I rushed to get ready after my shower by applying minimal makeup and braiding my wet hair to the side. I slipped on an emerald jersey knit dress that ended at mid-thigh and black flats. Excitement bubbled within me as I strolled out of my bedroom. I was tempted to yell “Freedom!’” like Mel Gibson did in Braveheart.
I was feeling a lot better. Still a bit sore and I’d become a little winded by the time I made it to the stairs. The lack of exercise for the past month could explain that. Pushing on, I made sure to be careful going down the stairs.
“You should be resting, beautiful.”
Busted.
I froze in my descent six steps from the bottom. Standing in the foyer with one hand in his pocket, staring up at me, was the man who I hadn’t seen since I’d woken up in the hospital. I locked eyes with his beautiful sapphire blues and felt a little guilty at how my heart picked up speed.
Louie.
I couldn’t stop my gaze from gliding all over him. He was in a dark blue suit with black pinstripes and a black dress shirt and shoes. Like always, he wasn’t wearing a tie and his collar was left unbuttoned. He looked good. Really good. That thought tightened something in my chest and my hand squeezed the banister.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I blurted.
He looked away. “I know.”
He knew? I took a step down, drawing his attention back to me. “Louie, I—”
The front door opened, interrupting what I was going to say, and in walked Dean and Asher with Finnegan trailing behind them. Dean and Asher noticed Louie first before their eyes landed on me. Both instantly turned annoyed.
“You owe me fifty bucks,” Dean said to Asher. Louie took that as his moment to escape me and slipped out of the foyer.
“You should be resting,” Asher said in a low chastising tone.
I ignored him and finished my way down the stairs. “Finnegan, how are you?” I greeted, stepping in front of him. He wasn’t pleased to be here in the slightest and obviously didn’t give a shit that he showed it either. We must have caught him at a bad time if his outfit was anything to go by. He was wearing black basketball shorts, a white T-shirt, tennis shoes, and a baseball cap on backward. He looked like he had just left the gym or was on his way to it. By the lack of smell, I assumed the latter was the case.
“Finn,” he corrected, eyeing me up and down with a scowl.
“Finn,” I repeated. Suppressing my urge to smile, the corner of my mouth twitched. I couldn’t care less that he didn’t like me. At least he wasn’t regarding me with utter loathing like he'd done with Samuel and Dylan at the execution. “Where’s your friend Gavin?”
“Wouldn’t call him a friend,” he said.
Dean leaned closer to me. “We checked his home and tried calling his cell. No answer.”
Finn folded his arms over his chest. “You can’t really blame him for being reluctant in coming here. You did kill his buddies in front of him.”
“Actually, I can,” I shot back, voice cold as ice. I’d have to deal with Gavin later. Glancing at Dean, my frustration lessened. “Family meeting is about to start. Let’s not be late.” Spinning on my heel, I walked out of the foyer.
Goons were already standing guard in the hall outside the chamber and they all glanced in my direction as I approached. With bigger strides than mine, Dean easily passed me to pull open the heavy, steel-reinforced door. “Were you wanting Finn to join the meeting?” he asked before I could step inside the chamber.
I looked over my shoulder at Finn, who was staring at the chamber doors with a somewhat awed expression until his eyes shifted to me and he recovered to his normal frown. I wasn’t sure how the others would take to him attending the meeting. There’s only one way to find out, I mused, and nodded.
The voices in the chamber quieted as I stepped inside and heads turned in my direction. Stefan and Jamie’s shoulders slumped as if exasperated when they saw me. Conor and Rourke were a little surprised but otherwise happy to see me. Louie was the only one who didn’t seem fazed about whether I was there or not, as his expression was schooled.
“You know it’s rude to stare, right? The polite thing to do is stand when a woman enters the room,” I chided teasingly as I made my way across the room. Dean ushered Finn behind me quietly.
Rourke snorted. “I think you hit your head a little too hard in the accident, cuz.”
I flipped him off as I approached him. He stood and we hugged. We hadn’t seen each other since the hospital.
“How are you?” I asked him.
“Alive.” He smiled down at me. “What about you? Stefan and Jameson look ready to lose it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine,” I assured him as I took a seat in my chair. I met Stefan’s displeased eyes across the table. “I’m a grown woman. I know my body and all I’m doing is sitting in a damn chair. If that doesn’t satisfy you, chastise me later.”
“I could make you return to your room,” he said with eerie calmness.
Tension silenced everyone else in the room as they looked from Stefan to me.
“You could try.” A mean smile stretched my lips. “Might cause more damage than it’s worth, though.”
Stefan sat straighter and his expression turned cold. “You’re too damn stubborn for your own good.”
I huffed. “I wonder who I get that particular trait from, Daddy.”
His anger seemed to instantly vanish and was replaced with shock before he quickly masked it. I gave him a questioning look at the sudden change in mood. When I got nothing from him, I glanced around the room. Everyone was staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
Conor cleared his throat. He was the only one sitting on the left side of the table, with empty seats flanking him. It was expected that Samuel’s chair would be vacant, but where was Dylan? “I haven’t heard her call you that since she was a wee one,” Conor said to Stefan.
Oh.
Stefan had an unwaveringly blank expression, trying his best not to make my little slip a big deal. I almost laughed, wondering if this was how it was for Dean when he did something nice and I tried to be nonchalant about it. “Can we get this meeting started? Where’s Dylan?”
“He betrayed the family,” Stefan answered.
I bit my tongue in vexation. Yes, Dylan had made a mistake. A mistake orchestrated by Samuel’s manipulation. Dylan had proved his loyalty and paid the price of watching his father’s execution. If we kept punishing and alienating him…
Something in my expression must have slipped because Stefan arched a brow. “You disagree.” It was a challenge. He and I were on a roll today.
“You’re the Ri.” It was one thing to butt heads with him regarding me but another to question his rule when it came to the family.
His eyes shifted behind me to where Dean and Finn stood. “Why is he here?”
I didn’t question as to who he was. “Who do you think is going to help me fix the mess Samuel left behind? I can’t run drugs by myself and we have a shipment coming in soon. Might as well catch us both up to speed because I don’t want to track his ass down later.”
Stefan continued to eye Finn. “You’re Kiran O’Reilly’s nephew.”