Page 8 of Problems

Finnian's eyes narrowed at me. He opened his mouth before shutting it again. I watched as he stormed off, a smile spreading on my face. I fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I might not be where I wanted to, but at least I'd won a single, sad battle.

Yeah, I'm a real bad ass.

The smile fell from my face again. My father's men were right. Iwasa joke.

CHAPTER THREE

CIAN

It washotter than the devil's taint in bumfuck nowhere Arizona. I'd been sent to a lot of places, but Arizona was just not it for me, especially during the scorching summer.

The blazing sun beat down on my head as I made another lap of the neighborhood. It consisted of fifteen different subdivisions with different names. I made sure to map each of them out on my run. My legs burned as I kept pushing forward. My breath was even as I jogged up a small hill. The house we were staying in was finally visible.

The neighborhood was mostly families and a few elderly couples. On each side of us was a family with a dog. It was normal in every way. It was almost too normal for my comfort. My skin crawled to get out of suburbia. It was plain, no action, no honking horns, or traffic noise.

I liked the quiet as much as the next person, but it was almost too quiet. I opened the side gate and slipped into the backyard. The windows in the main bedroom were drawn.

Fucking idiot.

I stopped short as Jack walked out of his bathroom towel ruffling through his dark hair. His slender body was on full display. My displeasure vanished the moment I caught sight of Jack.

Fuck.It was a little treat every single time I watched him. It didn’t matter how often I caught glimpses, I hadn’t grown bored yet.

I licked my lips. The princess had a nice body. His nipples were pierced, and I swore his cock was as well.

Jack was none the wiser as he flopped down on the bed and spread his arms and legs. He stared at the ceiling as if it was going to give him answers to his problems. He had a lot of them for someone who was only twenty-two and rich as fuck. Jack had no idea how good he had it, not that I was going to be the one to tell him.

He rolled over and lifted his ass, showing off the firm globes.Bet they'd look good red. My cock twitched in the confines of my shorts. I forced myself to keep moving. I'd planned on going through the back sliding doors, but I had a better idea. My normal workout routine tossed in the wind for something more entertaining.

I grabbed the lock-picking kit I kept on me and got to work on the locks on the door.Maybe after this stint, Finnian will listen to me when I said all the doors needed three more locks and the ones I chose.I held back the groan of annoyance just thinking of that man sent through me. He was a pain in my ass on a good day.

The soft click of the lock turning was familiar to my trained ear. I eased the door open slowly, Jack was lost in whatever he was doing.It should be a crime to be this easy of a target.His father had been right. Jack wasn't ready for this life. I doubted he ever would be.

"Hey princess."

Jack shot up off the bed twisting around to face me. His hands went up in the air as he tangled with his bedding and crashed to the floor. "Fuck!" His shout of pain was music to my ears. The bedroom door flew open as Ronan and Finnan both ran in guns raised.

I counted each second that passed. Our eyes met and I smiled at them. I didn't need these two here. I could protect Jack by myself. Tie the princess up and make sure to give him food and water. The memory of my very dead houseplant came to mind and I mentally sighed. It was so much easier to kill than to keep something alive.

"He'd be dead waiting on you two to respond." I crossed my arms over my chest staring at the two of them. "It took exactly forty-seven seconds. In that time a bullet would be in the middle of his forehead and I'd be out of here."

"What?" Jack sat up and he still was stark naked on the ground. His face had gone ashen white. "There is no way."

"Way princess." I winked at him. "I'm damn good at my job."

"Cian," Ronan groaned out. "Is that necessary?"

I shrugged. "He's defenseless and an open target. What's to say someone won't come shoot him in the face and then move around the house taking us out one by one."

Finnian's hard gaze stayed on me as if he wanted to argue. But he couldn't because we both knew I was right. I wanted to instantly shove it in the man's face. He was the only asshole who got under my skin. Most people were nothing but meat bags or white noise in the background. Finnian was a thorn in my side.

"So, you broke into the house?" Ronan shook his head. "Why?"

"How do you know it wasn't unlocked?"

Ronan's eyes widened and for the first time, he looked over to Jack. If it was possible his eyes widened even more. The slight flare in his nose and the way he went rigid spoke volumes. He marched over to Jack and pulled the blanket off the bed and tossed it over Jack's naked body.

"Aww shielding the princess from our delicate eyes?"