Page 20 of Craving Sin

Again, silence before Conan laughs. “Shut the fuck up.”

“No, I’m deadly serious.”

“Why the hell did you do that?”

“I didn’t know who he was at first?” I answer as though I’m asking a question.

“Why did you kidnap anyone? And how old is this son?”

“In his thirties, I’d imagine. He’s not a child and…I can’t answer that part. I just…was at the hospital with him. There was an attempted hit on me. I shot one of the guys, but the rest got away. He was there. I took him with me.”

Conan’s voice is lethal when he asks, “Who tried to kill you?”

“I assume the Bellinis. They were amateurs, not someone made or connected.” Because apparently, I’m forty-eight years old and suddenly making more than one mistake. I never should have intervened at the gas station that night, either. “Listen…I need you to look into it. They said that’s him, so I know they were looking for me. I also need to make sure any evidence of me at the hospital is scrubbed. We got lucky, and I don’t think anyone saw anything, but security cameras and all that shit need to be taken care of.” If we can’t deal with it at the hospital level, with their security systems, Conan’s contacts within the police station can.

I rub a hand over my face, hoping I didn’t just fuck us all. What in the hell was I thinking? “Also…see if they’re saying anything about the doc.”

“The doc?” he asks.

“Preston Abbott is his name. I don’t think he has a family to go home to.” Something I should have checked into. “So, unless he’s meeting someone, has an appointment or work, maybe they won’t realize he’s gone for a while.”

“Where are you?” he asks.

“Fireside,” I give the name of the house. I’m not surprised when Conan is quiet again. This isn’t the house where we usually do things like this. It’s a hideout, yes, but it’s also a place where I used to come with my family. The place I came when Moira died.

“Rian…what’s going on?”

I look through the window and blinds at the doc. I haven’t had any more of the neck tingles, but even if I had, that’s not something I can tell Conan.

“I don’t know,” I answer simply.

“Do you need him alive for something? What am I missing here?”

He’s missing just as much as I am. Because no, I don’t need him. I never should have followed him or brought him with me. I should have killed him already. “I was shot. He can take care of me,” I say.

“Jesus. Maybe you should have led with that? How bad?”

“Shoulder. I’m good. I’ll probably need some shit though. I’ll ask the doc what you should get and have you bring it out to me. We’ll need some food, too. It’s probably better that I’m out of commission until we can figure out what to do about the Bellini brothers. Once I’m healed up, I’ll figure out what to do with the doc.”

“Kill him. That’s the only thing you can do with him. I’m still trying to find out why you have him at all. We have people who can take care of you.”

I drop my head back against one of the pillars on the porch, just before the doc turns to look at me. He watches me through the window, studying, plotting, trying to figure me out. What he doesn’t understand is that I need to do the same with him.

“Just give me a few days, a week tops. You get some answers for me. Clean up my fucking mess at the hospital. Make sure no one else is in danger. If so, Cillian needs—”

“Cillian will be safe. You know that. I don’t think they’re organized enough to go after him or anyone else, but I’ll make sure they know to keep an ear to the ground.”

“Tiernan will need to know what’s going on, and Cillian needs to know I’ve been shot. I won’t keep something like that from him. Not anymore. No one needs to know about the doc. Make sure they’re all aware of those fucking brothers, though. I’ll text you a list of supplies.”

“Okay,” Conan replies. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

I don’t have any fucking clue, but instead of telling him that, I say, “I do. I’ll get healed up, and we’ll figure out how to deal with the brothers. I’ll kill the doc, and we’ll get the job done.”

“Agreed. Those things have to happen, Rian.” It’s not often Conan tells me what to do, what needs to be done. Hell, this is likely the first time. It’s not his place, and he knows it, but he’s also my friend, and I know he’s only saying what he is because he knows it’s the only thing that can be done, that it’s what’s best for the family.

“It’ll be done. See you soon,” I say.

“See you soon, brother.”