Chapter Nine
His house was the one place Conor didn’t want Claire, and yet, there she was. At least he didn’t have to hear it from Teagan. She was already sleeping hard, and he knew there wasn’t much of anything that would wake her up.
“Do you think they gave up?” She peeked out the window.
Conor gritted his teeth. “Something like that.”
More than likely that bastard Boris was sending him a message. Well, he had a message of his own. Conor just needed a few minutes alone with him.
“Maybe you should call Finn,” he said after a few moments had passed.
Claire nodded and pulled out her phone.
“I’m safe,” she said into the phone. She glanced up to him. “He’s here.”
Claire pulled the phone from her ear and held it out to him. “He’d like to talk to you.”
Conor took the phone and swallowed. It was the first time he’d had any contact with Finn since joining Ennis.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks,” Finn said. His relieved voice said more about what he thought might happen. “I couldn’t have made it.”
“So, I guess this means you know where I live now?” Conor asked and glanced over to Claire.
“Yes,” Finn said. “I’m not your enemy unless you make me one.”
Conor chewed over what his old boss meant.
“And don’t make Claire cry,” Finn said as almost an afterthought. “I might not be your enemy, but I have no problem breaking your nose.”
Conor glanced over at Claire. She seemed so small and frail. The thought that he’d made her cry cut him in a way he didn’t expect.
“Got it,” he said and handed over the phone.
“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said quietly. “Thanks again.”
Claire switched off her phone and placed it back in her pocket.
“So, you can stay here tonight,” he said. “I don’t know if they followed you, but I’m pretty sure that if they did, they know where you live.”
She shivered in the chair she was sitting on.
“I’ll stay.” She looked over to him. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
He shook his head and felt like more an ass than he already did.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked.
Claire shook her head. Her black hair fell softly around her face, and he was reminded of how she looked as he worked into her.
“I just want to go to sleep.” She sighed. “It’s been a very long day.”
Conor nodded and walked to the hall. Worn out, Claire followed behind him.
His room surprised her. In her mind, she always pictured Conor as a messy guy, but his room was in perfect order. He even made his bed and picked up his clothes.
He walked over to the dresser.
“It’s going to be big, but it’s better than sleeping in your clothes.” Conor held out a shirt for her.
“Thanks,” she said and made her way to his bathroom.
Once inside she locked the door and sighed. This was so not how she pictured this day going. There were too many things to even start processing. The best thing she could do was get changed and go to sleep.
Claire slipped on the shirt and opted to go without a bra. She didn’t want it to seem like she was desperate, but there was a part of her that hoped she was so tempting he wouldn’t be able to resist.
She finger-brushed her teeth and things seemed to be a little better. At least she wouldn’t have to go to bed with bad breath.
When she returned to the bedroom, she was surprised to find Conor putting some blankets on the floor. For the first time, she realized that he was only wearing his boxer briefs. He must have been getting ready for bed when she called.
“I’ll take the floor. You can have the bed,” he said.
She sighed. “Sleep in the bed with me, Conor.”
He froze.
“It would just be sleeping, and after tonight, I could use a warm body next to me.” She stepped forward. “Please.”
Conor groaned and swiped his pillow from the floor and tossed it onto the bed.
Claire snuggled under the covers, while he flicked the lights off. As much as it should have felt wrong, being there with him was the most right thing she’d had all day. She rolled to her side and tried to find the sleep to end the day. When his side of the bed dipped, she felt the worry from earlier slip away.
The longer she lay there, the more her heart ached for what this night should have been like. She tossed back and forth and sighed. This wasn’t right.
“Just come here,” Conor said. “Or neither of us will get any sleep.”
Claire moved across the wide bed to where he was. She gasped when his arm shot out and pulled her tight against him.
“There,” he said. “Now get some sleep.”
Wedged into his arm, Claire moved her head closer to his chest. She could hear every breath he took and his steady heartbeat. In silence, she listened to his sounds.
“Conor,” she whispered.
“What?” he murmured.
“I feel safe with you,” she said. He stirred slightly, and she only hoped that it had the effect she wanted.
“I’m glad,” he said after a moment. His words were tight, but he pulled her closer to his body.
