Page 106 of The Apprentice
“I’ll get you a Kilkenny. You’ll like it better.” Then, Sloan headed toward the bar.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “He’s pissed at me, and he’s proving a point.”
“He’ll come around, give him some time. You shouldn’t have told him, Daddy. It wasn’t any of his business.” Fionn leaned his shoulder against mine, and I wrapped an arm around his waist, laying a kiss on his jaw.
“If we hadn’t told him now and it came out later, he would’ve been even more angry. At least we told him before he found out from someone else.” I shrugged. “He’s still your uncle, Fifi.”
“Right, but I’m an adult. If I stuck around for eight years for sex and nothing else, that’s on me. You might have broken my heart, but you never promised me anything except fucking. I could’ve walked away.”
Behind us, someone lit up a cigar, and the sweet smell joined with the rest of the scents, the atmosphere deepening as an older man rose from his seat and began to sing a Gaelic song in the corner of the bar. I imagined this was what pubs were like over in Ireland, too. My grandfather had talked about it all the time.
“We should go to Ireland this year,” I said instead of arguing with him.
He blinked like an owl, his hazel eyes big and wide. “Really? I’ve never been.”
“I know, me neither. That’s why we should go. You have great aunts over there, right?”
He made a disinterested sound. “Sure. Sloan’s aunts and his cousins. His sister, too. I’ve never met her. Though I met acouple of our family members when they came over here last time. Remember Tiernan?”
“Unfortunately,” I murmured.
Tiernan was a year younger than Sloan and had strong ambitions. I knew his mom when I was a kid, but she’d moved back to Ireland shortly after I’d met Sloan. I’d met Tiernan three times since, and I sensed an underlying impatience, like he desired more. Then, there was his clear jealousy of Sloan and his position.
“I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. Tiernan’s the worst.” Fionn shrugged. “Sure, they help the Company over in the UK, but there’s something about him. He’s. . . .”
“Deceitful?” I offered.
He rocked his hand from side to side. “Maybe. Or slimy, like he’s waiting for something to happen to Sloan. I can’t say he wouldn’t defend the Company, but if he had the chance at power, he’d take it.”
I watched some of our men as they filtered through the door and took tables of their own, and I relaxed a little. The cavalry was here. We’d called them in on the way here, and now that Fionn was safe, I could enjoy and celebrate his victory, even if Sloan let him off the hook a little by not having him torture Donal. If it’d been anyone else other than Fionn doing the job, I don’t think Sloan would’ve relented, even if the one being killed was Donal. Despite what he might say, Sloan had given Fionn an easier job because he loved him. He didn’t want to see Fionn hurt over torturing an old friend.
“I agree,” I said, turning my focus back to Fionn. “His brothers aren’t much better.”
He shrugged. “I haven’t met Kyran. He’s the youngest, but I have records on him. He’s quiet, but I don’t think I’d trust him, either. Senan, though?” He shook his head. “He thinks with his dick more than his head.”
I laughed. “Okay, Fifi, time for you to get out ofyourhead. No more thinking or worrying tonight. We’re here to celebrate you and your victory.”
“Is it one, though? Sloan already knew who the rat was.” His shoulders slumped, and I tightened my hold around his waist, yanking his dress shirt out of his pants so I could slip my fingers under it and caress the warm skin of his hip.
“He had no proof and needed it. You found it for him, and you finished the job. You killed Donal. So yeah, it’s your victory.” I cupped his cheek and turned his face toward me.
He gave me a small smile before I dipped in to give him a quick kiss that turned into something longer. He moaned, tongue flicking against my lips, and as I opened my mouth to let him in, steins of beer were slammed down in front of us.
Fionn jumped away from me and his cheeks flushed a deep red as he gave Sloan an embarrassed grin. “Sorry.”
The sound that came from the back of Sloan’s throat was all irritation, but it wasn’t at Fionn—not with how hard he was glaring at me. I rolled my shoulders but didn’t break his stare. If he wanted submission from me right now, he wasn’t going to get it. Fionn was mine and I wasn’t going to apologize for it, even if I’d admitted I’d been an asshole to him. I would spend the rest of my life making up for it.
“Drink,” Sloan ordered as he fell back into his seat. “You deserve it.”
A few hours into celebrating—Fionn more than anyone because he’d switched back to whiskey and was mixing up his drinks—my phone buzzed. Fionn wobbled to the side, but I steadied him with a palm to his shoulder as I grabbed my phone from the table and checked the text message that’d come through.
McGibbs
Reyes spotted in NYC.
Attached was a grainy photo of Reyes in Central Park, talking to a man who was clearly his. They had their heads bowed, and it was daylight in the picture, which meant it’d been yesterday, at the very least, considering it was now early morning and still dark.
“Fuck.” I flipped my phone to show Sloan, and he squinted before his ice blue eyes turned dark with anger.
