Someone stopped beside me, and I inhaled deeply before I allowed myself to look.
Sloan was here, as if he’d never left. Back straight and shoulders wide, he was a force to be reckoned with. Other than the dark brown of his hair because he hadn’t bleached it in jail, he was the same man as before. Tall and strong, calm yet powerful, and dangerous.
Fuck.Sloan is here!
“Boss,” I whispered. How?
Sloan’s gaze never left Young. His jaw strained and twitched, and his eyes burned with the kind of fury that might’ve turned me on if I didn’t feel like garbage. “Drop the weapon. Now.”
Young swallowed deeply and his bottom lip shook. “Lor—Lorcan Lee deserves to be boss. He’s—he’s a Killough, too.”
I winced. Bad move.
Sloan’s entire demeanor changed. It was more than power and strength that vibrated through him, but something else I couldn’t put my finger on. He seemed wired and hungry for a fight. Whatever control he had left hung on by a single thread until it snapped.
He barely looked at me before he threw himself forward, knocking the gun out of Young’s hand and propelling him to thefloor. Sloan landed on top of him, knees on either side of Young’s body, slamming his fist into Young’s face. There was nothing calm or in control about the hits he landed. He was more than angry. He was on edge, emotions overwhelming, and enraged.
This wasn’t the Sloan I knew and loved. He was unhinged.
Every punch he landed into Young was pure madness. His eyes were wild and his hits unrelenting. His knuckles busted Young’s nose all over again. He worked over his cheek and jaw and eyes. Blood spurted across Sloan’s face and white dress shirt, and splattered the floor around them.
No one moved, too shocked to say a thing. We’d never seen Sloan act this way. He was a man coming apart at the seams.
Young yelled and pleaded, until all that was left was a sick gurgle before he went entirely limp under Sloan’s attack. He had to be dead.
I gaped, my arm finally giving out and dropping to my side. I placed the gun back into the holster and took a step forward, then another. My heart throbbed hard and fast, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I was feeling like shit or because of Sloan’s reaction. My Sloan would never kill a man with this lack of finesse. It was primal and fueled by emotions.
“Sloan?” I laid a hand on his shoulder as he stilled, his chest rising and falling in deep breaths. “Boss?”
The word shattered him out of whatever frame of mind he was in and he snapped his gaze up to me. He stood, towering over Young’s lifeless body as the victor while covered in blood, and winced. His hand went to his shoulder and he muttered under his breath.
Sloan looked at the traitors and his nostrils flared. “You’re young and stupid, so I won’t kill every single one of you, but you’ll give your names to Daire and you’ll be demoted. Out of my house, away from my nephew and pet.IfI hear that you’ve tried to backstab us again, I will make you scream in agony beforeending you, and then I’ll do the same to your families. Violently. Am I clear?”
It didn’t make sense. Sloan wouldn’t just let them go, which meant he was up to something. Whatever he was doing, I trusted him. Completely.
The men nodded sharply, eyes bugging. Some of them shifted uncomfortably, one moving toward the archway like he wanted to escape. Run. I didn’t blame him for one second. He was lucky they weren’t killed on the spot.
“Get out of my fucking house.” Sloan threw his arm out and the men scurried away.
Daire nodded at Sloan before following them, probably to take down their names.
When they were gone, our loyal soldiers filed out, leaving me, Sloan, and Fionn in the dining room.
“Sloan?” I stepped forward, then hesitated. Was hereallyhere? I peeked at Fionn and noted that his eyes were shining. He stared at Sloan with an expression that couldn’t be misinterpreted—full of love and happiness. Fuck, he was here. I wasn’t imagining it. “How?”
Sloan’s nostrils flared as he exhaled and his hands shook at his sides, which was new. I didn’t know what to make of it. He was fired up, letting his emotions take control. He clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath, and I moved on instinct, eating up the distance between us to throw myself at him in a hug.
He curled his arms around me, and all at once, everything was okay. Sloan was here. I buried myself in his warmth.
“Pet.” The name was a mixture of a growl and an actual word, and his hold on me tightened until I gasped. “Pet, I should’ve been here sooner.”
“You’re here now,” I whispered, hating how desperate I sounded. I clawed my fingers down his back and pressed my face closer to his neck, breathing him in. His heady, intoxicatingscent filled my nose and it was perfect and raw and belonged to me because he was mine. “I thought I was seeing things. How are you here?”
“Cashmore managed to get the judge to drag up the hearing and I was released due to lack of evidence.”
I pushed away from him but didn’t back out of his arms. “When? Why didn’t you tell me it was happening?”
A rush of emotions hit me. I hated how vulnerable I sounded. Fuck. Didn’t he want me to be there? Instead, like with everyone else, I found out when he showed up at the house.
