“Sir.” Cillian inclined his head when he reached me. “We’ve done as ye’ve instructed and gave Lee some moreattention. He’s ready to go when ye are.”
Lorcan was a thorn in my side that I wanted to get rid of and now was the time. I’d planned on dealing with him this afternoon, but my motivation for punishment had dissipated.
“Keep him in there for now.” I nudged the sledgehammer on the ground with the tip of my shoe. “Maybe treat him to this. I’m sure a few strikes to the knee would be apleasantreminder of what he did wrong.”
Cillian smirked. “It’d be our pleasure, sir.”
Aspen crossed his arms and his eyes gleamed. He didn’t talk as much as Cillian, but he was a professional at his job. Together, they were the dream team of torturers. Not only loyal, but efficient, too.
“Good. Make it hurt, but don’t kill him. I get that privilege.”
Cillian’s expression turned downright predatory. “Yes, sir.”
Aspen picked up the sledgehammer and swung it over his shoulder. He grinned, and together they left me alone again. Well, mostly alone. There were still men standing to the side, their silence deafening and their judgment thick in the air. Most of our loyal men loved Conall. He brought not only an elegance to the Company, but a level-headedness. Upsetting him probably pissed them off, too.
I sighed. “Duffy.”
Duffy scrambled to reach my side. “Sir?”
“Make some calls for me. Hire someone who can rebuild a greenhouse, abetterone than before. And ask the gardener to save whatever plants he can from this chaos.” I really had messed up and now it was time for me to make amends. “Ask about safety precautions. Maybe get the soil tested so we can see if this was the source of Conall’s illness.”
He nodded fast. “Yes, sir.”
I left him there to do what I’d instructed because if Duffy was good at anything, it was following my orders. He’d been around a long time and had trained under Ardan. Before that, he was part of the military.
I headed back into the house and cringed. Someone had turned the air conditioner down, and the cool air was cold against the sweat on my back, chest, and underarms. Ignoring the nerves that kneaded my stomach about the serious sucking up I’d have to do, I went up the stairs, down more hallways, and toward our bedroom.
Ronan stood outside, his back straight and a hard look in his eyes as he glanced at me.
Yeah, yeah. Get in line. Apparently, everyone was mad at me.
But Conall was the only one who mattered.
18
CONALL
“Pet?”
His voice should’ve brought comfort and warmth, but I was so angry at Sloan, I couldn’t bring myself to feel either. He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong, and I wasn’t sure if I could begin to explain it to him. A part of me was destroyed with that greenhouse, and nothing he did could make up for it.
Lying in bed with my back to the door while my stomach curdled with nausea was the only place I wanted to be right now. And I didn’t have my dogs to hug away my pain, either. Sloan told me on the way home that they were under the protection—his words, not mine—of Vail until I got home.
“I know you can hear me.”
I snorted angrily. “Great insight, Einstein.” My left hand curled into a fist under my pillow while I clenched the sheets beneath me with my right.
The bed dipped, but he wasn’t stupid enough to touch me. “You have to understand, that place hurt you.”
“You hurt me, too. Can I destroy you?” I snapped without thinking. The words hung in the air heavily, and as angry as I was, I regretted them. I’d never hurt Sloan.
He sighed. “You already do, Pet. Daily. Before you came along, I was a fortress. You were only supposed to be a plaything like all the others, but you broke me down until I loved you in a way I’ve never loved anyone. The walls I’d built all my life, you shattered them completely.”
Despite the fury that burned within me, a softer heat spread through my chest, one I attributed to Sloan. Damn him. I wanted to be mad without him managing to bury himself deeper behind my ribs with weaving words that coiled around my heart. He was too damned charming.
He touched my hip, but I slapped his hand away.
“No.” I hardened my jaw. “I’m not forgiving you.”
