Kelly Clan 02 - Connor (12 page)

When he started to pull back, she pressed him in the rest of the way. Her hands found his, and she glanced behind her.

“Nice wake-up call,” she said.

Conor groaned, and his hips bucked forward.

“You are amazing,” he whispered.

Claire threaded her fingers with his and moaned with each thrust.

Faster and faster, he moved inside her.

“I’m not going to last.”

Claire took her free hand and traced along his cock powering into her slick entrance.

“Come,” she demanded.

His hands tightened on her hips, and she moaned with each hard thrust.

“Come, baby,” he moaned.

She clenched over him as he twitched deep inside.

Conor placed small kisses along her back.

“God, I love you,” he said and froze.

He hadn’t meant for it to come out and certainly not this way.

She pulled away slightly and turned in his arms.

“What?” she said quietly

He stared at her for a long moment before continuing.

“I love you, Claire,” he said. “I always have.”

She shook in his arms, overcome with emotions.

“It’s okay, baby.” He rubbed her back. “You don’t have to say it. When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

She nodded and curled up next to him. Just having her with him was all he needed. Someday she’d feel she could say it back. Despite all the pain and despite working with Ennis, he had her back, and this time he wouldn't push her away.

He’d also do what he had to do to protect her. A little pain in the short run was preferable to much worse pain the future.

Chapter Twelve

Claire had been focused on Conor's bedroom confession all morning. He never before had used the word love. She had, many times, but that was so long ago. That had been a Claire that was more open than the one today. Besides the obvious, why didn’t he ever say it before? If he felt it all this time, why did he spend so much time fighting her? Every thought led to another question, which fed into another question.

Several times she opened her mouth to talk to him about her thoughts, but he seemed so happy. She didn't know what to do. It almost seemed cruel to question him about it. What sort of woman interrogated a man over his heartfelt declaration of love?

The whole ride to work she sat in silence, hoping she would find a way to talk to him that was reasonable but revealing. Her hope vanished when they pulled into the parking lot of her office.

It was clear from the glass on the ground that something was wrong. Her thoughts drifted to Anna, but she hoped that her friend would take the day and recover.

“What the fuck?” Conor said.

Shattered windows and a sea of broken glass confronted her.

Claire mirrored Conor’s statement.

She stepped out of the car and made her way inside. Nearly every single window had been destroyed.

“How did they get in without setting off the alarm?” she asked.

Conor's face grew grim. “They cut the line,” he said.

Claire nodded. Someone who went to that sort of trouble obviously wasn't just a punk having a good time. Professionals hit her building, and the implications, especially given Harriet's fate, were chilling.

Inside, every portion of the office was in complete disarray. Even her desk was overturned. File cabinets had been knocked over. There were even a few suspicious stains that made her wonder if they'd urinated on her carpet. They had even destroyed the curtains in her office.

She turned to Conor, still in shock. Everything she worked so hard for lay broken on the floor.

“Claire,” Conor said, stepping closer to her. “I’m so sorry.”

Anger welled up in her. The intruders had gone out of their way to make sure that she suffered. As she walked slowly around the room, she found her computer on the floor. They had snapped off the screen, and it looked like it was stomped on. Even a tornado didn't go out of its way to destroy things it had missed for no reason.

She turned to Conor.

“Is this Ennis?” she asked quietly.

Conor shook his head. “I doubt it. This wouldn’t benefit him, and he’s not a fan of doing things that don’t benefit him.” He motioned about. “It's a bit sloppy for his style too.”

Claire stared hard at him, as the anger continued to bubble inside. “Were you in on this?”

Shock exploded over his face, and his brown eyes looked pained, but anymore, she didn’t know what was real and whom she could trust. The man said he loved her, but he still worked for a dangerous man who had allied himself with even more dangerous men.

“How can you say that?” Conor said. He stepped near her, but she backed away, holding up her hands.

