “He would have killed Dean and Tiernan.”
“I’ll explain later, Kitten.” Cillian tugs Ollie to his lap, wrapping his arms around him from behind.
The conversation goes back to Ash and Zuri, and then we clean the kitchen and call it a night.
“Come upstairs with us for a bit,” Cillian tells me.
“We missed you.” Ollie threads his arm through mine.
I’m not an idiot. I know they’re doing this, at least in part, because they worry about me. Cillian checked in with me like crazy while he was gone, but they’re mine, and I’m not that guy who will push away something that feels good. Cillian and Ollie caring about me makes me feel worthy.
“I have to tell you guys something anyway.”
We head upstairs.
“Uh-oh,” Ollie says.
“It’s nothing bad, Bunny.” Well, that’s not really true. I don’t keep a lot from Cillian, but I won’t tell him that Shai robbed me because Cil would fucking kill him, and I’m not sure I’ll tell him I caught Shai robbing other people. That shit is beneath us, and…it’s fun.
I kick off my shoes and plop down on their bed, back against the headboard. They sit on either side of me.
“Ollie’s new friend fucked me,” I say, letting the words out easily.
Cillian curses. “What the fuck? I said figure out who he is, not fuck him.”
“Oh my God!Shai? You had sex with Shai?” Ollie asks.
“I did. I followed him, got to know his mom—she’s dangerous. I like her, but she’s trouble. Big mouth and likes attention.” And she doesn’t deserve Shai, but I keep that part to myself.
“Noted.” Cil crosses his arms. “What’s he want with Ollie?”
Cillian has a lot of trouble letting other people get close to us. He had the hardest time trusting Dean in the beginning. It’s possessiveness, but it’s also the caretaker in him. Yes, he’s acold-blooded killer, but he takes care of those he loves. People aren’t just one thing.
“He just wants to be my friend,” Ollie tells him.
“Bingo.” I point to Ol. “I think he’s like us in that he hasn’t had many friends. Only unlike us, he doesn’t have any real family.” We all know I’m not talking about parents and relatives when I say family. I’m talking about the people in this house tonight.
I tell them everything I learned about Shai—where he’s from, what kind of life he’s lived, what Kat does, about the pimp/trafficker who is Shai’s father and that they ran from him. I tell them everything I can other than what Shai did to me and his new extracurricular activity.
“The father might be an issue,” Cil says. “If he comes looking for Shai and hurts what’s mine in the process…” His words trail off, his meaning clear.
“You don’t get to do that, Cil,” Ollie tells him. “You don’t get to choose who I’m friends with and who I spend time with.”
“I’m not trying to do that, but safety is a concern,” he counters.
“People who are after you can do the same to me. And I thought we talked about you thinking I can’t take care of myself.”
“It’s not that I don’t think you can take care of yourself. I’m worried about Rory too. He’s letting the guy fuck him. I don’t want either of you tangled up in someone else’s problems. We have enough on our plates.”
