Page 9 of The Professional
“Will you tell the boss?” Rourke finally asked, standing as well.
“Yeah, straight away. It’ll give him a chance to talk to the generals and Ardan, figure out his next step.”
“Isn’t Ardan still chasing that Italian hitman?”
Conall chuckled. “He is, and it’s frustrating him. He’s never had someone as slippery as Mancini. Honestly, I think Ardan’s enjoying it more than he’s letting on.”
Rourke forced back a snort. “I’ve known Ardan for a long time and the guy gets off on cat-and-mouse chases.”
“Wonder if he’s getting off with Mancini?”
“Doubt it. Sloan said Ardan’s not a fan of the Italian.”
“There’s a thin line between love and hate, I would know.” Conall stretched his neck and glanced at the door. “How much longer should I make them wait?”
“They’ll wait the entire night if they have to. Sloan’s made it clear to everyone in the company. You’re priority number one.” Rourke stood and dragged his chair back to the front of his desk, as straight as before.
The flush rose on Conall’s cheeks again. “Right, well I better not make them wait any longer. I’ll call Sloan as soon as I get back to my room. He’s waiting for a call anyway.”
Forrest dropped his empty glass on the table beside his chair and rose. “He must miss you.”
Conall laughed. “It’s only a week, it’s not going to kill him. Though, I’ll give him a few more days before he decides to stay here too.”
Forrest raised his blond brows. “That’d be interesting. The professionals around here will love it.”
“Yeah, well, tell them to keep their hands to themselves if they want to keep them attached to their wrists.” Something wild danced in Conall’s eyes, as though the thought of another person touching Sloan called to a blood thirsty side of him. Rourke knew that feeling well. At least Sloan wasn’t a whore like Forrest.
Rourke pushed the thought aside. “If the boss has any questions, he knows how to contact me.”
Conall nodded. “I’ll let him know, but as I’m managing the bordellos now, I hope everything will go through me. It’s my job to keep these establishments safe, even from the likes of Diaz.” He glanced at Forrest. “If Adrian tells you anything else, I want you to contact me immediately. I’ll be around for the entire week, but if you hear anything after that….”
Forrest grinned, his entire face lighting up. “Yeah, I’ll come to you. But I hope we’re going to see each other anyway. I miss having you around.”
“I’ll make time for you. Tell me when you’re client free.”
Forrest chuckled, his entire face lighting up with unbridled happiness that Rourke wasn’t sure he’d ever seen on his face before. “I always have clients, but I do have a couple of nights off coming up. We could grab some snacks from the kitchen and snuggle up in your bed and talk about boys?”
Rourke nearly snorted again. He had a feeling Sloan wouldn’t like that.
Conall must have agreed because he winced. “I like you too much to put you on death row. How about we take over the TV room?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“You’ll let us know what Sloan says?” Rourke interrupted.
Conall nodded. “As soon as I’m off the phone, I’ll get Ronan to relay the message.”
If Conall trusted Ronan to deliver messages, he must be the soldier who stuck with him through the kidnapping. “Thank you, sir.”
“Thankyou.” Conall rose and stepped closer. He was an inch or so shorter than Rourke. “Most men would have called Sloan directly. I appreciate you taking my leadership seriously.”
“If Sloan says you’re our boss, then you’re our boss. He doesn’t make decisions lightly.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Conall smiled at Rourke and then Forrest. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
He spun on his heel and stalked to the door. It would have had more impact if he didn’t have his baggy, red pajama pants with the Gryffindor coat of arms on the left ass cheek. Conall didn’t strike Rourke as a Harry Potter fan, but he supposed he didn’t know the boss’s pet very well.
Kieran sneered at Rourke as soon as Conall opened the door, but a few seconds later it was shut again.