She closed her eyes and within moments was out.
* * *
Claire woke to the warmth of the morning sun on her face. She opened her eyes, hoping to see a sleeping Conor but found he had already gotten up. The TV was on full volume in the living room. Still slightly groggy from the night before, Claire made her way to the bathroom. Maybe a splash of cold water would do her some good.
She came out feeling far more refreshed than earlier. All she needed was her toothbrush, and things would be perfect.
Peeking out into the hall, she debated putting on her clothes from yesterday but stopped at the mention of a name she was all too familiar with: Harriet Slone.
She opened the door and followed the news.
Claire stopped just inside the door.
“Harriet Slone, ex-council woman, was found dead early this morning,” the TV blared.
“What?” she stepped in quickly and sat on the couch. “How did this even happen?”
The news went on to explain that Harriet hadn’t been getting out much lately. An acquaintance suggested that after the recent trial date, it almost didn’t seem worth it to her.
The previous day the neighbors called the police after enduring hours of loud music. When the police arrived, they found the door ajar and her body sprawled out on the floor. Though the authorities had yet to release all details, they said it was almost certain she had committed suicide.
“That’s not what she would have done,” Claire whispered. Of all things, Harriet valued her life. Self-preservation meant everything to her. She'd throw an orphan in front of a bus if it meant saving her own skin.
“She didn’t,” Conor said from beside her. “They are reporting what they want because it’s easier.”
She snorted. “I suppose this has something to do with your lot?”
Conor turned, a surprised look on his face.
“You don’t think it would benefit Finn at all?” he tossed at her.
She looked at the pictures on the screen of Harriet.
“Maybe, but he didn’t,” she said.
Conor raised a brow. “And you’re sure on that?”
She looked him dead in the eye. “Yes,” she said. “Tell me you have that sort of conviction with Ennis.”
He closed his mouth. She smiled.
“Well,” she said, turning to him. “I had better get dressed. I have a feeling that there’s going to be an increase in interviews today.”
She stood and started to walk into the bedroom when Conor stopped her.
“Are you going to your house?” he asked.
She nodded. “Have to at some point.”
He shuffled his feet a bit, and she wondered if he was nervous. “Have one of Finn’s men meet you there, just in case.”
She debated even telling him. If he was a true spy for Ennis, this would be crucial information. Claire sighed. She refused to believe a man she felt such a connection to would truly commit himself to a man like Ennis.
“Finn doesn’t have men to spare for that,” she said carefully.
Conor put his hand on the door. “Where are all his men?”
She looked up to him and was surprised to find anger there.
“More left than he’s letting on,” she said. “If you were to start a war, Finn would be in a bad way.”
Conor stepped forward, pinning her to the wall. She had expected him to be upset, but this was more.
“Why are you telling me this?” He leaned down. His hot breath stirred the hair at her neck.
“Because you are a good man,” she whispered. “I know you are.”
Fired burned in his eyes, and for one moment, she wished that all the outside crap would just go away.
Conor shook his head and stepped back.
“I’m not the man you think I am,” he said.
Claire stared for a moment and then turned to the room.
“You aren’t the man you think you are either,” she said and shut the door.
Conor stood, slightly stunned. Information like this could put him in a whole new position with Ennis. That was just the problem. He’d only be improving himself in Ennis’s eyes. He really wasn’t sure that was something to pat himself on the back over. The more Ennis worked with Boris, the less he liked the terms of their contract.
This business with Harriet had to be Boris. After the shit he pulled the previous night, it would make sense. He was glad she hadn’t been in the room to hear it, but only a few blocks separated his house from Harriet's.
One thing was sure, Boris was getting more bold, and their days of safety were coming to an end.
“Conor?” Teagan squinted as she made her way out of her bedroom. “Why is the TV so loud?”
He froze. This was not going to be pretty, and he was sure to be the one to pay.
“There was a death last night,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Someone who will have an effect on Claire’s bid for council.”
Teagan wrinkled her nose. “Are you still working with her?”
“He is,” Claire said from the door and smiled. “As long as he wants the job.”
He watched in horror as Teagan turned to glare at Claire.
“What’s she doing here?” she said to Conor.
