Page 42 of The Apprentice
FIONN
I spent the morning trying to think of what to say to Daire and came up with nothing, so we got ready in a silence I didn’t particularly enjoy. He sent me off to brush my teeth first, and by the time I left the en suite, he had one of my suits lying on the bed. I assumed Daire had a Company man drop it off, but I didn’t gather the courage to ask about it.
Once I slipped the suit on—an olive dress shirt with a forest green vest and jacket and light brown pants—I left the bedroom and headed along the hallway, then down the black steel stairs.
Daire was in the open-plan kitchen, wearing a dark charcoal suit with a black shirt, staring down in front of himself. I couldn’t see what he was looking at because of the large island blocking my view, but I didn’t have to guess before a bark gave me the answer to my unasked question.
He nodded and grinned, then laughed as he grabbed a piece of meat off a plate on the counter and passed it to one of the dogs. “Good girl.”
The sultriness of his praise sent a shiver down my spine. I inhaled, closing my eyes for a moment to remind myself that I’dfirmly decided last night it was time to move on. Opening my eyes again, I forced a smile and strode over to the kitchen.
Daire glanced up at me and the smile fell off his lips. His expression turned stoic as he straightened. “Sir.”
My stomach churned in disappointment. Did he dislike seeing me that much?
Pushing aside the thought, I squared my shoulders and straightened. “I’m ready whenever you are.” I paused and stared around the quiet penthouse. “Where’s your brother?”
He made a sound that wasn’t quite a snort but wasn’t anything pleasant, either. “He left early. Or maybe he didn’t stay at all. Aodhan’s got the energy of a teenager. He doesn’t need much sleep.”
“How much older than you is he?” I walked around the island to stand directly in front of him, then looked down at the Dobermans and their stiff sitting position. Their attention was firmly on Daire—their eyes never leaving him. It was clear they were waiting for orders.
Me too, girls.I internally sighed. I was the future boss of the Killough Company, and while I yearned for that position and power when it was time for Sloan to step down, there was one man I wanted to take commands from. Daire was a Daddy, and he demanded compliance simply by speaking with his rough, dominant voice.
I needed that.
“A year and a half older.” He brushed his hand down the side of his face. “But he’s never acted like it.”
“He’s different from you,” I said carefully.
He did snort this time, and it was a strange sound that didn’t fit him. “Well, we both couldn’t be reckless idiots. One of us had to step up and take care of our family.”
He spoke the words as a fact, but what he hadn’t realized was the information he’d shared with me. I picked up on what was left unsaid.
“And that was you. The responsible brother.” I knew exactly how that felt. Most men in the Company, including Sloan, forgot that I had two younger brothers. It’d always been my job to step up and be the mature one. When my mom needed money, she came to me. When my brothers needed something to do with college, she came to me. Sloan had no idea it was happening because I purposely kept it secret. My uncle didn’t know as much as he thought he did. Sloan wasn’t the only Killough who could keep a secret.
Daire stared down at his dogs in thought for a long moment before he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” He straightened and snapped his fingers, and the dogs’ attention broke. They turned to walk away, giving me a careful look as they trotted past and ran toward the living room to jump on the leather couch.
I watched them get comfortable and smiled. “They’re beautiful.” I turned my gaze back to him and chuckled. “I didn’t know you were a dog person.” My gaze slid to the sleeves of his suit, and I thought about what hid beneath the clothing. The ink I loved. Daire was a mystery, but there was also a lot I could gather through the small amount of information he did share. I was good at connecting the dots. “I had no idea you were a tattoo person until you came home from that trip, either, so....”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” He cleared his throat and reached down to button up his jacket. “Let’s go. We’ve got a big day, and Sloan gave me permission to show you around the city.”
“Which parts?” I stepped back as he stalked past, and I followed him as he headed toward the entrance of the penthouse. As soon as we stepped over the threshold, he closed the large door, and the security system beeped to signal it wasactivated. “Sloan started teaching me that kind of stuff, then Conall happened.”
Daire stopped suddenly, and I bumped into his back. I shifted away as he spun around to stare down at me. His brow creased in a frown. “Did you ever think it wasn’t because of Conall?”
I blinked. “What?”
He chuckled in an unamused way and shook his head. “Boy, you’re so quick to blame the boss’s pet because of your jealousy that you don’t stop to think with that big brain of yours.” As if to make a point, he tapped my temple. “Conall came at the same time as trouble started brewing. Sure, Sloan had you doing important work like running some shipments or talking to the port associates, but things changed the moment Toscani started stirring the pot. Sloan pulling back on your training had nothing to do with Conall.”
“He was pissed at me for snooping through Conall’s belongings,” I argued, shame causing heat to flood my cheeks. I didn’t know why I’d gone into Conall’s room and looked through his drawers, but my protectiveness for my uncle and our business made me irrational, and I’d acted on an impulse.
He grunted and crossed his arms. “That’s child’s play. He already made an example of you about that.”
Sloan hadn’t, though.
While he’d made a show of sending me away with soldiers, they’d left me in the basement where Sloan usually tortured people. Sloan had then sent Daire down todealwith me. And by deal, Daire did nothing but sit in a chair and ignore me.
I had demanded his attention, but he hadn’t done a damned thing. When a few hours came and went, he finally spoke, telling me to get my act together if I wanted to be a mob boss. I realized then it was a show of dominance. Sloanwantedhis men, including Conall, to think he had hurt me. They’d thought myinjuries were under my clothes, leaving the perfect appearance for an apprentice. They were wrong.
