Page 18 of Deceived Wrath

I dip my chin before grabbing Brennan and heading out of the clubhouse before Sal decides to use us to send Lorcan a message.

Brennan groans as we climb back in the car. "Well, that was a fucking waste of time."

"What I can't work out is why Lorcan went to Sal for help in the first place."

"Dad used to do deals with Sal back in the day. Maybe Lorcan's hoping that he can get some of Dad's old allies to join sides with him over us."

"Maybe..."

"Might be worth finding out who else owes our dad a favor and calling it in."

It's not a terrible idea. Any favors that were owed to our father are automatically handed down to Ronan now that he is the acting head of the family. But perhaps Lorcan is hoping to get in there first to try and steal our allies out from under us.

It could serve as a trail, and if we follow it carefully, we can use it to our advantage.

"I agree. Let's look into it and gather a list, ASAP."

"Can it wait until after breakfast? I'm starving."

"You can't be serious. You were on the verge of throwing up less than twenty minutes ago."

"Nah, the nausea's passed. Now I need fuel."

I have a little time to kill before my first meeting, and while I prefer to spend my free time in solitude, I am trying to restore my relationships with my brothers now that I'm back as an active member of the family. "Fine. But you're paying."

I pull up outside a small, independent café located near Sullivan Investments that looks like it might serve halfway decent coffee. "Go ahead and get us a table. I need to make a call."

Brennan gives me a mock salute before climbing out of the car.

I wait until he's disappeared inside the café before pulling out my phone and calling Scout.

"Daddy," my son yells down the phone the second it connects.

The sound of his voice makes my heart instantly swell and crack at the same time.

Being away from him is killing me, but I have to remind myself that I'm keeping him in LA for a reason, and I can't risk his safety just because I can't get a handle on myself.

"How's my favorite guy?"

"Ray's making me pancakes for breakfast."

"Oh, yeah? I hope he's giving you extra whipped cream."

"And chocolate sauce!"

I swallow a laugh. "Make sure you're eating your vegetables too, okay?"

Scout huffs. "Okay. I asked Ray to put chocolate sauce on them because they taste gross, but he said no."

"You can't have chocolate sauce on everything, bud."

"Why not?"

"Because your teeth will fall out."

"But then the tooth fairy will come and visit and give me fifty bucks!"

I choke on a breath. "Did you say fifty bucks?"