Page 24 of Shadow Of Sin
“Look, I just need one more week—”
“You said that last time. And you went beyond my deadline.”
“The situation changed. I’m closer than I was before.”
Ronan looks at Lochlan. Lochlan looks at me. Gavin stops bouncing his leg, which means even he feels the tension. Jesus, it’s choking me. Cillian stays quiet by the door, not usual for him.
“One week,” Ronan says. “After that I bring in outside help and we handle it my way.”
I know what his way looks like. It’s fast and ugly and usually ends with someone maimed…or worse.
“Understood.”
Lochlan gives an update on a security contract for a client under our family’s protection. Then Gavin gives a report on something about a warehouse on the south side that I only half-listen to because most of my brain is still processing the huge bullshit story I just fed to my brothers.
Ronan wraps the meeting up in under an hour and I jump out of my seat, ready to bolt out the door.
On my way out the door, Gavin catches up to me in the hallway. “Hey. You good?”
“Fine. What happened to your face?”
He grins. “You should see the other guy.”
“You say that every time.”
“Because it’s true every time.” He slugs me on the arm. “Seriously though. You seem off. Like, more than usual.”
“I’m not off. I’m just…focused.”
Gavin cocks his head to the side. “That’s kinda the same thing with you. But if you’re not giving me anything, I’m gonna go and make a sandwich.”
“Don’t have anything to give. Enjoy your sandwich,” I say.
He shrugs and heads back toward the kitchen.
He’s more observant than people give him credit for. That’s Gavin’s secret weapon, and sometimes I think I’m the only one who gets it. Everyone assumes he’s the reckless one, the kid brother who runs on impulse. Which he is. But they also miss the fact that he’s watching. Always watching.
I head out back to the basketball court. Cillian’s already got the ball, shooting free throws.
“It’s about fucking time you returned to the land of the living,” he says, tossing me the ball. “No texts. No calls. You didn’t swing by Venom. You didn’t answer any of the times I reached out. What the hell, man?”
“I was working. Remember? I had a job to do.”
“Eh, you’re always working. You still answer your phone.”
He takes off after me. I edge past him, jump, and sink a three-pointer. “What do you want me to say?”
“The truth would be fun. We could try that for a change.”
“I told you. I’m handling something. You heard it yourself from the king’s lips.”
“King.” He snorts and rolls his eyes. He drives right, running down the court. I cut him off because he always starts right. Then he spins, dips left, and I’m there waiting because his left spin always pulls up short. He takes the shot anyway.
And misses.
“You’re still going left,” I say, grabbing the rebound. “Are you ever gonna learn?”
“And you’re still dodging the question. Are you ever gonna answer it?” He stops and sweeps a hand through his hair. “Ronan’s not buying whatever you sold him in there. You know that, right?”
