Page 30 of Stolen Temptation (Irish Kings #3)

Rory

Oh, I’m going to kill Finn. Of all times to be a pain in the ass heir, it just had to be now, when I’m balls deep inside the sexiest woman alive.

I was this close to blowing my load, and now it’s gone. Finn banished the orgasm racing toward me with just the pound of his fist.

If only I had my gun.

I make the mistake of peering into Kiara’s panicked, hazy eyes as I pull out. She can tell what’s happening without my explanation, so I don’t bother trying to speak. Especially not when I’m this pissed.

Very carefully, I extract myself from Kiara’s bed, the sight of her naked, flushed body killing me . I have to look away to survive this moment.

Snatching my clothes up off the floor and yanking them on, I manage to meet Kiara’s eyes one more time.

Stricken and unsatisfied, she pulls her legs to her chest and retreats beneath her covers. I don’t wait for any more response than that before stomping out into the hall.

It takes everything in me not to slam the door behind me just to show Finn he picked the wrong moment.

Whatever he’s got to say better be worth my time, or I’m not going to stop myself from decking him in the face.

Finn Gallagher is a lot of things, but cockblock was never one of them.

As soon as I see him in the light of the hallway, I realize he looks like shit. His features convey pain, suffering, rage, and…surprise?

This is the closest he’s been to wearing that lost expression in a long time.

The last time Finn looked like this was when we found out his first wife had been murdered by the De Lucas. And, unfortunately, I’m pretty sure the De Lucas are once again the reason behind his expression.

Finn marches down the hall without speaking, expecting me to follow. And I do, glaring at the space between his shoulder blades the whole damn time.

Instead of heading to the war room or the security hub, he leads us to a private alcove on the third floor of the estate. The only rooms up here are the living quarters of Shane’s top enforcers and the few members of his inner circle who prefer to reside on the premises.

The silence in this alcove is deadly.

I’m opening my mouth to tear into Finn about his timing when he cuts me off. “The Tyson job was compromised.”

Everything inside my angry, fuzzy mind flatlines.

“What happened?”

Finn’s expression clouds, becoming even more grim. “Eight of our guys were outed while on the job.”

“Outed how ?” The anger inside injects a demanding tone into my voice.

“The cops moved in and started shooting. The shipment’s gone.”

“How many survived?”

Finn casts a dark look out the window. “Two.”

My stomach drops down to my knees. I know the guys who were on the Tyson job. They weren’t top-tier enforcers like we are, but one day they might’ve been. Those were guys who reported to us, who drank with us in bars, who took bullets meant for our bodies. Six of them.

Gone.

I can’t process that right now, so I wipe my face, blind rage and frustration blowing up inside me like helium. “How the hell did the cops even know about it?”

We planned the Tyson job with immense secrecy. Close to a million dollars’ worth of illegal substances hung in the balance.

“From what we’ve gathered, the cops received an anonymous tip.” I can see Finn’s tight fist shaking. “But I know it’s the mole.”

“Let’s go.” I stalk out of the alcove and all the way to my office, Finn on my heels. Ignoring the mess, we wade into my lair full of computer screens, prototypes, files, files, and more files.

I grab the back of my wheeled chair and swing it toward my body. Plopping down, I roll myself over to the fifth of eight monitors perched on my desk. Fingers zipping across my keyboard, I wake everything up and get moving.

“I’m going to deploy the EDR software I had us get. Remember?”

Finn grunts. “You forget I don’t speak geek.”

Why do I even bother?

Intent on my screen, my fingers punish the keys for a few more seconds while I toggle into the software interface where all my many controls are laid out before me.

“I had to twist your dad’s arm to get it.” It cost a ton. “We put it on almost everyone’s phones. It detects unauthorized processes.”

I glance up. Finn’s confused face squints back at me. “Malware?”

“Sometimes. Can also identify anomalous behavior. If someone was in touch with someone we didn’t expect. Or with someone they shouldn’t be.”

I keep working. I’m searching for any alerts to the system.

If the mole is the one who tipped off the cops, there might be a record of a blocked phone call to a precinct in here, but nothing’s coming up.

Not a single alert or notification in sight.

