Page 11 of Problems

"Sorry about that, princess."

I dropped my hand and took a few steps back. Jack was gone before I'd gotten more than three steps back. Shit. I was fine with teasing and thinking about fucking Jack was fine but that had felt too close. I doubted my perfect record would keep the boss from killing me if I ended up fucking his son.

CHAPTER FOUR

JACK

Ronan satmy plate on the table. A big, steaming portion of Shepherd's pie that made my stomach growl. I picked up my fork and sliced into it as I tried to ignore everything that had just happened between me and Cian. My body still buzzed even after being far away from the man with piercing blue eyes and a challenging grin. Every time I saw it, I wanted to punch him in the face or drop to my knees, there was no inbetween.

"Are you going to eat?"

I blinked at Ronan. The concerned look on his face drew me right back into reality. I stabbed at my food, shoveled some into my mouth, and continued to stare at my plate.Cian isn't what I'm supposed to be focused on. How am I going to prove to my father that I can handle this life? What do I have to do to show that I can do this on my own?

My head ached as I thought about it. Honestly, it felt like an impossible feat. My father had treated me like a child my whole life, why should that stop now? I pushed my plate away from me before I stood up.

"I'm going to bed."

"Are you sure?" Ronan frowned as he looked at me. "I know how much you love Shepherd's pie. I asked Finnian to make it exactly the way you liked." His frown deepened as he glanced into his plate. "Did I give the wrong instructions?" He muttered to himself.

My heart threatened to jump right out of my chest. Ronan. Out of everyone in my world, he was the soft, sweet side that I had gravitated towards. Even when I was young I listened to him because he wasn't like my father's other men. They were all rough, short, silent. Ronan had come in right away annoying me with his questions and asking me about myself until I felt like I was going to scream. I'd hated it back then, but now? I loved that he was so interested in me. Especially because he showed it; every gift, concern, and small gesture was real. I loved that about him.

"The food is fine," I said quickly. "It's not that. I'm just tired, especially after having to move my room," I said, my words clipped as I glared at Finnian.

Finnian raised a brow and went back to eating as if I'd said nothing at all. I wasn't sure what to do with him. The man did and said whatever he wanted and it seemed like no one questioned him about it either.

"Where you going?" Cian asked as he joined us in the kitchen. "Not hungry?"

I looked him up and down trying to show him my disdain. Instead, my cheeks grew hot as I watched the smile spread on his lips. Heat swept over my body. I opened my mouth to tell Cian exactly where he could fuck off to, but nothing came out. His smirk grew. I turned on my heels and stormed to my room. The door slammed and I threw the lock as well.

"Fuck him."

Cian had worked his way under my skin so quickly it was insane. I should hate him, and I did, but he was hot. Too hot. No one should look that fucking good. I pushed my fingers through my hair as I stared in the mirror on my wall.

I was already climbing up the walls and we hadn't even been in Arizona that long. The heat, the sun, the constant surveillance, it was making me irritated. What I needed was some time away from the house. My father and the men he'd sent me with were all paranoid. No one was coming after me. There were bigger fish to fry than someone trying to get to me. In the grand scheme of things, I was basically a no one. My father kept me separated from the life. So why would anyone give a shit about me?

Turning from the mirror, I walked over to the closet. I didn't have a door to slip out of anymore, but there was a window. Good enough. I changed my clothes opting for all black. Dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie to hide my face. I dug around in my suitcase and pulled out the burner phone I'd smuggled into my stuff. Carefully I turned it on and texted Sayge. We'd met a few months ago when he came up to dance in one of the clubs and hit it off right away. He was a huge flirt and funny as hell. The awesome thing was that he lived in Phoenix with his friends Calvin and Dar. They also stayed with their Daddy, but I hadn't met him yet. I just knew he worked for the mafia as well.

"Jack?"

Ronan's voice made me shoot straight up. I quickly made sure the phone was on silent before I tucked it down the front of my pants, into my underwear. When I opened the door, he frowned.

"Why is it locked?" He asked.

I frowned. "I'm not allowed to have any privacy?"

"I never said that."

"That's how everyone acts," I muttered. "Can I go to sleep now?"

Ronan looked me up and down. "You're fully dressed."

Shit.I glanced down at my clothes before I looked up and shrugged.

"Yeah, so what?"

"You're going to sleep? Fully clothed?" He asked as his eyebrow shot up.

"Is that a problem?"

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