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“What’s the word on the street?” I asked. “Have you found the bastards?”
“Well, good morning to you as well. You look like shit by the way,” Kane observed. “And the word on the street is that the Thorn name has taken a direct hit like I was certain it would. There are even rumors floating around you were paralyzed in the accident, others claiming you’d died. Would you believe I found a reporter snooping around at the entrance this morning when I drove in? The idiot was claiming the same thing, including he had pictures of your dead body.”
“I’m afraid to ask what you did to the idiot,” I snorted. They’d obviously mistaken Roger for me. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Still, if that was the case, Liam would be gloating in the open, not running with his tail stuck between his legs. I had a bad feeling about this as I did the entire situation.
His toothy grin was the one he used when he’d managed to flex his muscles. He couldn’t care less about having our name dragged through the Kansas City mud. “Let’s just say they could need a day or two off to recover.”
I glared at him, lifting a single eyebrow.
“I’m kidding. Okay? I did explain it was private property and if they wanted to spend the night in jail, they could hang around. They got the message.”
“Good. And let the idiots think I’m dead.” If that was the case, then why did Liam run like the fucking coward he was? Because he knew what I was capable of. I rubbed my finger from one side of my jaw to the other, still enjoying the scent of her remaining all over me. It seemed the hot shower had infused our scents together. I could certainly get used to that.
“I take it you had better things to do than sleep.”
I moved behind my desk, sitting down with a hard thud. Given the exhaustion and the level of aches and pains I was feeling from the assassination attempt, I was fearful I wouldn’t be able to get up. Leaning back, I tapped my fingers on the keyboard, thinking about a few things she’d said the night before. “She’s completely unexpected.”
“Okay. I take it that’s good.”
“Let’s just say she’s nothing like the crap printed on the internet about her.” I suddenly had an idea, sitting up in the chair and shifting to Google. When I typed in what I was looking for, several sites pulled up.
“Why does that sound ominous? That isn’t the first time you’ve said something like that. Do you want me to run another check on Maria? I can do a deeper dive than your brother did given a few contacts I have.”
I was already deeply engrossed in what I was looking at, barely hearing what he was saying. “What did you ask?”
He laughed as he shook his head. “That woman has already changed you and I’m not certain in a good way. I asked if you wanted me to run a deep dive on her.”
I thought about his request, glancing twice back at the screen. “She has changed me, but not in the way you think. No, I don’t need to be told she’s lived the same kind of oppressive lifestyle I have over the years.”
“Whew. Okay. Are you going to join the hunt for the illustrious Irish leader this morning?”
I returned my attention to the screen, taking my time shifting from one page to the other until I found exactly what I was looking for. “No. Not this morning,” I finally answered. “Where are we on finding out if his men are still in town?”
“I have our best trackers on it but as you might imagine, no one is talking.”
“Of course not.”
“But we can’t allow the bastards to think they won. You know that better than anyone.” He was unusually exasperated.
“I have no intentions of it. As soon as either a single member of the O’Banyon family or his men are found, then we’ll send the kind of message the illustrious leader won’t soon forget.”
He grinned like I’d just told him we were going to Disneyland. “How bloody are we talking?”
“You know what, my friend? You need to get yourself a hobby.”
“Beating people is my hobby. Incidentally, when are you going to indulge my request for a boxing match?”
I laughed and glanced quickly at the photograph once again. Maybe I could bring a permanent smile to Maria’s face. “Soon. To answer your previous question, enough so we’ll need a clean-up crew to follow closely behind us. I think I’ll enjoy watching the life drain from a few people tonight. It’s been a while.” I’d torch the buildings Liam had been known to frequent, but the people’s homes and businesses he’d already invaded didn’t deserve to pay for his sins. Maybe my lovely bride was indeed rubbing off on me.
“Now we’re talking. I’ll be ready.”
“Bring your hunting knife. I’ll bring mine,” I chortled.
He flexed his hands, pushing out his arms and cracking his fingers, a sound he knew I loathed. “When you’re bad, you’re pretty damn good. We’ll track them down. I promise you that much, boss. It almost feels like an early Christmas present. You know there is nothing I like more than slicing and dicing.”
Something caught my line of sight. The moment Maria entered the room, I could tell she’d overheard Kane’s statement. So much for keeping her from my work. That wasn’t going to be possible inside this house.
She stopped short. The sight of so much surprise and disgust in her eyes caught me off guard. Had her father really managed to convince her that his world wasn’t corrupt? It couldn’t be possible. Maybe she’d bought into the idea of a fairytale romance. Nope. That wasn’t it either. I flicked off the internet site I was on, immediately rising to my feet.
