Kelly Clan 02 - Connor (4 page)

Jason huffed and slammed out the door. Despite herself, she was fairly sure Conor had whispered, “Prick,” on Jason’s way out, and she was more than apt to agree. Excessively late and rude. Two things Claire hated.

“Need me to drive you home?” Anna asked.

Claire shook her head. “I just need to get on my feet and move around a bit.”

Anna stood back and held out her hand. The grip was firm, and Claire was a bit surprised to find her stronger than expected.

“I can stay,” Anna whispered.

Claire smiled and steadied herself. It was nice to have someone there for her.

“I’m good,” she whispered back.

Anna moved to the side as Claire stretched.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Conor said.

Anna gathered her things slowly and eyed him. Claire might have found the whole thing funny if she wasn’t suspicious as well.

She watched them walk to the office door and disappear. Soon, she’d have her answers.

Chapter Four

Conor stared into the darkness after Anna. Claire could just be angry with him. It was better than ending up dead in the hands of a mad Russian.

He scanned the street and didn’t see the Bronco sitting there anymore. Whatever Boris had been there for, he was gone now.

When he turned to close the door, he could hear hushed talking. He latched the door in silence and crept along the wall. He knew Claire would call. It was really a matter of what they would do. Finn wasn’t his brother, but that hadn’t stopped him from taking out people that stood in the way, and Conor now represented a threat to him. All the justifications about Teagan didn't change that fact.

“You told me to call you if he came, and you don’t plan on coming by?” Claire said. Her hushed tones drifted across the room.

He was both surprised Finn had expected him to come by and that he didn’t plan on doing anything about it. Maybe it was all a trick, or he had some long play Conor just wasn’t seeing. He didn’t like not knowing what was coming or what to expect. Finn was now an unknown to him. Knowing how Finn reacted to other people hadn’t provided any insight into how he would react to Conor.

“I’m just going to say I don’t like this shit,” Claire snapped into the phone.

Conor had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. There weren’t a lot of people with the balls to talk to a mob boss like she had, but Claire had never let it stop her.

“Fine, but you owe me big. There better be something cashmere in my stocking this year,” she huffed.

Conor clenched his fist in irritation. There it was. All this family ever talked about was money. That seemed to be the bottom line for everything they did. All the while, they just watched as he and his sister struggled. Fuck that. He didn’t want their money or their problems. They could keep all that shit. He had a job to do, and that’s just what he was going to do.

Claire jumped at the sound of footsteps in the hall and quickly slipped the phone back into her pocket. Finn hadn’t been any help. She was supposed to follow along with what Conor wanted and see where things went. That asshat. If it meant she got killed, she was so planning on coming back and haunting his ass. Finn and Alyssa could forget about any more loving, she’d make quick work of that. Ghost cock block.

“You look good, Claire,” Conor said quietly from the door. His voice rolled over her, and she shivered slightly.

She turned to look at him for the first time in what seemed like ages. His hair was a little longer than she remembered him wearing it before. The sandy brown locks dipped past his eyes, which he kept sweeping away. She followed the path of his arm to his chest and frowned. He’d gotten more muscular and that hadn’t happened in just a few months. Keeping her head down and away from him had meant she’d missed quite a bit, some of it rather delicious.

His t-shirt stretched across his thick chest, and a part of her wished for just a few moments of uninhibited time with those muscles.

Claire shook herself mentally. It had been some time since she’d seen any action, but this was crazy. She was half tempted to toss him to the floor when all he’d done was compliment her.

Her eyes shot back up to his smug face. It was clear he knew the effect he was having on her and that was reason enough to get herself under control

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“I want my gun back,” she said and held out her hand.

Conor snorted. “So you can shoot me?”

“No.” She shrugged. “Well, not yet anyway.”

She jumped when a loud burst of laughter came from him. “Fuck that!” He kept laughing. “You’re totally going to shoot my ass.”

Claire frowned. Her black hair slipped down the side of her face. “I’m not going to shoot you,” she said. “Seriously.”

