Page 43 of Ruthless

I let the crap that has been weighing me down wash away. With each spray of the hot water, I feel the tension leave my body. The longer I’m under, the more it fades away until it becomes a distant memory. That is until I feel a warm, firm body at my back.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Zane

I hold Finn’s gaze as Kennedy leaves. The second we walked in and saw Rosenberg, I knew that there was more shit to this than I knew. My gut tells me that part of the reason he sucker-punched me was to get Kennedy to storm out of the room like she did, so that he can tell me what he really wants to say.

Finn straightens his suit and calmly walks back over to his mahogany desk, where he leans over and grabs a thick manila folder. My heart jumps at the sight. Things didn’t end well for us the last time we were all together, and he had one of those, but in the end, it helped us to save Kelsey. He plants his ass on the corner and calmly flips through it, looking at who the fuck knows what.

“Ye’ve got an interestin’ background.” His head tilts up as he flashes me a smug grin, letting me know in that one expression he read everything in it.

“Where the fuck did you get that?” Everything inside me tenses up as I grind my teeth to keep from putting his ass through the nearest fucking wall. “That’s a classified file.”

He lets my words hang in the air until they become a strained silence weighing down the room. Without taking his eyes off me, he tosses the folder to the side. His finger runs along his top lip as he continues to stretch out whatever it is he wants to say. Finn enjoys playing the long game of making you sweat it out. Too bad he’s barking up the wrong fucking tree with that bullshit.

When he finally realizes that I’m not going to break, he pulls out a cigar from the wooden box on top of his desk and grabs the silver metal cutter. Holding my gaze, he snips off the end in one final attempt. He tried the same tactic with Axel last time we were in his office, and it didn’t work then, just like it’s not working now. The moment he realizes it, I’m rewarded with a slight nod of the head, and he moves on.

“I told ye I’ve got friends in high places.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” I stand taller, not taking kindly to his unvoiced threat, but Finn isn’t done.

“As I said, ye fecked up an important business deal that took me a lot of time to set up.” His words cause my temper to spike. I know what he’s talking about. The business arrangement he made to marry Kennedy and my kid off to some prick in Boston. Hearing the callous way he’s talking about her like she’s a fucking commodity has my fingers clenching into tight fists.

“She’s not a fucking bartering chip, and neither is my kid.” I close the few steps that separate us, ready to get in his face if I have to.

“Aye, she’s not, and neither is megrandchild.” His voice hardens on that last word, making sure that I know no matter what, my kid will always be a part of his family as well.

I decide now is the perfect time to bring up what happened this afternoon. After all, I can give as good as I get. “Family or not, if I find out that your bullshit is why Kennedy and I were shot at today, you’ll be dealing with me.”

“Fair enough.” Finn bites down on the tip of his cigar, watching me like I’m a wild animal waiting to strike. “But ye can expect the same from me, Lad.”

“What are you planning on doing with that?” I jerk my chin in the direction of that fucking folder, ignoring his threat. I’m hoping he’ll burn it, but something tells me that would be too easy, and nothing ever is when it comes to Finnegan Donnelly.

“Ye stop actin’ like a feckin’ gobshite, nothin’.” That’s as good of an answer as I’m going to get from him. “Yer truck is fecked. The two of ye will stay here tonight.” It’s not a question, and if I disagreed that it would be best for Kennedy, I’d tell him to get fucked and have my brothers come and get us. They’re going to find out and be worried as fuck as it is. But I’m putting my wife first. Even if that means we have to stay under her father’s roof for the night.

“We’re leaving in the morning.” I dare him to argue, but he doesn’t. And thank fuck for that. I don’t want to spend any more time under this crazy fuck’s roof than I have to.

He nods his head. “Fine, but know I’ll be watchin’ ye. Ye may be family now, but I don’t trust ye.”

I let that roll off my back and get out of there before he says something else to piss me off. “I’m going to find mywife.”

“One more thing,” he says to my back. “Tell yer brother to be careful. Word is he’s diggin’ up ghosts that want to stay forgotten.” There’s no missing the underlying threat to Asher, but that’s something I’ll deal with later. For now, I have a wife to find. The sooner we have it out, the better. I know she’s still pissed at the way I left her apartment, and that’s one thing I need to rectify before we pile more shit onto my plate.

I’m two steps into the hall when I hear water running. My feet carry me toward the sound and through a cream and maroon bedroom that has Kennedy written all over it. It may be simple, but I’m learning that’s what she likes. I shut and lock the door before Finn can change his mind and come barging in.

The bathroom door is closed but cracked just enough that I can make out her figure through the steamed-up glass. If my head wasn’t on straight before then, it is now. All that kept running through my mind in my truck was that if we get out of this, I need to listen to Asher and stop being such a fuck-up. It took being shot at to finally get my head the rest of the way out of my ass.

I disrobe and leave my shit in a pile on the floor without making a sound. I’ll deal with not having any clothes later. I should call my brothers, but that can wait too. Right now, the only thing that matters is getting my hands on Kennedy. I know she told me she’s fine, but I need to see for myself that she is. My head’s been even more fucked since we left the doctor’s office, and the only thing that will settle the beast within is feeling her flesh for myself.

I open the door, letting a curtain of steam swallow my vision as I step inside; my steps a silent whisper against the white marble shower.

Kennedy’s hair clings to her back, the wetness making it almost black against her pale skin. A trail of water trickles down her spine and onto her heart-shaped ass. All of the blood rushes straight to my dick at the sight. My fingers itch to squeeze that ass in my hands.

Everything about her is soft and perfect. That’s one of the first things that drew me to her that night in the club. Things may have started as a way for us to gather information, but I knew after a few minutes of talking to her that she was special. That she could be more. It’s part of why I left and never looked back after that night. It took everything I had to forget her and continue my shitty existence. It was hard as hell, but I did what I thought was best for her. That all changed the moment I found out she was pregnant.

Now, she’s mine. She belongs to me. And I plan on keeping her. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m taking what I want and not feeling guilty about it. But first, I need to lay my demons at her feet and see if she still wants me around. Stripped down and bare is the only way this is going to work. She doesn’t trust me, and with good reason. I’ve abandoned her, not once but twice. This time I need to prove that I’m staying if she’ll have me while also doing what I need to do to make sure Isaac isn’t a threat.

I press up against her back, burying my hard dick between her ass cheeks, and dig my fingers into the indent of her hips, letting the water soak us both.

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