Page 18 of Redeem Me

‘I’ll catch up with you soon. Call me if there’s anything you want or need,’ Dermot says.

‘Will do,’ I promise.

But truthfully, there’s only one thing I want – to comfort Caelon Beckett. To put my arms around him and to take his misery away, if only for a few minutes.

Chapter Nine

CAELON

Knowing Ivy is under my roof is a special type of torture, one that has left me tossing and turning every night for the past two weeks. One that had me in my home gym at five o’clock this morning just to work off some of the tension tightening my muscles. One that has me wondering what she wears to bed. I could look, this place has more security cameras than Buckingham Palace, but I wouldn’t invade Ivy’s privacy no matter how many times I’ve thought about it.

Since Ivy took up her post, I’ve been working from home most days, and today is no different. I glance at the framed photograph of Isabella on my desk. .

‘You’d like her,’ I mutter. ‘She’s sunny and warm, and she’s great with the kids.’

I used to be sunny and warm once, before this eternal blackness set in to my soul. Now all I can think about is revenge.

I skim through my emails to find there’s been a delay in construction starting on the Monaco hotel. The company we hired has gone bust, and it’s taking an age to secure a new one. There are endless issues with permits and planning, buttime is money. I fire off a message to Stephanie, my PA, to chase up the planning application and then call Killian.

Although each of my brothers runs a different division of the family empire, we all operate under the same global corporation. Killian’s security company provides everything from world-class CCTV to trained bodyguards and his services have become the most sought-after in Europe.

‘Caelon,’ Killian answers in his usual gruff tone. Out of all four of my brothers, Killian is the most taciturn. He’s the first brother I’d call in a crisis, and the last I’d call if I wanted a drinking buddy.

‘Any update?’ I cut to the chase. Every week without fail, I call him for a report on the O’Connor situation. Killian has men inside the prison. His guys are overqualified to work as prison guards, but get paid well to pretend.They’re our eyes and ears in there. James suggested Killian’s men should simply take out our enemies quietly, make it look like an accident, or a suicide, but I want the O’Connors to suffer like I am.

He sighs. ‘Not yet, but I’m working on it.’

‘It’s been over two years. To say I’m beginning to get impatient is an understatement.’

‘You think I don’t know that, brother?’ Killian says grimly. ‘You think I don’t want to punish the person who ordered the hit on my sister-in-law?’

‘Sorry. It’s just frustrating.’

‘Look,’ he pauses for a long beat, ‘I don’t want to get your hopes up but I might have something.’

‘Seriously?’ I shoot forward in my seat. My eyes home in on the picture of my wife again. Iwillavenge Isabella if it’s the last thing I do.

‘Don’t get excited now, I’ve yet to prove anything, but Danny Bourke’s wife, Stacy, has been mouthing off about how her old man set her up for life with “one last job.” I can’t finda paper trail of money, but she could be using a foreign bank account. I won’t give up until I find out.’

‘The fucking audacity!’ Rage ripples over my skin. ‘Bragging about her useless waste of space husband who ploughed a car into my fucking wife! Doesn’t she realise the only reason I pay his medical bills is because I want to be the one to kill him myself after I’ve found out who put him up to it? I swear if she knows anything about it, I’ll burn her and Danny’s world down, as well as Declan O’Connor’s.’

‘And I will help you, brother, believe me. Just sit tight for a while longer,’ Killian promises.

‘If only Danny would wake up.’ I would drag the truth out of him, even if it meant sawing off every one of his limbs.

‘Sit tight, don’t do anything irrational. You’ve got two kids relying on you,’ Killian says, like I need reminding.

‘Call me the second you know more.’

‘Obviously.’ Killian disconnects the call without so much as a goodbye.

I pace my office like a caged lion, hungry for action or distraction. Seeing as I’m not in a position for action, I opt for the latter.

I pull up the mansion’s elaborate CCTV system on my computer screen and scan the cameras until I find what I’m looking for. Ivy. Though I haven’t stooped to snooping on her in her bedroom, the communal quarters are fair game. Spying on her is something I’ve been doing way more than is healthy over the past couple of weeks. I could pretend I’m checking on her abilities as a nanny, but truthfully, I’m checking out which ass-sculpting pair of yoga pants she’s wearing.

Her sheer proximity is driving me demented with lust, which is why I’ve been hiding out in my office until past ten every night since she moved in, just to avoid being alone with her.

This morning, she’s in the playroom with Orla and Owen.Her blonde hair is tied up in a high ponytail that reveals a long, slender neck. She’s wearing a fitted white t-shirt, and a pair of faded denim cut-off shorts that reveal tanned, toned legs. The very same legs that had me gawping like a fucking horny teenager in the bar a few weeks ago.

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