“That’s Sloan’s chair,” I murmured, annoyed at how small I sounded. More sweat beaded on my forehead and I wiped it away. My head ached, a constant pounding I wished would fuck off. Why couldn’t this all go the fuck away?
He pointed at the bed. “I said, is that where ye spread yer legs like the whore ye are?”
“I’m not,” I argued pitifully. My entire body shook so hard my teeth rattled. “I’m his partner. We’re together. He proposed to me.”
He laughed and dropped his foot onto the floor, and it sounded like a bomb in my ears. I flinched as he rose and charged over to me. He stopped right in front of me. Having him here, so close, sent chills through my limbs and ice seeped into my veins.
“Ye are nothing more than a hole to use and a possession to own.” He shook his head and snarled, top lip pulled back. “I told ye about him, didn’t I? I told ye he liked the pretty boyos. I told ye to grow a beard,man up, and now look at ye. Yer brother’s sold ye off.”
Don’t be afraid of him. He’s not real. He’s dead. Terrance killed him. Whatever this was, it was all in my imagination.
I glanced at the bullet hole in his forehead, the skin split open and some of his brains seeping out. This wasn’t real. Dad wasn’t here.
I raised my chin. “I’m Sloan’s partner, not his bitch. We’re in this together.”
His laugh sent another set of chills through me. “Ye are a disappointment. Both of me children are. Fecking embarrassing.” He shoved his face near mine, and I inhaled sharply through my nose. “I fucking hate what ye’ve become. Someone will take ye out and yerownerwill be in prison for the rest of his life. Ye both’ll get what ye deserve.” He raised hishand, and I flinched as it rushed toward my cheek. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came.
When I opened my eyes again, he was gone. I was alone in the bedroom. My heart raced and tears sprang to my eyes before I could stop them. Fuck! I gritted my teeth and my knees wobbled before they collapsed beneath me. I fell to the floor trembling.
“Sloan.” I let out a shaky sob. “I need you home. Now. You can’t stay in jail. You fucking can’t.”
9
CONALL
Killing people had never been on my list of pleasant things to do. Sloan loved the feeling that came with watching someone take their last breath under the power of his hand, but I never understood his enjoyment. Oh, I murdered people when necessary, but it wasn’t as exciting to me as it was to Sloan or Cillian or Aspen or any of the other men who worked here.
Of course, there were exceptions. Like Kieran fucking Pender. He’d always been a little homophobe, throwing insults at Rourke Tormey all those years ago and never expecting me to hear them. But I did. I hadn’t trusted him since. The fact that he was trying to take over wasn’t surprising.
It was nice seeing him tied to one of three chairs, naked except for a pair of dirty tighty-whities. I didn’t know what he’d expected. Three against an entire company? Yeah, maybe they weren’t working alone. No one could be that stupid.
Despite the glare he sent me, he was shaking. Terrified. I didn’t blame him. The cousins stood in front of him, ready for justice. They looked like guys who enjoyed some torture, orat least, Tiernan did. Maybe Senan. Kyran always seemed as though he’d come along for the ride.
I closed the distance between me and Pender, then tapped him on the nose, making him snarl. “You’re not smart enough to make an attempt to pull this off. Who’s backing you?”
He snapped his head away, lips pressing tight together.
“You know if the boss was here, he’d rip your fingernails off.” My gaze slid to where his wrists were tied to the arms of the chair. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”
Senan snickered. “Sounds a wee bit of fun, don’t it?”
Pender firmed up his jaw, but I didn’t miss the flicker of concern in his eyes. It was brief but there. The man was many things—a raging arsehole, being one of many—but he wasn’t brave. Rather, stupid.
His cohorts were different stories. They struggled against their bonds, eyes bugging as they tried to speak into gags stuffed in their mouths. I didn’t think they’d have much to tell us, or maybe I preferred to hear it from Pender. He was a piece of work, and I should’ve gotten rid of him ages ago. But there’d only been that one instance with Tormey that worked against him, the rest came down to a gut feeling. I hadn’t thought being a dick once was enough of a reason to end a man. Now it seemed I should’ve followed my instincts.
I was half tempted to let the cousins deal with them, but I had a point to prove. If I wanted to help Fionn run the Company, then I had to get my hands dirty. Although, Fionn wasn’t here.
I frowned. He’d stepped out to take a phone call over five minutes ago.
“There’s three of them. One for me, one for Fionn, and one for you guys. How does that sound?” I smirked at Tiernan, and he returned the expression. Oh yeah, he was definitely going to enjoy every second of torture. Maybe the desire to make others scream ran in the Killough blood.
Pender grumbled something into his gag, and I yanked it out of his mouth.
“What did you say?” I offered him a sweet smile.
His face twisted in anger. “I said you’re a coward. A fucking?—”
A fist landed against his cheek and his head flung sideways. Three sets of eyes, including mine, turned on Kyran in surprise as he rubbed his knuckles. His gaze narrowed on Pender.
