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“For the information, which I got. It’s not like I can plant a computer virus that will change who they decide to promote. Humans still do some of the work, you know.”
Sean looks like he’s going to continue the argument, but Neil walks into the room with Lucas trailing behind him.
“What’s up?” Neil asks. He saunters over to the globe-shaped bar and pours himself a drink.
Lucas walks over to a free chair and sits down, opening his briefcase across his lap before he begins to shuffle through the papers inside.
“Have a seat, Neil.” Sean gestures to the open spot on the couch next to me as he sits back down in his chair. He leans back with his hands on the arms of the chair and looks around the room. I wonder if he thinks he’s on a throne, which leads me to imagine Deklan dressed in a knight’s armor, holding a sword.
The image in my head is pretty hot. I lick my lips and cross my legs as Deklan glances at me, his expression confused. I quickly look away before I start to blush.
Neil looks at Sean and then Teagan. He tentatively walks around Sean’s chair and sits beside me with his glass clasped between his hands.
“Neil, I have a question for you.” Sean tilts his head to the side.
“Yeah?” Neil replies with narrowed eyes. “I got a couple of questions myself—starting with where the hell Dek’s hiding Charlie Grange.”
“So you know the guy?”
“Yes, I know him. I’ve known him for years. He worked for your dad, and he still works for me.”
“So, you’re fucking him,” Sean says simply.
Neil doesn’t respond. He just lets out a long, exasperated sigh.
“You’ve been keeping information from me, Neil,” Sean says. “You know I can’t just look past that. Not only are you withholding information, but apparently, you’re acting on it. Having poor Kera here followed? That’s not cool, Neil.”
“That’s not new, either,” Neil replies with a snort.
Deklan glares at Neil, and I can see my husband’s fingers clenching. Sean squares his shoulders and stares directly at his cousin. From Sean’s reaction, he doesn’t know anything about this.
“Here’s a thought,” Sean says, “why don’t you fucking explain yourself?”
Neil rubs his chin and looks over to me. I pull back, and my shoulder presses against Brian’s for a moment. I wonder if I can change seats without being noticed, but of course, that’s impossible. I try to shift away from Neil as much as I can while reminding myself that I asked to be here.
“Your father asked me to keep tabs on her from the beginning,” Neil says.
“My father,” Sean says with a growl, “is dead. I don’t give a fuck what he asked you to do years ago. You fucking work for me, not him!”
Neil looks nervous as he glances between Sean and Deklan. Deklan stands motionless and expressionless, but I can still see the tension in his shoulders and arms.
“I thought it might be important,” he says slowly. “She’s O’Conner’s daughter, and he’s a problem.”
“Oh really?” Sean leans forward in his chair. “O’Conner is a problem, is he? He’s a fucking gambling addict who ran out of funds and friends years ago, and you think that makes him a problem for me? Seriously?”
“You know she had to be in on it, too,” Neil says with a sneer. “Who has his own daughter kidnapped?”
“You knew about that?” Deklan breaks his silence and nearly loses his composure.
“Of course I did!” Neil stands and points at Deklan. “I am the information man, am I not? I know everything, and that asshole has been trying to play us from the beginning! And now his daughter is sitting here like one of the family. Do you really think that’s a coincidence? You think he didn’t plan that from the beginning?”
“Don’t you fucking accuse my wife of anything.” Deklan’s voice is soft and calm, but there’s a cold, deadly undertone that sends a chill through my bones.
“I’ll say whatever the fuck I please.” Neil’s words are strong, but his tone lacks conviction. “This concerns my family, and you’re just the hired help.”
Deklan takes a half step forward, and Brian stiffens next to me.
“Hold on,” Sean says as he holds his hand out, effectively stopping Deklan. “I need to know one more thing.”
