Page 101 of The Apprentice
“What?” I gaped at him, slamming my hand down on the table. “Then, why didn’t you tell us? Why send me and Daire on a wild goose chase?”
He leaned forward, back straightening until he sat in his chair like the boss he was. The power he exuded paralyzed men, but I wasn’t just anyone. Sure, he scared me, but I was still his nephew. “I needed you to prove you could handle this situation. It took you a long time, too long, but you did it.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “He’s been in our meetings. We’ve discussed sensitive information with him.”
“After we took Diaz out, he became less of a problem.” He shrugged. “His fire was extinguished. He didn’t know who worked for us in the police department and who didn’t. Diaz was the only detective who was outspoken about our illegal activities.But I was careful, only giving him just enough that he didn’t get suspicious without putting the Company in danger.”
“So you let him get away with it?” I frowned.
“No. I was waiting for you to figure it out. Do you know how many secrets he could’ve shared in the time it took you to work out who the rat was? Too many.”
“You should’ve told him, sir,” Conall said quietly, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Sloan hummed. “I required proof before I acted on anything, and you needed to learn how to get answers, no matter how long it takes.”
“So, this was another lesson?” I stared at him, not quite sure what all of this meant. Was he actually proud of me or was this a game to him? I’d spent years doing everything I could to find answers. And he’d known.He’d known. I slid my gaze back to Donal’s clear face through the windshield of his car. This man who I trusted—believed in—had betrayed us by telling valuable secrets to a detective gunning for us.
Daire slid his chair closer and laid a kiss on my cheek, and I fell into him.
“Are you two together now?” Conall asked quietly, and I wasn’t sure if he was trying to soothe the tension or whether he was genuinely curious.
“We are.” Daire pressed another chaste kiss to my temple. “And he’s my boy, so forgive me when I tell you, Boss, that this was a shit lesson.”
Sloan raised his eyebrow. “Are you questioning me?”
“Yes,” Daire said.
I touched his arm and shook my head at him. “It’s fine.” I didn’t understand, but Sloan was the boss. I turned back to him. “I trust you. What do we do now?”
“Now we go kill him.” Sloan rose and buttoned up his suit jacket.
I stared at him again, taking in the tall imposing man who’d been nothing but strategic and sneaky my entire life, and I wondered if I’d be like him one day. Would I put my nephews through what he’d done to me? Sloan never had children, but I wanted kids, so it wouldn’t be my nephews who’d take over after me.
Could I put my children through hell?
I slid my gaze to Conall, and he shrugged when he caught me looking.
“You said you wanted to finish this. Now’s your chance,” Sloan said.
I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat at the thought of murdering Donal. I hadn’t expected the rat to be someone I would care about, and now that it was, I wasn’t sure how I felt. Everything was happening so fast. The lump I swallowed caught in my chest, where it became heavier than a boulder.
Daire pressed his forehead to my temple. “You don’t have to do this, boy.”
Sloan narrowed his eyes at Daire and pressed his fists down onto the table, leaning on them. “No, he doesn’t, but Fionn’s not a child anymore, and he’s my heir. As boss, we do things we don’t like. We kill people we thought we could trust. Our friends. It’s part of the job.”
I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. “I’m ready. Let me do it.”
Sloan smiled. “Good.” He stood straight again. “Then, let’s go pay him a visit.”
20
FIONN
I took a steadying breath, urging myself to stay calm. We were nearly at Donal’s house, and I was prepared to do the worst thing I’d ever done in my life, and I still didn’t know how I felt about it. My mind was a chaotic mess. I knew it was bad when Conall kept glancing at me from the front passenger seat of the car. For the first time in I didn’t know when, Sloan decided to drive one of the BMWs, and Daire and I were in the back seat.
“You don’t have to do this,” Daire whispered to me again, his hand gripping mine tightly. “I’ll do it for you.”
“No.” I gave him a wobbly smile. “Sloan’s right. If I want to be boss, I have to be prepared to kill anyone, even friends. Donal betrayed us and that’s unforgivable, no matter how angry he was about Carolina’s death. He needs to die now.”
