Page 58 of My Addiction
“He doesn’t speak it,” Ronan says as he looks over to his mom but misses the wink.
“No, but he really, really likes it, especially when you threaten someone.” With a cackle, she walks out of the room. Ronan looks between her retreating back and me.
“Fuck, you said something about Dad again.”
At this point, my face and neck are so hot that if I got near anything flammable, it would ignite.
“Not the way you think or the way your mom implied. I just like the sound of it.” I want off this subject. “Did you get the information you needed from the others?”
“We did, but it was a little late, don’t you think? He was already here. You were in danger, and I wasn’t here.” Ronan looks pensive.
“Your mom shot him. She protected us.” I tell him, trying to lessen his guilt.
“It’s my job to protect you and Ollie. Until this is fully settled, you won’t be out of my sight again.”
He kisses me. The kiss is soft and gentle. He’s careful not to wake Ollie, but he is taking what he needs. He’s giving me what I need as well. His hand caresses my face.
“Declan! Fucking put me down, you oversized ass!” Xavier squeals.
I smile against Ronan’s lips, and he pulls back slightly. Declan passes the doorway with a wiggling Xavier thrown over his shoulder.
“I never understood why he’s the way he is with Xavier. Why he never wants him out of his sight. Goes to extremes when he is.” Ronan looks back at me. “I do now.” His hand slides to the back of my neck, holding me there.
Chapter 31
Ronan
I shower and put on a set of the extra clothes that I keep here at the compound. My body is vibrating with the need to get back to Colton and Ollie. The threat against them is no longer at a distance but in our midst.
“Fucking Kenneth,” Declan grumbles beside me. “I should have put a bullet in his head when he lost Xavier.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t. You gave him a pass because Xavier wanted you to. And we all know that you give him whatever he asks for.” Finn says unhelpfully. Declan’s eyes narrow on him. I step away, not wanting to get caught up in their shit. It would be one more thing to delay me getting the fuck out of here and back to the house.
“Shut the fuck up, Finn, and leave it alone,” Conor says. “He’ll be taken care of now.”
“Are you all going soft now?” Finn glares at Conor. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you have been disappearing all the time. Let me guess, you got yourself a new pet too?”
The dark look in Conor’s eyes is a promise of violence. Finn knows better than to push him, yet here we are.
“Enough,” Dad’s voice reverberates in the room. “You jackasses want to start going at each other? Fine, but only after this clusterfuck is handled. Kenneth is now mine to deal with.”
He has more to say, but is cut off by the shrill alarms of all our phones. I pull mine out. It’s the alarm signaling that the house has been breached. No one says another word as we all run for the cars.
The drive takes too long. I run as hard as I can, my boots digging into the concrete drive. Chaos is happening all around the house. I make it to the den at the same time as Dad. Kenneth is bound hand and foot with a pool of congealing blood under him. I scan for Colton, but he’s not in the room. The panic that runs through me is strange and all-consuming.
I faintly register Dad yelling at Kenneth in Irish, a threat yet to come. The doctor is kneeling next to Kenji. There’s blood covering his usually pristine white shirt.
“Where are they?” I demand.
“Mrs. Alessia took them to the sitting room.” Kenji grits out. “They’re safe.”
I don’t wait for anything else before running to the room that holds a stór: my treasure, the man who is my precious one. I promised to keep him safe, and I failed him. That won’t happen again.
I rush into the room. The sight of Colton holding a sleeping Ollie makes the breath I have been holding since the alarm rush out of me. That’s when it hits me. Not only is a stór here, but also a stóirín, safe
When Mom suggests that I speak to Colton in Irish, it dawns on me that he heard my Dad again. Fuck me. Does he find my Dadattractive? If he does, he’ll be even more shocked when Mom shoots him.
I get why Declan is the way he is with Xavier now. I run my nose up the column of his neck until I reach the shell of his ear.
