Dylan (15 page)

I shrug, but Ethan answers for me.

“He’s hung up on Trisha’s cousin.”

“Dylan is hung up on a chick?” Sean flops
down in a wooden chair and stares at me like I’ve grown two
heads.

“I didn’t believe it myself at first, but
you should see the goofy ass grin on his face when they’re
texting.” Troy answers as he sits down too. “It’s adorable.”

“Like you have room to talk. You’re the most
pussy whipped of all of us.” Ethan sits down too, and I remain
silent watching as they gradually shift the conversation away from
me.

Troy shrugs. “Yeah, I am, and I love every
second of the pussy I whip up every night.”

Sean shoves Troy. “Dude, seriously? Fuck,
that’s my sister you know. Goddamn.”

Troy leans back in his chair. “You started
it.”

Which brings us back around full circle, and
now they are all staring at me. I sit down, and rest my arms on my
knees. “I like her, okay. No big deal. She’s fucking gorgeous. I’d
be stupid not to notice.”

Ethan nods his agreement, but since Sean and
Troy have yet to meet her, they just stare some more until
eventually Sean speaks again.

“I found Callie.” They’re the words we’ve
been waiting to hear, but the apprehensive look on his face causes
dread to settle low in my gut. “She’s under the protection of Roy
Elliot.”

Troy curses under his breath, and the dread
inside of me grows. Roy Elliot is one of Ronan’s closest friends
outside of Fianna Fáil. He’s a couple years older than Ronan, and
has made the majority of his living controlling the gambling
market. Hookers and gambling kind of go hand-in-hand, and we have
collaborated with Roy on occasions that have called for it.

“Did you tell Ronan?” Troy is the first to
break the silence.

Sean shakes his head no. I wonder how hard
it must be for him to keep this from his father.

“Why is Roy protecting her? I have no doubts
Ronan told him what happened.” The nerves are clear in my voice,
but thankfully, no one comments on them.

“Why do you think? Roy is fucking her dirty
out here. I can only imagine the shit she is filling his head with.
Manipulation seems to be her specialty.”

“So we need to find a way to lure her away
long enough to get this job done.” Sean has already started shaking
his head as Ethan speaks.

“Roy would know we had something to do with
it.” Sean says as he rubs a hand over his bearded jaw.

“We have to tell Ronan, and Ardon.” Troy
looks solemn. I know this is news he doesn’t want to break to his
father-in-law.

Sean nods. “We do, but first I’ve set up a
meeting with Roy.”

“Fuck.” Troy mumbles.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I stare
at him incredulously.

“Why didn’t you warn us before we got here?”
Ethan asks in an annoyed manner.

“Would all of you shut up?” Sean narrows his
gaze as he looks at all of us individually. “He doesn’t know that
I’ve been around. I’ve been extremely careful about keeping a low
profile.” He pauses to light a cigarette before he continues. “I
called. Told him that Ronan sent us to see if he has heard anything
about where she might be. He doesn’t know that I already know, and
as long as you fuckers don’t screw this up, he won’t.”

“When is the meet?” Troy is the first to
speak up.

“Tomorrow. That’s why I had to get you here
so fast.” He looks at Troy with an almost pained sadness on his
face. “I’m sorry, man. I tried to get Pop’s to let these two handle
it, but he insisted that you tag along.”

Troy nods and clasps Sean’s shoulder. “It’ll
be fine. We just have to get back home ASA-Fucking-P, alright?”

Sean nods. “You have my word. I’d like to be
there to meet my niece or nephew too.”

“What time is the meet, and how do you see
this playing out?” I put a joint between my lips and light it.

“We are meeting at three tomorrow afternoon.
I told him he was meeting with me and Ethan.” He runs a hand over
his beard as he looks between Troy and me. “I honestly feel like
this will be some kind of trap. I want to treat it as such. You two
are going to set up outside the perimeter. If you see anyone
approach the meeting place, you take them out, silently.”

We nod. We’ve done this so many times that
we’ve perfected it. Troy and I are masters of silence and death. I
puff on my joint before I silently hand it over to Troy. This is
also out of habit. Troy waves a hand at it, so I place it back
between my lips.