Conor raised a brow.

“Well, not much,” she muttered.

Conor stretched his arms over his head. The shirt rose, exposing a sliver of skin just above his jeans. Claire licked her lips at the hard lines. When his hands came down, she looked up to his smiling face and frowned.

“You didn’t come here to chit-chat I hope,” she said, moving behind her desk. “And I hope you know, that’s not my only gun.” She frowned. “You mentioned something about a job?”

Conor walked across the room to the chair near her and sat. She noticed the position was in clear sight of the door and the window, as if he expected trouble.

“I’d be disappointed if it was.” He grinned, but the smile quickly fell. “Ennis sent me.”

Her head snapped over to him. This was such a bad idea.

“He’d like you to work with us,” he said softly.

Claire snorted. “Not likely.”

“Is this where you take me out?” she asked slowly. There was another gun in the closet, but she doubted she’d be able to reach it in time. She could always make a run for it if it came down to it. Then again, she'd had her gun out before, and he still tackled her with ease.

She froze when he turned to look at her, horror in his eyes. “No,” he said firmly. “I did not come to take you out.”

He turned back to the window, and she watched his jaw twitch in anger. Maybe she hadn’t thought this out well. It wasn’t like she had tried to piss him off, but how was she supposed to know? He hadn’t really given any indication that she was safe. In fact, he kept watching out the window, which only made her suspect that she was about as far from safe as she could get.

“Ennis isn’t going to give up,” he said and looked over to her. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and wondered if he was getting any sleep. “He’ll keep after you until he either gets what he wants, or…”

“Or he has you take me out,” she finished. “So, it's just a matter of when, then?”

Conor stood and stared down at her with such severity she felt like a little child.

“I would never do that,” he said with force. He stuck out his hand. Her gun rested on his palm. “You need this. Just,” his hand gripped it a little tighter, “just don’t shoot me with it.”

She looked up to his eyes and was almost glad to see his happy-go-lucky nature back. She didn’t mind getting serious, but when it came to Conor, it always felt like so much more.

“No promises,” she said and tucked the gun into her desk.

When she looked back up, Conor was seated across from her and watching out the window again. She squinted into the darkness but saw nothing.

“So, here’s the plan,” Conor said, startling her from her thoughts.

She frowned. “There’s a plan?”

He chuckled. “Haven’t you learned anything from Finn? There’s not just a plan but several back-ups as well.”

She watched him closely. It seemed like he wanted to help, but still it was hard to be sure. Ennis held his leash, after all.

“And do I get to know those other plans?” she asked.

Conor shook his head. “Only if we have to. For now, you need to let me work here.”

Claire nearly choked on the spit in her mouth. “I, what?”

He stood and started to pace around the office. Really, he was far too large to make much of a run of it, but she couldn’t help but smile. He had always been like this. When he had a good idea, he would get excited and start to pace.

“Ennis wants me to win you over.” He looked over to her. His light brown eyes burned into her. “I’m supposed to do that anyway I can.”

Her heart thumped in her chest, and she felt her nipples tighten under her bra. Claire only hoped that the padding would be enough to cover her.

“I’m not...”

He held up a hand and turned away.

“I know, but he needs to think it,” he said with his back to her. She could see the muscles on his back twitch and wondered if it bothered him to have to come to her, especially after how they had left things.

She shook her head. It didn’t matter. The past was the past, and she wasn’t going to live there with him.

“So what, we put on an act?” she said.

He turned around and nodded. “For now until something comes along. Maybe you’ll lose.” He shrugged.

Claire frowned. “I won’t,” she said with conviction. “I’m ahead in the polls, and I’ve got everything good on my side.”

He frowned slightly. “Well, there’s always a chance he might try to dig up dirt,” Conor said. “Or push the dirt that's already there. Your connections, for example.”

Claire stood. “That doesn’t seem like a very good way to win me over, and it'd make me pretty useless as a tool.”

Conor shrugged. “You weren’t supposed to know I was sent to do what I had to.”

