23. Sean

Chapter twenty-three

Sean

“ W ake up!” Colton yelled, slamming the bedroom door open and turning on the overhead light.

“What the fuck, dude?!” I yelled back groggily.

My life in solitude had just begun to get quiet. Tyler hadn’t fucked with me in a while, which I was trying not to let concern me. If he didn’t have time to haze me, they were busy elsewhere, which meant danger. I had tried calling Drew on that stupid play phone he had given me, but he hadn’t answered.

“Do you want to fucking help Layla or not?” Colt asked.

I jumped out of bed, now wide awake. “What happened?” I asked as I scrambled for clothes.

“We captured and killed Anton Sr.”

“Ok. That’s good. Right?” I asked. I growled in frustration as I stuck my leg in the wrong pant leg for the third time.

“Yes, but Anton went to Boston,” Colt replied.

Fuck. That wasn’t so good. “Seamus knows how I feel about Layla. He wouldn’t hurt her.”

“Seamus thinks you’re dead and that Layla was the one who killed you. Add that to your little scuffle with your old crew and the fact that she just killed the former head of the Kandicci family, and, well, he isn’t happy. They both made veiled threats, and he’s demanding a meeting in Connecticut at nine. I assumed you might want to be there. Could help keep us all alive.”

“You’re damned straight. I want to be there. Does Layla know I’m coming?” I asked hesitantly.

“Nope. Let’s hope she’s as good an actress as we think she is,” Colton replied, heading for the door when I was finally dressed.

I rushed after him and slipped through the elevator doors just as they closed. “Are you sure blindsiding Layla with this is the right thing to do?”

“Not much of a choice, now,” Colt sighed. “No, this wasn’t how I wanted to do this, but I also never considered that Anton would go to the Irish.”

“He’s scared now,” I chuckled. “That’s the only reason he’d go to them. He’s afraid of what Layla is going to do to him.”

We climbed in his car, and he peeled out of the parking garage. I saw a drive-thru coffee place up ahead. “Do you think we can stop real quick?” I asked, pointing.

“No,” Colt replied. The meeting is at nine, and they are choppering in. I want to be at the meeting spot before they get there. Layla is already going to be pissed that I took off, and the guys aren’t giving her any answers.”

“Fair enough,” I replied. If the man said we didn’t have time to stop, then we didn’t have time to stop. I certainly didn’t want a cup of coffee to be why we arrived late, especially with Seamus thinking I was dead.

As we drove, Colton filled me in on everything else that had happened since my “death.” Layla’s struggle broke my heart. I caused her pain again. It felt good to hear that she admitted she still loved me and regretted having to kill me. Even if Seamus hadn’t entered the party, I would have been coming home soon. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure I was going to end up hurting her more with my presence until we worked things out. God, I hope we will be able to work things out.

If there was one thing I was sure of in this life, it was that Layla Romano was the love of it. Period. There will never be another woman for me, and I will spend the rest of my life showing her every day that she allows just how much I love her. The road ahead was rocky, but there was a road, and right now, that was all I could ask for.

When we got to the meeting place, Colt drove the car onto the grass so we would be a little closer but still far enough away that I wouldn’t be detected. “Get in the backseat,” he ordered. “Wait for my signal. Hopefully, when Seamus sees you step out of the car, he won’t want to kill us any longer.”

“Trust me,” I said, “as soon as he sees me alive, he won’t dare harm any of you.”

“You seem certain of that, why?” Colton asked. “What makes you so special?”

“I guess it’s time to fill you in,” I sighed. I was about to share something I hadn’t ever told anyone before. “You know how we all have secrets, right?”

C olton was still stunned after my revelation when Layla’s chopper landed. As she stepped off, seeing her took my breath away after not seeing her for so long. I had gotten used to waking up in bed with her, and being away from her had been rough. The others got out behind her, but my eyes stayed glued to her as she looked around and spotted our car. I shrank back further out of sight as she started walking toward us.

“Remember to wait for my signal,” Colt growled. “We’ll talk about the rest later when we’re back home.”

He quickly got out of the car and intercepted Layla. I could tell from their body language and Layla’s rapidly moving hands that she was pissed. Colt wasn’t one to be intimidated, though, so he was able to diffuse her anger quickly. I wonder what he told her. As he guided her away, my eyes were drawn to her tight, leather-clad ass. She had certainly dressed for the occasion and was ready to kick some ass if needed. Layla had pulled her long brown hair into a sleek ponytail, and I felt a pang of jealousy as Colton casually twirled it around his fingers as they walked.

