His earlier mood is gone, and I’m left feeling like a yo-yo in his presence again.
“Yeah. I’m honestly going to be chilling out, sleeping lots, and going to the gym.”
“No work?” he asks, and his eyebrows rise up, surprised.
“It seems Walsh decided to listen to Keegan’s suggestion he fire me.”
I expected Ronin to laugh, but his clap of fury takes me by surprise, until he hooks his finger under my chin and kisses me. His lips ghosting over mine, he says, “I’ll kill that stupid cunt for sacking you.”
Then I’m the one laughing, before I’m one moaning softly into Ronin’s searing, and slightly possessive, kiss. He cuts it off as fast as he blew my mind, although he doesn’t let me go from under his arm, instead walking me to Keegan.
I get passed over, and it should make me rage, but by God, the way they make me feel soft and overly feminine, and generously adored, chases away any cloudiness to the moment.
Rafferty gives me a nude cuddle, intentionally rubbing himself all over me as a way to remind me of him and what I’m going to be getting when he’s out of his lockdown—which is him. Tynan gives me a piece of him with his peck on my cheek and a brush of his hand on my face. No words, but sometimes gestures and intentions are all you need.
Keegan, though, isn’t content with a simple goodbye, and he insists on driving me back to my little house. There, he crowds me against a wall, leaving me with buzzing lips and a deep throb in my core that has me scurrying inside to search out my toys. Until I remember that Ronin shot the shit out of the drawer full of my sex toys when I moved out.
A cold shower and three of the cookies Raff, Tynan, and I made, and I pass out in my bed, feeling happy and sad, anxious and eager, all at the same time.
Morning comes, and as I roll over, I plan my day out. I check my phone to find that each member of Pack O’Connor has sent me a dozen or so messages. Working through them is a showcase of how different they are—Keegan’s have no emotion, just points that read like barks, which would have been his intention. Ronin’s are similar but add more reasoning to Keegan’s list, while Tynan’s message gives another perspective again. Rafferty’s are just dick pics, and not just of his, along with a series of texts that go from cute and sappy to nonsensical within the space of an hour before they stop. Everyone else’s stop, too, all but confirming he’s enjoying his heat with his pack, which makes me happy.
As soon as I step out the front of my house, I get the evidence of what the guys texted about. I have a bodyguard. An unnecessary complication, but one I can work around because it’s not like anything is going on, anyway.
After doing a strenuous session at the gym, using the program Ty sent in one of his texts, I pull on one of Keegan’s hoodies that I somehow ended up with.
“I’m going to walk over to Miam’s to grab some food. Do you want anything?” I ask the new guard watching over me.
The last one swapped. I knew it was going to happen because Ronin and Keegan had listed off the times the guards wouldswap and provided images of the men and women taking turns doing the job.
“No thank ya, Mrs. O’Connor. Mighty fine of you to offer but,” this one says.
He smiles, then stays back as I walk off. I know he’s following, but at least he doesn’t crowd me.
Racing over the road, I push through the door and walk into a very different atmosphere. The first time we visited, the buzzing energy was as profound as the fragrance of the food they baked. Today, it’s like a black cloud hovers over them. None of the staff are here, and while I’m not a regular, it’s easy to read something terrible has happened.
I back out, not even trying to figure out what’s going on. Honestly, there’s so many people inside, all I’m doing is adding another unnecessary body to the mix.
The man currently on guard duty comes closer. “All right?”
“Yeah, not sure. Something’s going on. I’ll leave them to it, though, and eat what I’ve got at home.”
With a final look over my shoulder, the bleakness inside the shop feels like I should turn back around and offer my help. Which is not needed, given how many people are already inside, doing just that.
The walk home is long, but the fresh air chases away the unsettledness that I picked up walking into Miam’s. Waving the guard off for the night, I lock myself inside and settle down to binge a detective crime series I’ve been wanting to see for a while.
I’m eating one of Tynan’s pre-made meals, under a cacophony of blankets scenting like pack, when I get a text on my phone from a strange phone number. It’s from Walsh, and when he rings, I answer.
“Walsh?”
“Aye. I lost me fucking phone and had to get a new number.”
I don’t say anything, because I’m pissed he fired me. It doesn’t take long until he’s filling in the gap with his slime-filled apologies.
“I was backed into a corner—you can understand that, right?”
“Not really, but go on.”
“I’m calling to see if you’d be free to work tonight? I know I’m asking a lot, but it’s a bit of a boon for you because Oscar reached out. He’s back in town. It won’t look so bad if you’re working and he walks in, but them pack of yours would get their nose out of joint if I was setting up meetings without letting them know too.”