“Hi, Teagan,” Claire said, ignoring the jab. “How have you been?”
“Great, no thanks to you.” She glared at Claire.
Claire turned to Conor, pain filled her pale green eyes. “I think I need to go,” she said and hurried out the door.
Conor turned to Teagan, his jaw clenched.
“You had no right to talk to her that way,” he shouted. “You don’t have the first clue what she offered.”
Conor breathed in hard as he stared at his open-mouthed sister. “Claire didn’t break things off. I did. For you.”
He raced out the door and stopped at the top of the steps as Claire pulled away. Conor took a deep breath and stomped back inside.
Teagan was sitting on the couch, waiting for him.
“What do you mean for me?” she asked, her eyes wide.
He sighed. All this time he spent hiding it, only to snap and have it all revealed.
“Mom was finished,” he said and sat down next to her. “I’d tried to convince her that things would get better if you had better doctors, but she didn’t want to spend any more. She gave an ultimatum. We had to leave it to God's hands as far as you were concerned and live our lives like we had, or she was going back to Ireland.”
“But you said she needed to be near family,” Teagan said.
Conor nodded. “She did, and she needed to get way the hell away from us.” He took her hand and held it in his own. “That was never the wrong choice I made. It was hard, but you were so sick, and I was always going to be there for you.”
“But Claire?” Teagan asked softly.
He shook his head. “The bills were a mountain. I had just started to earn more money with Finn, and yet, it still wasn’t enough. Claire wanted to help.” He scrubbed his face with his hand. “After what happened with Mom, I couldn’t be dependent like that on someone else.”
“So, you ended it with her,” she finished.
“I didn’t have much a choice,” he said. “All my spare time was spent working. There wasn’t time for a girlfriend, and that wasn’t fair to her.”
“Oh, Conor,” Teagan wept. “All this time I’ve hated her, when I should have been kicking your butt for not staying with her.”
She turned to him, tears streaming down her face.
“The greatest acts of love are the ones where another person's needs are at the forefront. Claire loved you enough to help ease the burden of things. Instead, you let your pride get in the way.” She stared at him for a few moments before talking. “My recent treatments, how am I getting them?”
He debated telling her the truth. If she knew this, all his cards would be on the table.
“Ennis offered better doctors if I left Finn’s crew and went with him,” he said finally.
Teagan quietly took it in and then nodded. “And you miss Finn.”
He shook his head. “There’s not a lot I wouldn’t have done to make life better for you. And in the end, it was a good gamble.”
She gave a weak smile. “And I would trade it all to see my brother happy.”
Conor smiled back. She was right. It was a sign of love.
“So, we make a new path,” he said. “One where we talk about things.”
Teagan nodded. “I like that path.”
Conor stood. This new path was going to start with making sure the women he loved were safe above all else.
* * *
Conor nodded to Braden as he made his way to the office on the yacht. Ennis conducted most of his business there, and if he was lucky, he could catch Boris in there as well. Two birds with one stone.
He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Ennis called.
No sign of Boris, but he’d had a busy night chasing people and killing others. He was probably still sleeping it off.
“Conor,” Ennis said with a smile. “So glad to see you after such a rough dinner.”
“Sometimes siblings fight,” he said and eyed him as he took a seat.
Ennis raised a brow. “Indeed they do,” he said.
This time he was ready to play the game. There was a fine line with how much he could say, and Conor just needed to skirt that line, enough to throw Ennis off his game.
“Harriet Slone is dead,” Conor said. His best option here was to just be blunt.
“I heard.” Ennis smiled. “I always love it when loose ends get tied up.”
“And is Claire a loose end?”
Ennis frowned. “Only if she makes herself one.”
“Well, you might want to mention that to your Russian friend,” Conor said. “It was nearly two people on the news, two people closely related to you. I don’t think the media would have trouble connecting the dots.”
Ennis’s frown deepened. “We need her still.” He sat upright. “I’ll talk to Boris.”
Conor nodded. He hadn’t expect it would go as smoothly as it did, but maybe Ennis wasn’t all bad. He just had to hope that was the case.
As he left the office, he pulled out his phone. “Teagan, I’m going to need some help. Have any idea what a person wears to a charity gala?”