Page 103 of The Apprentice
The iciness in his gaze didn’t diminish, but his posture relaxed slightly. His jaw twitched and his nostrils flared as he slid his attention to Daire. “If you hurt him again, I’ll string you up by your balls and remove body parts, one limb at a time, friend or not. Am I clear?”
Daire gave a sharp nod. “Yes, Boss.”
Sloan grunted, an uncharacteristic sound from him, but it was soothing. This anger showed that he actually cared about me. The calm persona had finally snapped and it was because a man had broken my heart.
Conall cleared his throat before grinning. “Is this family moment over or should we sit in the car a little longer and talk about how much we love each other?”
“Do you love my uncle?” I pressed my lips together to stop from smiling, more than ready to watch Conall squirm.
His eyes widened and he rushed to open his door. “Look at the time. We’re very busy men. Time to pay Donal a visit.” The door shut firmly behind him.
The night lights of the house glimmered across the car and over Conall, making him glow.
Rolling my eyes, I cocked my head toward Sloan. “When are you going to do theI love yous, Uncle? It’s been about eight years. Most couples aremarriedby now.”
“Are you telling me to propose?” Sloan drawled, traces of amusement lingering in his tone.
“What? No. I do not wanthimas my uncle.” The corner of my mouth upturned before I could stop it. Okay, maybe I liked Conall a little bit. More than a little, but that was for me to know and everyone else to assume.
Sloan shot me a smile over his shoulder. “Don’t you worry about us. I’ll tell him I love him when I’m ready.”
“So, youdolove him, then?” I gaped.
He rolled his eyes. “What do you think?” With that, he winked and opened his door before exiting the car.
“Did you just hear what I heard?” I spun around to Daire, and he laughed.
“If anyone asks, I didn’t hear a thing.” He nudged me with his shoulder, a tender smile on his face. “But yeah, boy, I did. Are you surprised?”
I thought about it for a moment before I shook my head. “No. I’d be more shocked if he wasn’t.”
A sharp tap of knuckles on my window made me startle, and I shot Conall a glare through the glass.
He stuck out his tongue.
Rolling my eyes, I exited the car while Daire did the same on his side.
“Have you always been this impatient?” I straightened my suit jacket.
“Always, but you never stuck around me long enough to find out.” Conall patted me on the shoulder while Sloan snorted.
“You’ve also never seen him in the bedroom. He’s always eager for my cock.” Sloan smirked when Conall’s cheeks flushed a deep red.
“Shut up, Boss.”
Daire chuckled, but one sharp glance from Sloan and he stopped. The tension between them thickened. Sloan’s strongirritation at Daire leading me on was apparently still lingering on his mind. With a glare, Sloan spun on his heel and stalked toward Donal’s house. All I could do was send Daire an apologetic smile before I followed.
Daire and Conall were right behind us as Sloan knocked on a solid brown door. Donal’s house wasn’t anything to sing about. It was a simple two-story home with gray bricks and a brown roof. He usually had a full green lawn out front, but the winter had killed most of it.
Donal opened the door, and the smile he wore on his face dwindled slightly when he saw us. He tightened his robe around his body and his eyes burned, shining with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on as he shifted aside to let us in. “Boss, a personal visit?”
“I hope you don’t mind, Donal,” Sloan said as he entered the house. I followed, and behind me was Conall and Daire.
Donal led us toward the living room, straight to the left, and we followed. “Not at all. You’re always welcome here, sir.”
He fell into his armchair and gave us a strained smile. I’d been around Donal enough to know that he felt something wasn’t right, and now that we were here in his house, my stomach churned. This man sitting in front of me wore his night clothes and slippers and was ready for bed, and now I had to end his life. I’d told Sloan I’d handle the rat, and I would, but that didn’t mean I had to be happy about it being Donal. I still couldn’t wrap my head around his betrayal, whether he was angry about Carolina or not.
Daire and I took a seat on a couch to the right, while Sloan and Conall sat on the three-seater to the left. Donal always had a lot of furniture because he’d always expected to have a big family, but most of his kids—minus Carolina—had moved away.