Finn drops into a chair behind me and exhales heavily.

“I’m not finding anything out of the ordinary.” I swallow down my frustration. “If you’re right and the mole’s responsible, they probably used a burner phone.” I slump back in my chair, pushing away from my desk so Finn and I are facing each other once again. “That’s what I would’ve done.”

“Would you?” Finn’s question is quiet. “What about Kiara? Still nothing?”

My heart stumbles in my chest, but I still sound natural when I push the excuse between my lips. “No, but I’ll question her later today to see if she knows anything.”

Finn’s face grows stormy again, dark and ominous.

“Is that what you’re doing when you two are together? Questioning her ?”

I push my chair farther back from his, eyes low as I size him up. “What is this fascination with Kiara and me?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Finn retrieves a lone cigarette from his pocket and lights up. “Unfortunately, neither of us has the time right now to unpack what’s going on in that skull of yours, but I can’t help but wonder.”

My shoulders collapse as I expel the breath I’ve been holding. “There’s nothing going on between us.” Finn’s unamused expression compels me to tack on “besides sex” at the end of that sentence.

I really don’t want to talk to Finn about this.

In fact, I would rather break one of my fingers than talk to Finn about this.

But I can’t deny what he witnessed with his own eyes.

“I told you you’d regret it if you dipped your dick in this one.”

“Don’t tell me you’re mad at me when you and Cian were doing the exact same thing with your soon-to-be wives, once upon a time.”

Fire sparks in Finn’s menacing dark brown eyes. “Leave Riley and Harper out of this.”

My rage from earlier reignites, stronger now. “Talk about double fucking standards.”

For a moment, he glares at me. Then his shoulders slump a little, and his voice goes quiet. “Rory, if there’s anything…anything at all…you want to tell me, now’s the time.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean? What kind of response—and then it hits me. What he’s getting at.

And it’s so absurd, I actually laugh.

“Wow. You…you’re actually serious.” A humorless smile spreads across my face, the sting of betrayal blossoming inside me. “You think I have something to do with our mole problem?”

“I think you’re not paying attention where you ought to be paying attention. And I don’t know why.”

“It’s like you’ve never heard of sex before.”

Finn eyes me, leaning forward as if he’s hunched over a microscope. “I think it’s more than sex.”

An involuntary scoff climbs out of my throat. One totally meant to hide the bolt of electricity that cracks through me at the notion of Kiara being anything more than a soft, warm, luscious body.

“Remember how many times I had to pull both your and Cian’s asses out of trouble with the twins before Shane found out?”

Finn grips the armrests of his chair. “That was different.”

“It’s really not.”

“Of course it is!” Finn roars. Actually roars. What is he, a damn lion? “We weren’t at war then!”

“What is it with you lately?” I probably shouldn’t needle him, but I can’t help myself. “Not that long ago, you were fantasizing about running off with your girl, and now you’re all wartime general, mister policy and procedure?”

“And you?” Finn sharpens his gaze to a point, like he’s trying to burn a hole in my face.

“Are you in some kind of crisis I don’t know about?

Gambling? You owe someone something? Do I need to send you away on a tropical vacation somewhere and let you sip margaritas until your head comes back down to planet Earth?

” Finn leaps up from his seat. “Focus where you need to focus, Rory.”

I stand up, too, facing him head-on. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means Kiara is not the solution here.” Finn folds his arms. “In fact, I think she might be your fucking problem.”

I recoil as the thick tension in the air between us vibrates. The room is silent save for the whir of computer fans.

“You think I’m not doing my job?”

Finn’s hooded gaze doesn’t inspire any confidence in me. “I don’t know what you’re doing. But it might get someone killed. Maybe even you.”

Kiara’s exquisite face flashes behind my eyes. I grit my teeth.

“That’s what worries me—” Finn’s voice is cut off by the shrill ring of his phone. He picks up immediately. “Da?”

The expression on Finn’s face goes from bad to worse. Without a word, he hangs up his phone like a man staring death in the eye. “Come on. We’ve been summoned.”

“What is it this time?”

“Dad received a message from Leo.” Finn’s eyes meet mine, heavy with gloom. “He knows we have Kiara.”