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And hot sexy nights like last night.
But mostly, I didn’t want to end up like the women tended to in that family.
Dead.
I moved back over to the box I had been working on and continued to pack away the contents of the bookcase. Looking around, I could see I was about 90 percent done with the cottage. So many memories, so many years of hating this place and then loving it as I got older.
But I was back to hating it enough that I needed to sell it.
* * *
I finishedmy coffee and put the mug in the sink. The entire cottage was in boxes. As I turned around, I saw that what I’d been putting off was done and I had no excuse but to start figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
The knock on the door had me jumping, yet again.
Did this motherfucker seriously send his man back down here to come and get me?
How lazy could you get?
I marched over to the door and swung it open to launch a yelling match when I saw who stood there.
That fucking smirk on his face, just like his brother’s.
“Conor, did he seriously thinkyoucould change my mind?” I spat at him.
“What’s wrong with me?” he asked, but the smile on his face told me he wasn’t offended.
“Seriously, after corrupting my best friend and having her stay in Ireland when she had plenty of prospects elsewhere? You think you’re better than the one he sent here before?”
Conor sighed, but he wasn’t offended. “I wouldn’t have come at the behest of my brother if it weren’t serious.”
“How serious?”
“A grieving widow is blaming the family for the loss of her husband, and now she wants to hurt us. The only way she’s getting to Killian is through you.”
I sighed. “Jesus. I tried to be rid of you guys. It almost worked, and then you came along and cast your little spell over Tee and now I’m back in this bullshit all over again.”
“It’s not so bad, Sloane. Come on. Get your shit and let’s go.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to grab my things. If he sent Conor of all people here, it meant things were bad enough for him to send for me.
I was still mad though.
Once I got my bag, I locked up the cottage and got into his car. At least I could spend some time with Teeghan.
* * *
I sat in the back,not wanting to engage with him. I’d never admit to him, but I honestly didn’t find him that vexing anymore. Teeghan was happy, for the first time in…well, pretty much since I met her. She was content, and safe, but I’d continue my little attitude toward Conor as long as I could because I didn’t believe Teeghan should be in the world he was in. Just like I didn’t belong in it. No matter how much I had loved Killian back then, I couldn’t betray myself by acting blind when it came to the things he did.
They called him the calm assassin for fuck’s sake.
I knew you didn’t get a nickname like that without being cold in some way or another. But Killian had always had something about him that was deadly. I knew that better than anyone. Even in school, the other students and even teachers respected him, and knew not to mess with him and eventually they didn’t mess with me either. I’d been drunk on the power of it all, until I realized I had been losing a part of myself.
“Do you want music?” he asked me. It broke me from my silent reverie.
“Sure.”
He pushed a button on his touch screen and music filtered through the car. Conor kept to himself as he drove me back into the city. I looked out the window at the coastline, and wondered what if I had gone to Dublin when I’d had the chance.
