揧es. I still want to go to Ireland and I don抰 see why I shouldn抰。 Hasn抰 the Wolf already dictated enough of my life??
揝hane??Conor turns to his older brother.
揑f Jessie wants to come, then it抯 up to her,?he says with a shrug as he downs the last of his drink.
Liam and Mikey stay silent and look down at their glasses. They know better than to get in the middle of their older brothers.
揝he抯 safer here with me and the twins,?Conor snarls.
揝he抣l be just as safe with me,?Shane fires back.
揃oys. You must agree with me??Conor says to the twins.
揑t抯 up to Jessie what she wants to do, Con,?Mikey says and I place my hand on his thigh and squeeze. I love that he always has my back.
揕iam??Conor snaps.
揑 don抰 want her to go either, bro, but厰
揊or fuck抯 sake!?Conor hisses. 揑 can抰 believe you抮e even considering taking her there, Shane!?
揧ou think I抦 not capable of protecting her??Shane growls at him.
揘ot as well as three of us can here,?Conor growls back as he glares at his older brother.
揌ey!?I lean forward and slam my now empty glass down on the coffee table. 揑 am sitting right here.?
The two of them stop glaring at each other and look at me.
揑n case you haven抰 noticed, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.?Conor opens his mouth to speak but I don抰 allow him the chance to. 揂nd I hate to break it to you, boys, but if the Wolf wants me, he will find me. He is a patient man. He will wait until the perfect moment and then he will strike, whether that抯 in two days, two years or ten. I am not going to spend the rest of my life hiding in here waiting for that to happen.?
揜ed!?Mikey snaps as he sits forward, cupping my chin in his hand, he turns my face to his. 揧ou know we would never let him take you. I promise.?
I stare at him. I wish I could believe him. But when I see the look of anguish in his eyes, I don抰 have the heart to tell him that I can抰。 揑 know,?I whisper instead.
揝o, you抮e still going to Ireland tomorrow then??Conor scowls.
Shane looks between me and Conor and sighs. 揑f the reason the Wolf is back is because Alexei is dead, then there is every chance he knows that Jessie is here too. She is safer in Ireland than she is here.?
Conor leans back in his chair and runs a hand over his jaw.
揝hane抯 right,?I say. 揃esides, I抦 not just going to sit around in this apartment, waiting for the Wolf to come and pick me off. Now that he抯 active again, I抦 sure I抣l be able to track him, but let me have one more week of not being completely consumed by him first. Please??
Conor rolls his eyes but he doesn抰 speak.
揟he Wolf will have no idea I抦 in Ireland,?I add.
揂nd I promise I will take care of our girl, boys,?Shane offers as he shoots me a look that tells me not to open my mouth and contradict him. Then he stands and places his empty glass on the coffee table. He walks over to me and grips my chin in his strong hand, tilting my head to look at him. 揑抦 going to pack. I抣l meet you by the elevator at ten tomorrow morning.?
揙kay,?I blink at him. It抯 only six p.m. so why am I not going to see him until morning?
He turns to his brothers. 揧ou got sixteen more hours with our girl, boys.?Then he walks out of the room and I抦 left with his three siblings.
揥hat do you feel like doing, baby??Liam says softly as he curls his fingers around mine. 揥e can watch a movie if you like. We never did get to that pumpkin pie.?
揙r pussy,?Mikey mumbles beside me.
I turn to him, my mouth open as I feign my indignation, but the truth is I can抰 think of a better way to take my mind off the Wolf. And I抦 going away from them for at least a week, and despite how much I抦 looking forward to my trip with Shane, I抦 going to miss these guys like crazy.
揧ou抮e really thinking about pussy right now??I nudge him in the ribs.
揑抦 always thinking about your pussy, Red,?he says with an apologetic shrug.
I push myself up from the sofa. 揧ou can come help me pack if you like,?I offer.
Mikey and Liam are beside me before I can even finish the sentence but Conor stays in his chair. He frowns at me. I know he抯 worried about me but he must see that Shane and I are right.
I hold out my hand to him. 揑抦 not going to Ireland with you mad at me, Conor Ryan.?
揑抦 not mad at you, Angel,?he says as he stands and walks toward us. He leans down and presses a soft kiss on my temple. 揃ut I have something to do. I抣l come find you later.?
Chapter 2
Conor
I watch Jessie and my brothers walk to her room before I head off to find Shane. Vlad抯 announcement has completely floored me. I suppose that Shane has a point about her being safer in Ireland. If the Wolf knows she抯 here then it抯 only a matter of time before he comes for her. Despite that, I can抰 shake the feeling that she would be safer here with me and the twins. Safer with me. I would never let anyone harm a hair on her head, even if it meant never letting her out of my sight for a second. I consider the possibility of going with them, even though I抳e sworn never to set foot in Ireland again, but I would for her.
Shane is in his room when I find him. I walk inside and sit on the bed while he packs his small suitcase.
揑抣l keep her safe, Con,?he says, reading my mind. We抳e always been in sync, he and I, but I don抰 agree with him on this one.
揑 know you will, Shane厰
揃ut??
揧ou抣l be distracted there. You won抰 be able to watch her every second of every day.?
He closes his suitcase and shoves his hands into his trouser pockets. 揟he Wolf is in Moscow. I抦 certain if he knows about Alexei then he knows about Jessie too, and it抯 only a matter of time before he comes here looking for her, Con.?He shakes his head and I see the worry etched on his face.
揧ou really think she抣l be safer there with you??
He nods at me. 揕iam still isn抰 one hundred percent. You抣l be running the businesses. Mikey will be run off his feet helping you. There are more distractions here, and you know she won抰 stand for being locked up in this place.?
揂nd in Ireland??
揝he抣l either be with me or she抣l be in the suite at the hotel.?
I let out a long breath and close my eyes. 揑 can抰 believe he抯 back, Shane. I was starting to believe he was dead. I think she was, too.?
揑 know. But once we get back, we can focus our energies on finding him. When I抳e sorted out Patrick抯 estate and tidied up all of our affairs, there will be nothing tying us to Ireland any longer. Liam will have had another week to recover. We抣l be back to full strength and we can focus on what needs to be done.?
揑 suppose you抮e right.?I look up at him. 揧ou sure you don抰 need me to come with you??
He narrows his eyes at me. 揧ou want to come??
揘o!?I shake my head. 揃ut I will if I need to. If you both need me to.?
揑 need you to take care of business here, Con. Me and Jessie will be fine.?
揧ou just want her to yourself for a week,?I say, throwing a pair of balled up socks at him.
He shrugs and grins at me. 揧ep.?
揕ucky fucker.?
揑 sure am,?he winks at me.
揑抣l miss you both,?I say. The thought of him in Ireland makes me feel something I can抰 quite put my finger on. Perhaps I抦 worried that he抣l remember how much he loved the place and never come back home.
揑抣l miss you too, Con. We抳e spent more time apart these past few months than we have in our whole lives. She抣l miss you too,?he adds, 搒o you抎 better go and give her the send-off she deserves.?