1
CONALL MORRISSEY
“Fionn was shot.”
Shot.
Shot.
Shot.
The words rang in my ears over and over again until dizziness assaulted me. My heart hammered against my ribs and my knees trembled, collapsing underneath me. I grasped at the railing of the stairs blindly, letting myself go down until my arse was planted firmly on marble steps. The world pressed in around me.
Shot.
Shot.
Shot.
“What?”
“They have him in surgery. Daire and I are here waiting.” Sloan’s voice wobbled in a way that anyone else might not hear, but I’d been around him long enough to catch the worry.
I nodded, taking a moment to let my brain catch up. They’d been out at a pub.CelebratingFionn. How the fuck did it cometo this? I sucked in air, expanding my lungs until I felt like I could finally breathe again.
I rose, ignoring my shaky knees.
Ronan. I needed to get to my bodyguard.
“I’m coming.” I took the steps down two at a time until I reached the bottom of the staircase in the foyer and glanced around, trying to decide where I would find Ronan. If there was anyone I could trust to get me to Sloan, it was him.
“No, Pet,” Sloan snapped, sharper than I would’ve expected.
I froze, betrayal coiling itself around me, strangling my lungs until they burned. “What?”
He didn’t want me there? Was I so useless? First, he’d sent me back home after dealing with the traitor—Donal of all people!—and now he refused to let me come into the city after Fionn was shot. My hand tightened around my phone and I gritted my teeth.
“Stay home. It’s safer there.” Sloan’s voice came through the line, the crack of a whip striking me right where it hurt. He didn’t think I could defend myself. I would only cause him trouble.
“No. I’m not going to sit here with my dick in my hand. Fionn’s important to me, too.” A tooth cracked with how hard I was clenching my jaw. I focused on Sloan’s exhale on the other end of the phone line. “I deserve to be there.”
“No.” His firm tone left no room for argument. He was in the kind of mood where I couldn’t fight him on this, and I hated feeling helpless. “Stay. There. That’s an order. There’s nothing you can do here, and Reyes’s men are still in the city. I won’t have you in danger when I already have Fionn to worry about.”
I swallowed around the acid that burned in my throat. “But?—”
“Fuck, Conall! Just listen to me!”
I sucked in a stilted breath. Sloan never swore or said my first name unless I was in trouble. Anger vibrated through the phone,and real fear prickled the back of my neck. I wasn’t afraidof him, but rather of how scared he sounded.
Because that’s what he was.
Scared.
He showed his fear through anger. He was hurting, and I couldn’t be there for him. I fucking hated it.
“Please, Pet....” The fight had left him an exhausted man. My man. My heart ached for him as he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Pet. Ineedyou safe. Reyes has implied he has eyes on you. Stay home. That’s where I know you’ll be protected.”
“What about you and Fionn? You’re my family.” The admission slipped out before I could stop it, but I didn’t try to take it back. It was true. Even though Fionn had treated me like a shit stain, he’d become important to me. We’d finally mended our bridges and I couldn’t lose him.
