Page 116 of The Apprentice
Daire snorted out a laugh. “Too bad. I’m his Daddy, you’re only hisDad.”
Sloan grunted, but I didn’t miss the grin that took over his mouth.
“I have a name, you know,” I said.
“Fifi?” The grin shrank into a smirk. “What are you, an elderly lady?”
Daire groaned and rubbed his face while I laughed. “Be glad I told him he couldn’t call me Deedee like he wanted.”
Sloan raised his dark eyebrows and opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was gone as soon as two men in suits—detectives was my guess—walked into my room. Sloan jumped to his feet, spine straight and shoulders tense as they headed straight for him.
“Sloan Killough, we are escorting you to the precinct for questioning. Think we wouldn’t find your gun, Killough? Well, we did.” The detective with a brown mustache grabbed Sloan’sshoulder and spun him around, then yanked his arms behind his back to slide handcuffs over his wrists.
“Are those necessary?” Sloan drawled in a blasé tone.
“You’re a danger to us,” Detective Mustache said with a wry grin. Fucking lying bastard.
I shuffled backward to sit up straighter.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, but they ignored me as they slapped the cuffs closed around Sloan’s wrists.
Daire stood and stepped forward. “That gun?—”
“Shut up, Daire.” Sloan sent him a pointed look, and Daire’s lips pressed together unhappily. I didn’t know what had happened, but I was good at putting two and two together. Whatever gun they were talking about was Sloan’s, but Daire had been the one who’d fired it and probably killed the man who’d shot me. Daire was about to tell them the gun was his, if only to protect Sloan, but Sloan wasn’t going to let him do that.
Daire came to stand at my side, his jaw tight and eyes furious as he watched the detectives. “Don’t worry, Boss, we’ll call the lawyers. This is ridiculous.”
“They’ll try to charge me, but it won’t stick.” Sloan smirked at the detective in front of him, a tall man with a scar across his chin. “But it’s cute that you’re trying.”
“We’ll see,” Detective Mustache grumbled, tightening the cuffs until he had Sloan hissing between his teeth. Mustache grinned, and I lunged forward, ready to fly out of bed and punch his smug face, but Daire caught me before I could.
“Not now, boy,” he whispered into my ear before kissing the top of the shell. “They want us to react.”
“Fucking pigs,” I snapped at them, ignoring the agony that ripped through me as I fought against Daire’s hold.
“Watch yourself,” Detective Scar sneered, pointing a stubby finger at me. “Or you’ll be in cuffs, too, boy.”
“Don’t call him boy.” Daire bared his teeth at him.
Detective Scar rolled his eyes and grabbed Sloan by his elbow, while Mustache grasped the other. Together, they began to lead Sloan out of my room. All I could do was watch, helpless, as they dragged him off. Sloan glanced at me over his shoulder as he went, winking with a sharp nod.
“Fionn, you and Conall are in charge for now,” Sloan called right before they yanked him through the door.
He was gone.
Numbness spread through me for a moment as I stared after him. When panic should’ve begun, something else settled inside me instead—determination. They’d come into my hospital room and ripped Sloan from my side where he was supposed to be. My uncle trusted me to take care of business now, and I was going to do more than that. I was going to destroy those cops.
I went to stand, but Daire placed his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “No. You aren’t healthy enough yet.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he shushed me quietly. “Fifi, listen. You can’t do anything right now. I’ll call the lawyers and get them down to the police station. The best thingyoucan do is get better.”
I sighed in frustration. Fucking Reyes. This was all his fault. “Fine, but I want you to call in the cavalry. Get Cillian, Aspen, and Jamie back here?—”
“Sloan already did that.”
“And I want the men ready. Where’s Rowen and Fallon?”
“They’re with Conall.” Daire took out his phone and sat on the edge of the bed. I watched him typing on the screen, so I kept talking.
I exhaled in relief and rubbed my chest, wincing. “Good. Conall needs to be protected. Around the clock. When our enemies hear Sloan was arrested, they’re going to get overconfident. I want every man working. If there’s even a sign of any of them being unsettled, I want people to come forward.Now is not the time for hesitation. We need to be united. This company doesn’t have room for men who might rat us out the first chance they get.”
