Page 39 of In Her Shadow

“How’s it going, Otto?” Ren offers me my hand so he can help me out of my seat like a gentleman. “Miss Meadow’s here has a bag in the trunk, can you have it taken up to the main bedroom?”

“Ren?” I tug on his hand, wondering what the hell is happening.

“Certainly, sir, it’s nice to have you home. Your uncle will be pleased.” I notice Otto’s eyes roll as we pass him, through the doors, and into an open staircase grand foyer.

“Nice to have you home?” I repeat the old guy's words, staring at Ren and trying to absorb everything that's happened in the last hour and a half.

“Well, well, well. The wanderer returns.” A voice bellows from behind him, and Ren snarls before turning to face the man standing by one of the doors. He’s equally as tall as Ren, but much rounder and he’s looking really pissed.

“Head on upstairs, take the third door on the left, and make yourself comfortable,” Ren tells me, taking my hand and kissing it softly. I seem to forget all the questions I have when he touches his hand to my tummy and strokes it with a smile. “I’ll be up real soon.”

“Ren, we really need to talk.” I glance up at the high ceilings, confused by the grandeur of this place compared with the warehouse.

“I know we do, and we will,” he tells me seriously.

“Follow me, Miss Meadows, I’ll show you the way.” He hobbles past me, carrying my bag and looking like he’s struggling.

“I can take that,” I offer, and just as Ren goes to speak, Otto interrupts us both.

“Not on my shift, you won’t.” He smiles at me warmly as he starts leading me up the stairs.

REN

“Iwasn’t expecting you to bring a guest.” My uncle rounds the desk and sits in his chair.

“I didn’t think I had to make you aware of guests I’d be bringing to my own home.” I give him that clever look I know he despises. “Besides, Eloise isn’t a guest; she’s gonna be living here permanently. With me.” The anger on my uncle’s face gives way to shock.

“I thought you’d be pleased to hear that, Uncle.” I smile at him sarcastically, “You won’t have to send your little pups out looking for me anymore. I’m gonna be right here.”

“Ren, we need to talk about O'Driscoll." He clears his throat and moves on.

“What about him?” I shrug, having way bigger things to deal with than this shit. I’m lucky that I’ve got Eloise here, and now I’ve promised to tell her the truth, I’m gonna have to face up to the consequences. If she was freaked out by what she saw in the warehouse, I can’t imagine what she’s gonna think when she finds out everything else.

“Not only did you humiliate him in front of everyone at The Pit last month, butyouhave single-handedly taken each of his fighters out of action.”

“Each of those men entered themselves into an underground fight; what did he expect?” I laugh at how ridiculous he’s being.

“You know The Pit is where O'Driscoll makes his money; you snapping his best fighter's arm is gonna cost him a fortune, and O'Driscoll isn’t the kind of man you want to make an enemy out of,” he warns me.

“I don’t see why, he went down like a sack of shit,” I snigger. “See, that’s the problem with you, Uncle Stefan, you give people too much respect before they’ve earned it.”

“You got some real nerve coming into my office and talking to me that way, especially when you know nothing about how things are run around here.”

I look through the window, out onto the perfectly mown lawns that lead down to the lake house, and laugh at him.

“I have no idea?” I shake my head and laugh some more. “When was the last time you left this little fortress and ventured into the city?” I question him.

“I may not be as streetwise as you, Ren, but while you’ve beenplayingon those streets, I’ve been here running things, taking care of business. Ensuring the fortune that your daddy left you doesn’t go to waste.”

“Well, I’m here to run things now.” I stand up tall in front of him.

“You wouldn’t have the first idea how to run things, you're still a boy.” He laughs at me.

“Not anymore. That girl I brought home? She’s pregnant.” The poor fucker looks as if he’s gonna pass out on me. “ I’m done with The Pit. I’m done with anything that puts my family in danger. Anything we’re running that ain’t legit gets shut down. I only want stable investments from now on.” I watch that shock on his face turn to worry.

“You can’t just pull out, Ren. We’ve got men who work for us. The deal we have with DeMarco is solid. I spent months working on it.”

“And I sealed it with a knock-out that earned him 350,000 dollars,” I remind my uncle. “I’ll speak to DeMarco myself, he’s a reasonable man, I hear he’s got a family of his own now.

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