Page 31 of My Addiction
“I do. I copied everything I could. There are copies of signed contracts and proof of payments made.”
“Good. Kieran, love, would you and Duncan look over the contracts? Declan, you’re on the financial report. Ronan, see if you can get into the accounts for him.”
I pick up Colton’s messenger bag to hand it to him, but he shakes his head. “It’s in the diaper bag. I figured that if anyone found me, they would just take my bag, not Ollie’s.”
“That’s smart,” I say as I hand him the dinosaur bag. He digs around and takes out a small plastic case. Removing the outer case, he holds up a pacifier. He takes it apart and hands me the flash drive that was hidden inside. “Very smart.”
“Conor, you and Liam cover anything necessary in the office. Between the two of you, everything should be covered.” Mom stands and runs her hand over Colton’s hair. “I know it’s useless for me to tell you not to worry. But I promise you no one is getting their hands on that dear sweet baby. The burden is no longer yours to carry alone.”
Colton looks up at my mom with wide eyes. When she touches his hair, he leans into it. I wonder if his mother ever showed him affection. The story he told was that both parents were distant and cold. Mom is just the opposite of that. Even raising four boys, five if you count Declan, who were not able to give affection back to her, she never stopped. She adapted to us.
I turn my attention back to my computer and think about what I need to do. I reach for Colton’s bag and take out the company laptop. After a few minutes, I have it configured on our private servers. Colton will help bring these fuckers down, and I will make sure no one hurts him in the process.
Mom finishes making sure everyone knows their assignments and gives Colton another hug. They all leave the office.
“Colton, I want you to go through the information that you already have. Add anything and everything to it. I want the names and any information you can provide on each.” I tell him.
Colton pushes back from the desk and walks around to my side. Before I can figure out what he’s doing, he leans down and presses a quick kiss to my cheek. The spot burns the second he pulls away. I stare at him, trying to figure out what it means, why he did it.
“Thank you,” he says softly. “Everything just happened so fast. Your mom is a little intimidating, to say the least. I’m not sure where I fit in here.”
I don’t even have to think about the answer.
“You fit right here with me.”
The words come easily because they’re true.
“We’re going to stop them,” I tell him. “And you’re going to play a major role in that.”
I start working on getting the information out to the others. Financials are both the easiest and hardest to ferret out. Money always leaves a trail, but it takes time to follow it. I send everything to Declan as I get it. I’m halfway into hacking yet another offshore account when Colton steps behind me.
“Fuck, Ronan, are you hacking into a bank?”
“I am. How else would we get the information?” I thought he already knew what we were doing. “You heard Mom say that Declan was going through the money.”
“Yeah, but I thought she meant just what I had gathered. You’re committing a felony doing that.” He points to my screen, eyes wide. “What if you get caught? Shit, this is all my fault.”
He drags a hand through his hair and tugs hard enough on the strands that I can see the panic building inside him again. I swivel my chair toward him.
“You need to trust us,” I tell him. “We know what we’re doing. You’re safe.”
Before he can argue, I grab his hips and pull him down onto my lap. His whole body tenses for a second, but he doesn’t try to get up. I wrap my arms around him and press a kiss to the top of his head.
Colton leans back enough to look at me. “I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me. I shouldn’t have gotten all of you involved.”
We’ve had this conversation too many times already. He still doesn’t understand. I slide one hand up his neck, curling it lightly around his throat just enough to guide his face closer to mine.
“I became involved the second you walked into my life,” I say quietly.
His breathing catches.
“Do you know why?”
He shakes his head once.
I study his face carefully before I go any further, looking for any sign that he wants me to stop, but there’s no fear there. Just that same soft, uncertain look he always gets when he doesn’t understand how much he matters to me.
“Because you are mine, Colton.”
