33. Rowan

"What you're asking ties all of us to the Fairweathers permanently."

Rowan kicked his feet up onto the footrest in Annabeth's room. Sitting at the desk in the corner, he watched her sleep as he talked with his brother. "Annabeth isn't a Fairweather."

"She might as well be, and that's beside the point."

"What would you do if it were your wife?" Rowan asked, keeping his voice low.

"I just want to make sure we're not playing a game of fuck around and find out because you've finally banged the woman you've been after for years."

"I'm in love with her."

Annabeth stirred as the rough timbre in his voice penetrated her dreams. The sun would be up soon, and she hadn't slept much. Worried over Evie, he'd found her agitated and pacing when he came upstairs. Knowing she needed to blow off some steam, he had taken her down the hall to the room that functioned as a small gym and allowed her to beat the shit out of him on the sparring mat. It did the trick, and they went to bed.

Not to sleep—which he very much needed—but to bed where he let her do whatever she wanted to him. To use him however she needed. He now had a thorough education on all the toys in her nightstand, and a new appreciation for a woman taking control.

They were going to have a great life.

"Samuel is a friend, and I've been asked to make this call, but I would have done it anyway."

"What about Fairweather?" his brother asked. "This request isn't coming from him?"

He meant Ben. And the answer was no. "Samuel only."

"Dad cleaned house before he retired. We don't do this anymore, Rowan."

"But we can."

Grumbling softly, Killian was always itching for a fight. The man was a menace, likely going insane being locked up in an office all day. "Fuck yeah, we can."

Knowing his brother would come through, Rowan grinned. "Who?"

"I'll come to you next week, and we'll talk," Killian said. "I want to meet the woman who has me tangled up in this shit and give the ex-fed a once over."

"Liam agrees with Samuel."

"I'm not taking your word on that one. What Samuel is asking signals a very deep commitment to the Fairweathers on our part, and to top it off, they have an ex-FBI agent in the family." Killian never trusted anyone and had a very low tolerance for law enforcement. "Or had an ex-federal agent? Is he with Samuel's sister or not?"

"Yes? No? Maybe?" Rowan reclined in the chair. "It's complicated."

Killian snickered. "Everything to do with the Fairweathers is complicated, little brother."

"Trust me, I know."

"Even if I can overlook the man no longer being with the feds, his dad still does work for them."

"Since when do we judge people for the sins of their fathers?" Rowan closed his eyes and released a yawn. "McIntyres have no room to talk in that department."

"Yeah, and I just got off the phone with Aunt Viv. Somehow, she found out what happened to Samuel's wife, and nagged me for half an hour to bring you home."

"That's sweet of her."

"And don't get me started on Mom."

Rowan winced. "Let them know I'm okay, will you? I don't want Dad worried."

"Mom is keeping Dad far away from the news in case it breaks over here, but you need to be more concerned with B. Aunt Viv threatened to sic her and Caitlin on you."

"The two of them together would scare even Sinclair."

"Why did you have to get yourself wrapped up in this?" Killian groaned. "A serial killer and a terrorist, Rowan. The Fairweathers have always been the go-big or go-home types, but Jesus Christ, can they not tone it the fuck down? This is insane."

It was insane, and he needed a fresh brain for tomorrow. Liam was ready to test Zanmi's limits before his dad arrived.

"I've got to get some sleep, Kil."

"Call me in two days or less," his brother ordered. "If I don't hear from you, I'm sending all the McIntyre women out there, and then you'll really be screwed."

Aunt Viv hadn't returned to Florida since her split with Charlie Fairweather, coming home to Texas maybe a month after the ‘99 massacre. Rowan had been a kid, but the crying… he could remember the absolute soul wrenching crying his aunt had done when she broke down.

"And Rowan?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Samuel, and I really can't believe I'm saying this, but tell him," Killian blew out a sigh powerful enough to knock over a mountain, "that the McIntyres are in."

Killian respected Samuel and had said so for as long as Rowan could remember. When the shitstorm happened with Toby, and the media went ballistic, Kil had made the comment more than once on how well Samuel handled the situation.

But his brother wasn't doing it for Samuel.

"You're going to love her as much as I do," Rowan said, stifling a chuckle as Annabeth rolled to her back, sleeping with her mouth wide open. "Everyone will."

They said their goodbyes, and Rowan stripped naked to get into bed. He had no intention of waking Annabeth for another round of sex but needed to feel her soft skin against his.

"Rowan?"

"I'm here, sweetheart." He cradled her against his chest, and the little noise of contentment she made over having him near was as good as an I love you as far as he was concerned. "I'm not going anywhere."