“Yeah, we get it,” Brian Clive mutters, looking around. “You’ll kill us if we don’t behave.”
“They prefer blunt wording,” I explain to my man.
“Got it,” Conor says and kisses my temple. “Look here, fatheads, I wanna nice relationship with your powerful daddy. But if I have to butcher you two dumbasses, he’s never going to be my friend. So, hunker down here until you can go home and tell your pa how you kicked ass and made him new allies. Kay?”
“Still too many words,” I tease and pat his stomach. Glancing at my frowning cousins, I sigh. “You shouldn’t have threatened my friend today. That was fucked up. People here know what you did. Conor is keeping you alive, so say thank you.”
My cousins shrug and say the words to Conor. He just nods and gestures toward the kitchen.
“There are delivery menus in the drawer and cameras all over the building. If you so much as breathe on this door, we’ll know,” Conor says in his cold, killer voice before switching to a friendlier demeanor. “I’d suggest you order the ribs and slaw from Bambi’s. Night, boys.”
My cousins and I share a last glance before the door closes. As usual, everything about the McNamee family is both good and bad. I see shame in their eyes for how rowdy things got with people they consider family. Yet, I also notice hostility over having me in the driver’s seat and them just hoping to survive the night.
“We’re staying in this apartment,” Conor says, tugging me down to the next-door empty guest unit. “The Woodlands will sleep easier if they know someone is here to watch over your cousins.”
“I’m sorry,” I say as he opens the door.
“I don’t forgive you,” he replies while gesturing for me to enter. “You clearly have complete control over the universe. Meaning, you should have puppet-mastered your family into behaving.”
“I know you’re kidding, but maybe I do have control over the universe. After all, I wanted a new home, and I found it in here,” I whisper and stroke his chest.
Conor drops the cool act and kisses me deeply. For the next minute, I only breathe through him. His arms trap me against his body. My hands rest on his chest, and I feel his heart racing. This frostiest of men is actually raging hot inside.
“They tried to take you from me,” he says when our lips part.
I stare into his rage-filled eyes. “I’m proud of you for not killing them.”
Conor’s gaze softens, and he allows a grin. “That’s your response?”
“Oh, I mean, I was so scared.”
Chuckling, he shakes his head. “There were so many times when I feared my future honey wouldn’t be able to face my life. Not just my mom and the ugly shit I did when she wasn’t around. There’s the fear, too. Real danger exists outside the gated community. I know Lana doesn’t want to hear those things. I thought I’d have to hide, too. But then the universe gave me a honey who was tough enough to understand how even her blood might need to die to make our lives better.”
“I never want you to feel like you can’t tell me what’s in your heart or head,” I say, wrapping him too tightly in my arms. “I’m your home.”
Conor glances around the apartment and then settles his gaze on the couch. “I have to fuck you. Though Bronco and Lowell are heading this way, and I should remain focused, I still need to feel you.”
“Just a quick one to hold you over,” I say, tugging him toward the couch.
Conor and I strip off only as many clothes as necessary to allow him to fill my body with his cock. Moving together, we hold each other’s gaze. The world around us fades away. Gone are yesterday’s struggles, today’s fears, and tomorrow’s uncertainties. Right now, we’re two halves together in a way I hope we always will be.
CONOR
Monroe doesn’t want me to leave her. Resting her cheek against my chest while we sit on the spare unit’s couch, she looks worried. Despite her big brown eyes begging me to stay, she promises she’s fine.
“I’ll stay with Needy and Amity until you’re done,” she says and waves her phone before shoving it inside her pocket. “We’ll watch the security footage to make sure my cousins don’t leave their fancy jail cell.”
Standing up, I try to find a way to explain how I have to shut myself off right now. “I need to prepare to speak with Bronco and Lowell.”
Of course, Monroe understands. She might get annoyed when I come off cold, but she also wants me to succeed. Clinging to her and sharing my worries with my uncle and her father will never fly.
Monroe takes my hand and walks with me to the lobby, where we find Lowell and Bronco outside the front doors. My uncle looks relatively calm while his VP is all clenched muscles and hateful scowls. When Lowell spots us inside, he throws open the door and glares at Monroe.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
I expect Monroe to explain our plans or defend herself or maybe even tease him for his pissed papa behavior. Instead, she realizes what her father needs most and hugs him.
“She’ll wait upstairs with Needy and Amity,” I say while Lowell holds Monroe snugly against him and works through his rage at what happened earlier.
Bronco gets how his friend feels. He also knows we need to figure out the Clive issue. Leaving Lowell to smother Monroe, my uncle heads to the rec room. I force myself to follow him.
“Why ping pong?” Bronco asks as he looks over the room.
“No clue,” I mutter, glancing out the door to where Lowell refuses to release a surprisingly passive Monroe. “The bunnies really love it, though. If we weren’t locked down right now, girls would be playing in here.”
I can tell from Bronco’s expression how he’s considering buying a ping-pong table for his daughters. His mind is always on them, even when he’s discussing whether to end lives.
When I glance out of the room again, Lowell and Monroe are gone. I frown at the thought of him forcing her to leave. No way would Monroe have gone quietly. More likely, he’s handing her off to Needy.
“I remember when you were Carina’s age,” Bronco says, studying something out of the window. “Wheels always had you on his shoulders, wanting you to see the world from up high. I used to worry you’d fall. Wheels claimed the world was scarier on the ground, and he wanted his boy to feel above all that shit.”
I don’t know how to respond. Is Bronco poking at me, looking for weaknesses? All my fucking life, I’ve worried about seeming soft. Nothing was worse in my parents’ eyes. I could be stupid or even evil. Just never weak.
“I never thought Wheels would be a good husband or father. I told Barbie to find someone else,” Bronco says and chuckles. “I told her that, just like she said the same to me with Lana. Neither of us really understood life. But when you find that one person you need, you’ll chase them even if they’re not good for you. And Wheels wasn’t good for Barbie. But she loved him, and he loved her. Neither of them was the best parent, but you turned out good, Conor.”
Trying not to sound defensive, I ask, “Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know,” he says, and I believe him. “Seeing Lowell get so frustrated about protecting Monroe made me realize I wasn’t worried at all. She has you. That’s why I’m not stressed about those two fucks in the apartment or Monroe’s uncle. I figure you have a plan. I probably spent too long thinking of you as a kid or another Wheels. I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m letting you lead this shit with the North Dakota assholes.”