“So, what’s the plan if it isn’t a trap?”
Ethan shifts in his seat so he is facing all of us at once.

“If it’s not, then we get whatever
information we can, and if we don’t like the answers we kill
him.”

“Ronan will be pissed.” Troy frowns at Sean
who just shrugs this statement off as if Ronan’s reaction doesn’t
matter.

“I will deal with my father.”

“So, what do we do until tomorrow?” I grin
as I look around the room to each of them directly.

Slowly everyone but Sean grin’s back, and
it’s Troy who finally answers.

“We fucking party.”

Chapter Seventeen

Raven

What the
hell?
I squeeze my eyes tightly shut, but the noise doesn’t
stop. Slowly, I peek one eye open to read the digital display on my
alarm clock. It’s three fifteen in the morning, and my phone is
ringing.
What the hell?

I clumsily reach over to my nightstand to
grab it, and even though it’s a ridiculous time of night I can feel
myself grin at the name lighting up my screen. Then I feel really
shitty when I realize that I forgot to text him back earlier. I
answer with a breathless hello
.

“Angel?” His deep voice is slurred, and his
words are full of too much humor for a conversation that is just
starting. There is music blasting somewhere in the background, and
I can hear him moving until a door closes and muffles some of the
noise.

“Are you drunk, Dylan?” I hate that I’m kind
of angry about this, but
fuck,
I’m kind of angry about
this.

“Maybe . . .” His voice trails off for a
minute. I release an annoyed sound of exasperation.

“Well, you have fun with that. I’m going
back to bed now.”

“Don’t hang up, Raven. Please.” The
desperation in his drunken voice stops me from doing just that.

“You need to sleep off whatever is in your
system. I will talk to you when you get back.”

“Why are you so mad? Is this about all of
the heavy talk earlier?”

“What heavy talk?” I ask, genuinely confused
now.

He sounds a little more in control when he
responds. “You know, all of the talk about how much I like
you.”

I grin. “Why would I be mad about that,
Dylan? I just don’t want to talk to you when you’re under the
influence. I’ve told you. I have issues.”

He chuckles softly. “We all have issues, and
we all handle them differently, but I’m sorry. I’ll let you go back
to bed.”

Panic stills my heart and makes me speak
without thought. “Please, don’t hang up.” I’m the one begging
now.

“Okay.” He sounds just as confused as I
feel.

“At least tell me why you called first.” I
amend, but really I just want to close my eyes and listen to his
silky voice as I fall back to sleep.

“I was just thinking about you.” His words
come out more timid then I’ve ever heard him before.

“I was dreaming about you.” I don’t know why
I told him that.

It’s true. The groan that leaves him is the
sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. It was a dream that I’ve only had
about him, a dream that makes me uncomfortable, but one that I’ve
learned to accept.

Maybe I am fucked up, and maybe I have
serious psychological issues I need to work on, but while I’m
learning to accept everything else in my life, I might as well
accept the fact that I am ridiculously attracted to this man.

“Tell me about it.” His quiet command is
spoken with authority. I can feel my skin heat at just the thought
of sharing my dream with him.

“I think that conversation is best saved for
another time.”

“You’re killing me, Angel.” He grinds the
words out in a sexy whisper.

“Why do you call me that?”

“What, Angel?”

“Yeah.”

“The night I first met you,” He pauses as if
he is unsure about whether or not he wants to continue, but
eventually he does. “You reminded me of an angel, and since I’ve
gotten to know you a little bit, that impression hasn’t
changed.”

“I’m not an angel. Angels are innocent.” I
don’t know why I said that. I’m not ready to delve into my twisted
past, yet.

“Not all angels are innocent. Some are just
as broken as we are, but their faith is strong, and I may not know
everything about you, yet, but I know you’re strong.”

“How do you know?” I try not to let my voice
shake with the emotion he has stirred in me with just a few
words.

“It’s written all over that gorgeous face of
yours. It’s in every instance you tell me no when we both know
you’re fighting a losing battle.” He chuckles softly again, and my
heart soars. “You may not know it yet, and at the risk of you
politely telling me to fuck off I’ll say it anyway. I know you feel
this attraction between us, and when you’re done fighting it,
you’ll realize that I am already completely wrapped up in you.”