Drew and Zach nodded subtly toward me as they rushed to join Layla and Colt, but Tyler broke away from them toward the car, saying something over his shoulder. He was the only one that I hadn’t seen since my “death,” and judging by his hazing, he was pissed at me. Rightfully so. Honestly, the man was far more scary than I cared to admit. He was deceitfully quiet and leaned into the geeky persona, but Tyler was deadly. We all were, but there was a cool and calculating nature to him. It only took being in his presence for a short time to understand that he didn’t do anything without intention.

Tyler got into the backseat and closed the door behind him. I eyed him apprehensively as I waited for him to say what he came here to say. I wasn’t worried about a physical altercation at the moment. The car was too small for one, and fighting in the backseat would attract Layla’s attention.

“Layla needs you,” Tyler said, not looking at me. “It’s a fact. One that I wish wasn’t true, if I’m being honest. Right now, I don’t like you. I’ve spent my entire life taking care of Layla. I accepted you into our family, trusting you to also take care of her. You betrayed us. You betrayed our family. I don’t give a fuck what your reasons are, they aren’t good enough. Nothing is good enough to excuse what you did. She could have died. Anton would not have upheld his end of the bargain. If we hadn’t arrived when we did, we would have found her corpse if she was lucky.”

I started to apologize again for what I did, but Tyler’s eyes shifted to me and immediately shut me up when I saw my death in them. Layla may eventually forgive me, but I’m not sure Tyler ever will. This will complicate matters.

“I want you to know that I’ll be watching every single fucking thing you do. I will know if you so much as google how to bake a cake. If you step even one nose hair out of line, I will fucking kill you. Layla may need you now, but I’ll help her forget you in time. Don’t give me a reason, Sean, because I won’t hesitate.”

“Understood,” I replied. He stared at me for several more seconds before nodding. He moved to get out of the car but paused and looked back at me. “I trust your connections here will make this meeting a non-event.”

When my eyes widened in surprise, Tyler smirked. “No secret is safe around me, Sean. You’ll do well to remember that in the future.” Tyler left me in the car and strolled back to Layla. Yep, that man was fucking terrifying.

Five minutes before nine, Seamus’ cars approached from the opposite direction. I watched men get out of the vehicles and rush around, setting up a little table and chairs at the base of the wolf statue. I shook my head as they placed a white tablecloth over it and pulled out real ceramic coffee cups and a carafe of coffee. Zach handed them the bagels and cream cheese they had brought, which were added to the table. Only when everything was set did Seamus exit his vehicle and approach. The man had a knack for flair. His graying rust-colored hair was cut short, and a fedora was placed artfully on his head with a slight tilt to hide the growing bald spot on the top.

He greeted Layla warmly and gestured for her to sit. He looked calm and jovial on the outside, but I could see the anger simmering below the surface. He said something to Layla that had her sitting straighter in her chair. When he raised his hand above his head and snapped his fingers, a car door opened, and Anton stepped out. He had a smirk on his face as he strutted toward them. Anton thought he won. He had no idea how wrong he was, but he would soon.

The meeting looked tense as they began to eat. There were several moments when I saw the guys tense, one memorable one being when Anton started screaming and lunged for Layla. Seamus’ men restrained him, and Seamus also turned and said something to him. After that, he didn’t speak again. I saw Conor in the group of men behind Seamus and ground my teeth together. I’d be handling that fuck as soon as I was allowed out of the car.

Everything seemed to be going relatively fine, but I saw the moment the conversation shifted. Everyone on both sides of the table tensed as their hands twitched toward their weapons. Colton moved to Layla’s side and placed his hand on her shoulder. He said something and gestured toward me—time to return from the dead. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. I heard the collective gasp when they saw who it was. Layla looked around Colton, and I saw the shock on her face, which she quickly masked. I moved my eyes to Conor. If I kept looking at Layla, I couldn’t cross the small clearing to where they were all waiting without falling to my knees and professing my undying love and loyalty to her. I had a role to play, and so did she. Our reunion and the fallout from faking my death would have to come later.

“Conor!” I yelled as I stormed toward him. Seamus’ men went to block me, but Seamus waved them off.

“Hey, Sean,” Conor said nervously.

When I was within striking distance, I pulled back my fist and punched the man square in the face, knocking him on his ass. “That’s for lying about what happened at our meeting,” I said as I towered over him. For good measure, I spit on his cowering body. I turned to Anton and went to punch him as well.

“Sean!” Seamus snapped. “He’s under my protection, and I personally assured him of his safety, even from you.”

I pulled myself back under control and walked to stand on Layla’s other side, a clear signal of where my loyalty was.

“Seamus,” I greeted with a nod.

“Sean,” Seamus tutted. “After all this time, that’s how you address me?”

I gritted my teeth, knowing I had to play along. This wasn’t how I wanted my secret to be exposed.

“Dad.”