She thought about it. Even Anna seemed to realize that there might be blow-back from being related to Finn and working for Harriet. She had done as much as she could, but there was always something to dig up.

Claire walked around to the front of the desk and leaned back on it. “And what will you be doing if you work here?”

Conor grinned and winked. “What did you have in mind?”

She snorted. “Taking out the trash. Mowing the lawn. Sweeping. Dusting.”

He bowed with a flourish. “Whatever you wish.”

Claire grinned. She didn’t want to, but it was so damn hard not to like him. It always had been.

She turned to gather her purse.

“Fine, be here by nine and ready to go,” she said. When she turned around, Conor was standing by the office door.

“Part of the job,” he said firmly. “I walk you out. You don’t go anywhere dangerous without letting me know.”

Claire stopped just in front of him. “Am I in danger?” she asked, as her heart sped up. It was hard not to be scared when he put it that way.

Conor glanced to the side as if he were trying to think of the right thing to say. Finally, he sighed.

“You’re not in a good position,” he said and ran a hand through his sandy hair. “I’ll keep you safe.”

She wondered how much he’d be able to do, especially if his boss was the one who ordered the hit.

Claire walked down the hall and out the door, Conor close behind. He waited to the side as she locked the door and followed her to her car. They walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

She hit the button to her car and turned. Claire nearly gasped at his closeness.

“Well,” she said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She jumped slightly when his hand came up to her cheek and brushed just over the bone.

“I’m sorry I jumped you,” he said softly.

She breathed in deeply, trying to steady herself, and that only filled her senses with the smell of his soap, deep rich notes, sprinkled with some spice she had never been able to put her finger on. It was so very him and made her ache for a different time.

“It’s okay,” she said. Her words came out far more breathy than she intended, and despite knowing that she should pull away, Claire stepped forward.

His hand cupped her cheek as his finger swept gently across. “I could have really hurt you,” he said. His voice was just a rumble in her ears. She could feel his breath on her face, and just a fraction more, they would be in prime position to kiss.

She shook herself free and stared up at him. His words still echoed in her head that he could have hurt her. It wasn’t possible to hurt her more. He already had wounded her heart long ago.

“I think I need to go home,” she said. She turned her back to him as she opened the door. Looking at him now was just too hard.

“Goodnight, Claire,” he said. When she turned, he was a few steps further away. “I’ll see you at nine.”

She nodded and climbed in. When the engine was started, and she was well under way, she let out a sigh. Claire had a feeling that starting tomorrow, everything was going to change.

* * *

Conor slammed the door to the car. The gravel underfoot crunched as he made his way alongside the misty dock to the warehouse. He sneered at the dark Bronco outside.

The large metal door banged open. If that bastard didn’t know he was coming before, he sure did now.

His boots echoed as he made his way down the hall. Several men mulled around and nodded as he passed, but most just cleared a path. He might have been a bit passive under Finn, but with this crew, that wouldn't fly.

Conor scanned the open warehouse. His gaze landed on the corner where some men were playing poker. The smug prick sat there just waiting, knowing that he was coming over.

Not breaking his stride, he walked with ease to the corner. This was the Russian corner. They all knew it, and most of the other men just stayed away. It wasn’t worth starting a beef with the Russians.

“You,” Conor said as he got closer. He raised a finger and pointed it at Boris. “I’m dealing with Claire.”

Boris raised a heavy brow and slowly folded his cards onto the table. His ample tattoos reflected in the light, and Conor wrinkled his nose. Each one had its own meaning, and most meant the death of lots of other people, some of them innocent.

“For now,” Boris replied in a heavy Russian accent.

Conor frowned. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

Boris looked up to him and sighed, like Conor was more some annoying child than an angry grown man. Even more slowly than the cards, he stood.

“I mean...” he said and stared hard at Conor. The room seemed to chill under his icy stare. “I’m keeping eye on Miss Hottie. You don’t take care of her,” Boris gave a wicked grin with his cracked yellow teeth, “then, I take care of her.”