Page 45 of The Irish Rogue

In response, Declan wiggled his arms and legs. Sean pulled him closer, breathing in his baby scent. Then with a grim expression, he kissed the top of his son’s head and put him back onto his play mat.

He hesitated, looking at Kennedi. But in the end, he shook his head. “No, I can’t kiss you again. If I start, I’m not going to want to stop. But the sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can get back.”

“Okay,” she replied, even nodding as if she understood. But her eyes were wide, her body stiff.

Despite his comments, he still took a determined step towards her, his hands reaching for her. But at the last moment, he stopped, frozen in place. With a muttered curse, Sean curled his fingers into fists and turned, walking out the front door and pulling it closed with a firm snick.

Kennedi released the breath she’d been holding. The silence was loud as she stood still, looking around. Slowly, the air particles stopped zinging and her muscles relaxed. There was something electrifying about Sean. She’d felt it the first time she’d met him and every time since then. Looking down, she smiled at Declan as he concentrated on catching his toes. That electricity had been what had caused Declan to be conceived.

“You’re amazing, little man,” she whispered, walking over to him and, slipping off her shoes, she lowered herself to the floor and rocked him with her hand on his belly. “I love you,” she whispered. Then in a lower voice, she said, “But your daddy terrifies me!”

Chapter 16

A string of muttered expletives spewed from Sean as he walked into TBC, the “gentlemen’s” club that he and his best friends had created. Levi had inherited the club and the land around it from his father, but the inheritance hadn’t been given out of love. In fact, just the opposite. Levi’s father had bequeathed the club and land as a slap in the face to his illegitimate son, while giving all of his wealth and a chain of sporting goods stores to his two legitimate sons.

At the time of Levi’s father’s death, the clubhouse and lands should have been condemned. The main building was in such bad shape that it probably would have been smarter to have just torn it down.

But Levi, Matteo, and Sean, all three of them bastards in the most literal sense, had wanted to spite Levi’s father. At the time, membership at the clubhouse was loyal to the point of obsession. The wealthy men of Philadelphia, and internationally, came to the club ostensibly to gamble and drink heavily. However, the real reason so many of the members came to the club was for the gossip. Some would call it networking, but Sean knew that the comments around the poker tables were more about spreading and hearing vicious rumors about other members of the business community.

Therefore, the three of them had transformed the club and expanded club membership. The rooms were now polished and elegant, the wine list and beer offerings made the club a destination, and the rare whiskey supply was unsurpassed.

What the members didn’t know was that the owners as well as the staff listened intently to the comments being thrown around the club. It was the main reason Levi had been able to save his now-wife from losing her inheritance. It was how Sean had learned several interesting facts about the companies he considered buying. He knew that Levi and Matteo did the same. Sean suspected that Emily, their club manager, also used the information gathered during the members’ casual conversations, although he wasn’t sure how she used it to her benefit. As long as she wasn’t doing anything illegal, Sean didn’t care. Since Emily was a stickler for rules, he was certain she wasn’t using the information for nefarious purposes.

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked when Sean pulled out one of the chairs around the table where he and Matteo were playing poker. “I thought you’d be down in Georgia with your son.”

“And your beautiful, soon-to-be fiancée,” Matteo added, tossing out a card and five chips.

The three of them never played for actual money when they gambled together. But none of them minded if the other club members thought the chips in the center of the table were worth a small fortune. It added to their mystery, according to Emily. The reality was, the three were such close friends, they’d vowed never to gamble with each other, only with the other members of the club. And because each of them were incredibly proficient at poker, they only played against the club members when one of the members needed a lesson in manners. At which point, one, or all three, would gang up on that member and win enough money to teach him a lesson.

Sean scowled at his friends, thinking of Kennedi and Declan, so far away. “She’s still in Georgia. I had to come back because several people in my new company were arrested.”

“Damn!” Levi hissed, eyes wide in surprise. “What for?”

“It’s a pharmaceutical company. They were stealing boxes out of the warehouse and selling the product on the street.”

“Did anyone die?”

Sean shook his head. “Thankfully, the warehouse manager caught the problem before too much of the product was sold. We’re trying to track down the buyers to ensure that no one gets sick.”

Levi dealt Sean a hand. “Ante up with ten grand,” he ordered.

Sean tossed several chips into the pot. “We’re working with hospitals and law enforcement. And we’ve sent out a memo to local doctors’ offices, letting them know of the side effects and symptoms of overdosing.”

“What’s the medicine?”

Sean tried to smother a smile, but it was pointless. “It’s a topical anesthetic that dentists use just before they use the Novocain. So the worst that could happen is that someone will feel a bit of numbness in the spot where it’s applied.” He shook his head at the stupidity of criminals. “The duo that stole the stuff were advertising that it was a good way to get a high. So people were rubbing it on their arms and necks. The only thing that might have happened was that they cut themselves and didn’t feel it.”

“What if the stuff was absorbed into the bloodstream?”

Sean gave his friends a half-grin. “It dissipates in liquid. So absolutely nothing would happen. They might get a headache, but that’s it.”

Both men chuckled, then tossed more money into the pot. None were really paying attention to the game.

“Ever hear of a group that is partial to women in red?” Sean tossed out.

Emily was passing by their table with a tray filled with drinks, but at his question, she paused. “Red dresses?” she prompted.

Sean lowered his cards, his eyes narrowing on the club manager. “Yeah. What do you know?”

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