Chapter 23
Ronan
After Colton leaves my office, I dial Finn.
“Hello, brother,” he greets me.
“Did you find a way into the loan business?”
“You doubt us? Taylor had access in under five last night. I actually learned a couple of things from our little adventure.”
“And that would be?”
“It’s not a payday loan place. It’s where they are laundering their money. You should have access to their files. I’m surprised you haven’t checked the connection yet.”
I’m surprised too. Focusing on taking these people down is my priority, but my mind is clouded by what I did to Colton. The look on his face last night when he left the bed—the bed I had lost control in—plays like a slideshow in my head.
“I’ve been busy.” I play it off. But Finn knows me too well to let it go.
“Busy playing with your toy.” Finn chuckles.
“Be glad you’re several hundred miles away right now. If you weren’t, I’d cut your throat. Never disrespect Colton again.” I growl into the phone.
“Whoa, just kidding, Ro. I forgot that AIs don’t have a sense of humor. No disrespect meant,” Finn backtracks.
Conor might be the oldest and Finn the youngest of the four of us, but everyone knows that Liam and I are the most dangerous. I destroy my targets digitally before taking them out physically. I fuck up their lives and watch them try to fix it, knowing that they can’t.
I hang up the phone. I’ll deal with Finn when he gets back. Right now, I have more important matters to attend to. I open the connection to the payday loan company. The cult has all of the records saved on the server. They thought they could keep it safe from prying eyes.
I’m so focused on extracting the information and tracing every name that I don’t hear Colton come back until he shuts the door. I look up. His face is set in hard lines, his jaw tight. He’s going to tell me never to touch him again, not that I can blame him. He locks the door without taking his eyes off me.
“You and I need to talk, Ronan,” he says as he strides toward me with purpose. I only nod. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want him to tell me that he is leaving me. I’m expecting him to stay on the other side of the desk, keeping distance between us. But he continues until he stands beside my chair. He grips the arm of the chair and turns me to face him. If he hits me, I’ll let him. Hell, if he had a knife, I would tell him where to cut me. I’d bleed out for him if that’s what he wants.
I’m surprised again when he grips my chin. “Tell me why you started pulling away from me after you fucked me last night?”
I don’t answer. How can I say it out loud?
“Tell me, Ronan.” He leans down so his face is right in front of mine.
“I hurt you,” I tell him. I feel his grip tighten. “I could see it when you shut the bathroom door between us.”
He takes a deep breath and exhales. The feel of it crosses my face, and I remember how it feels on my skin when he sleeps on my chest.
“Oh, my sweet delusional man. I wasn’t hurt,” he says.
When I try to argue, he moves his hand from my jaw to cover my mouth.
“You don’t get to talk. I’m going to say this as bluntly as I can, so maybe you can get it through your analytical brain. I wasn’t hurt the way you think. I was embarrassed, Ronan. Yes, my ass was sore, but your research should have told you that was going to happen. It was my first time, and unlike you, I didn’t fucking Google what to expect. I didn’t know that I was going to feel like I had to shit.”
He closes the distance and kisses me hard on the lips.
“You have given me hope, Ronan,” he says, kissing me again. “And last night you gave me even more. It was the best night of my life. But because you decided in your own head that you hurt me, you took part of that joy from me. Do you think that was fair?”
He runs his nose up my neck to my ear. My brain glitches, so first I nod, and then I shake my head. Fuck, what was the question again?
“It wasn’t fair, Ronan, not to me and not to you. You decided you knew what was happening without talking to me. Your mom told me your diagnoses, so we are going to set some rules.”
He nips at my neck. This new side of Colton is hot as fuck. He’s in command, in control. I lean my head to give him more of my neck. He slides down to his knees in front of me.