I try to pretend his words haven’t affected
me the way they have, but I’m terrified that he’s right. The urge
to push him away assaults me, and before I can stop myself, I say
something that I instantly regret. “You don’t know me very well,
Dylan. I’m not the kind of girl you should get wrapped up in.
Besides, I’ve seen the bimbos who fall at your feet first-hand,
remember? I’m nothing like them.”

He doesn’t get angry or hang up like I
thought he would. It’s almost like he knows exactly what I am
trying to do. “It’s a good thing you don’t get to decide who I get
wrapped up in then, huh? Because the fact that you aren’t like them
is what makes you so fucking special.”

I sigh, because he’s right. Plus, he called
me special, and a part of me really wants to believe he could be
wrapped up in me. The fear of his disgust when he finds out about
Harper is very real for me though. I don’t want to see that look on
his handsome face, but I know that it’s unfair for me to decide how
he’ll react before giving him a fair chance.

“Where are you?” I ask quietly, hoping that
I didn’t make him angry enough to hang up on me.

“I can’t tell you that.”

This gets my attention, and makes me pause.
“Why?”

It’s his turn to sigh now. “There are just
parts of my life I can’t let you into, yet, and I hope like hell
you understand that, because I am not ready to give up on whatever
this could be.”

My chest constricts with all the
possibilities, but I do understand. After all, my secrets are not
something I’m ready to share either. “I understand.”

“Thank fuck.” A relived rush of air passes
over the line. “When I get back, I have some people I want you to
meet. Are you up for that?”

“Really? Um . . . Yeah, okay I guess.”

He laughs. “I’m sorry I called you so late.
I just wanted to talk.”

“Is there something wrong, Dylan?”

“Say my name again.”

I laugh. “What?”

“Please, Raven. Just say it again.”

“Dylan.”

“God, if you knew what my name on your lips
does to me.” His voice has dropped an octave, and it causes me to
squirm a little in bed.

“What does it do to you?”
Fuck, Raven!
Why are you asking him this?

“It makes me so fucking hard, and before you
say it, I know you’re still not having sex with me.”

I laugh to cover the heat of his words as
they spread fire through every limb of my body. “Dylan, can I ask
you something?”

“Anything.”

“Do you dream about me?”
Shut up, Raven!
Do you really want to know this? Unsafe territory!

“All the fucking time.” The words are half
moan and half pained, and the effect they have on me is
indescribable.

“Okay.”

“God, Raven. You’re going to ruin me in the
best fucking way possible.”

“Goodnight, Dylan.”

“One more time, angel, say it one more
time.”

“Dylan.” I whisper on a soft exhale.
What
is happening right now?

“Night, Angel.”

Then he’s gone, and I’m left staring at my
phone until the screen goes dark. My whole body is lit with a
feeling I’ve never experienced before. My limbs feel heavy, and
there is moisture building between my thighs. I reach under the
covers and gently rub my fingers over my damp panties. A sensation
I’ve never experienced before tears through me, and I jerk my hand
away.
What the fuck is wrong with me?

Shaking and knowing I won’t be going back to
sleep anytime soon, I climb out of bed and wrap up in the new
fluffy white robe I bought today. I tie the sash, quietly leave my
room, and walk down the hall to Harper’s room. I crack her door
open to see she is still cuddled up sound asleep. I close her door
and back track to Trisha’s room.

I’m not surprised to find her awake still. I
know she has been avoiding Ethan all day. I know by the tears in
her eyes that it’s really getting to her. She’s worried.

As soon as she sees me she sobs harder. I
walk over to wrap her in my arms. I run my hands in soothing
circles over her back. When she finally calms, she pulls back, and
the sadness on her face is almost too much.
Why does she do this
to herself?

She looks so small in a t-shirt that must be
Ethan’s. It’s so big that it is hanging off of one shoulder, and
her small frame is completely hidden in the gray material. Haunted
blue eyes are rimmed red from her tears. Other than right after she
found out about Steven, I don’t think I have ever seen her this
upset.