Page 23 of The Apprentice
Jamie waggled his eyebrows and nudged me with his elbow. “Tell me more.”
I finally took a sip of my beer, humming when the warm liquid met my tongue, and placed the bottle on a table nearby. “Eoin and Sloan took me out to party. They got me a fake ID and used their own, and we got into clubs and caused trouble.”
Most of the bouncers would’ve let us in without a fake ID anyway because everyone knew Sloan, son of the Irish mob boss of New York City, but Sloan wanted to be safe, in case we ran into any cops who sought to cause issues.
“Toward the end of the night, we went to the Genie. Sloan commissioned every whore in the brothel, and when I woke up the next morning, I was bare assed with a spent cock.”
Jamie let out a loud laugh, slapping his chest as he spat some of his beer from his mouth while he choked on the rest. “No fucking way. Mr. Killough did that?”
I shrugged. “He wasn’t always the boss, you know?”
Most people didn’t know the real Sloan, and I was glad Aodhan and I had the chance to grow up with him and see his softer side. We’d all known there would come a day when we’d have to mature, so as teenagers, it had been our mission to have fun whenever we could. Sloan and Eoin always got me into more trouble than I would’ve without them.
I caught sight of Fionn in the corner of the room, hitting on one of the Company’s soldiers. I didn’t know the soldier’s name, but he was a low rung on the Company ladder, nothing more than a hired gun and a loyal Irishman.
Fionn had his back against the wall, and even from where I stood, I could see the sly smile he gave the soldier. It was the kind of expression that saideverythingabout what he wanted, and that was only confirmed when Fionn tugged at the soldier’s tie, pulling him toward the door at the back of the room that led into a hallway near the kitchen.
I moved without thought, striding forward with determination. Fionn could do what he wanted—he was the future of the Company, and he deserved to live his life before responsibility slapped him in the face—but Iwouldn’tallow him to sleep with a soldier.
I followed them out through an archway that led into another hallway beside the massive stairs near the entrance. Fionn pressed his back against the wall and dragged the soldier in closer than what he should’ve in public. He smoothed his hand over the soldier’s shoulder, laughing, and that’s when I saw it—Fionn glancing toward me challengingly. He’dwantedme to follow him.
I let out a surprised breath. I hadn’t expected that from Fionn, of all people, but I supposed it made sense. Fionn was a Killough, after all. He was... Eoin’s son, and that was a very good reason why I shouldn’t go over there.
I needed to leave.
I didn’t.
“Hey!” I called out, voice strong and commanding.
The soldier spun around to face me, and I took him in carefully, making sure to remember this man so that I could reprimand him later. The man Fionn had lured into the hallway couldn’t have been much older than him, with short brown hair and wide blue eyes. He had a narrow nose and a pouty mouth and was only inches shorter than Fionn. The soldier was attractive, but he wasn’t worthy of Fionn. No one was.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Liam, sir.” He shuffled away from Fionn and hooked his fingers together in front of himself, head bowed to me. At least he knew when to respect his superiors, unlike Fionn, who sighed and crossed his arms as if he was bored. I hadn’t seen this side of him. Yet, defiance was as pretty on his face as lust.
“Liam, leave us.”
“Liam, don’t go anywhere,” Fionn said immediately, making Liam freeze, uncertainty crossing his face. He glanced between me and Fionn, confused.
Fionn stood straighter and ran a hand through his bleached sandy blond hair, which Ididn’tlike at all. I hated that he was trying so hard to be Sloan. “This is my party.”
“And you can cry if you want to?” I smirked.
Liam chuckled, but Fionn’s confused frown confirmed that he’d never heard the old song.
“Liam.” I nodded toward the archway we’d come through, and Liam shot forward, leaving us alone in the hallway.
Fionn glared. “You can’t do that.”
“Do what?” I matched his posture, crossing my arms. If anyone would win this battle of wills, it would be me. “Ruin your fuck session?”
“I can fuck who I want,” Fionn muttered, dropping his arms as though he realized how stupid he looked now that I was doing it.
“No, you can’t.” I sighed. “Fionn, your uncle put together a birthday party. The least you could do isnotleave it.”
Fionn grunted. “He doesn’t care about me. He did it to show off. You saw the people he invited. The Italians. What do the Italians have to do with me? Nothing. And what the fuck was that music? I’m not turning a hundred.”
My heart ached for him, and I understood both sides. I’d seen Fionn’s desperation from the moment I’d met him. FionnwantedSloan to tell him he was proud, and he desired Sloan’s approval. Sloan raised Fionn the only way he knew how—exactly how Sloan’s father had raised him. Both Killoughs were stubborn, though, and they wouldn’t listen.