Claire shook her head. “I don’t know. You show up, and suddenly everything starts going crazy. You say you’re here to help, but it always seems like you’re near when things go bad. I don't want to believe it, but you have to think about how it looks from my perspective.”

“Claire,” he said. He crossed the distance and pulled her to him. She wanted to struggle in his arms, but her heart was too heavy. “I would never have a part in something like this.”

She looked up to him. He was pained by her questions, yet he still stayed by her side. A piece of her broke away.

“Why didn’t you come to me sooner? Why now? Just because of Ennis?” she asked. Tears flowed freely down her face. “You said you loved me, but you didn't come to me until that man sent you to me.”

He swallowed. She knew why. He didn’t come because he hadn’t even spared a thought for her over the years. Maybe he didn't feel any love for her and just felt lust. For all she knew, he was fucking her on orders from his boss.

Claire pulled away.

“Wait,” he said. His voice cracked, and she wondered if this was really hurting him.

“Wait? For what? For another four years?” Claire held up her hand. “You are here because you were ordered to be here. Just go. I'll take my chances.”

“Claire!” He rushed up to her, but this time when he tried to take her in his arms, she slipped just out of reach. He stopped and held out his hands. “Just listen. Yes, I came because Ennis told me to. Why bother sending me, if he was just going to destroy your office? I was just supposed to convince you to come to his side. ”

She snorted. That would never happen.

“I had to find another way to keep you safe,” he said. “I would never hurt you. You have to believe that.”

Claire frowned. “Another way?”

Conor looked away from her, and her stomach twisted. Whatever it was, he couldn’t even look at her.

“All you had to do was lose, and they would have a different person to go after,” he said quietly.

Claire swallowed in gulps of air.

“You set me up?”

Conor turned to look at her again. “To lose, yes. For this, never.”

“You set me up to lose?” She blinked several times. “How?”

“I just sent a few things anonymously to reporters, to remind them about some of your connections and how close they actually were. I just wanted them to draw their own conclusions and, I don't know, do what reporters do.”

She shook. “Was it all a lie, so you wouldn’t have to feel bad?”

“Never,” he said so firmly she halfway believed. “I love you,” he said. “Whether you believe it or not.”

Claire shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

He took another step in her direction but stopped when she held up a hand. “I just want to be alone.”

She couldn’t look at him. He seemed so torn, but how was she supposed to believe him?

“I’ll go, but I’m coming back later,” he said. “Just... Just don’t give up on me.”

She turned to hide the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing.

She listened to the crunch of his feet as he moved through the office.

Claire took in a breath and pulled out her phone. There was only one option in this situation.

“Hello?” Finn said through the phone.

“I need your help.”

* * *

Conor slammed through the warehouse. Ennis wouldn’t do this sort of shit. It reeked of Boris, and he was going to make sure that bastard got what was coming to him.

He passed several men and walked over to the corner the Russians normally occupied. A deck of cards sat neatly in the center of the table. The red joker sat face-up, laughing at him. Conor swiped it off the top. It was a joke to that fucker. This was all some giant game, and the end result was always the same. Someone ended up dead. Whatever Ennis's faults, at least he took this shit seriously.

Anger burned through Conor. He had to find Boris before something bad happened.

He turned and found Braden standing behind him.

“Problem?”

Conor handed over the card. “He’s after Claire.”

Braden paled. “Have you talked to Ennis?”

Conor shook his head. “On my way there now.”

Braden glanced around and then back to Conor. “I’ll come with you,” he said. “I just need to make a call.”

“Thanks.” He hated to think it, but he might need the backup.

* * *

Claire swiped away a few tears. It was amazing how many worst days she'd been achieving recently.

“Hey,” Anna said from the door. “Need a hand?”

Claire jumped up from her spot on the floor and brushed off the debris. She rushed over to Anna and gave her a big hug.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she said. Claire leaned back to look at her. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

Anna nodded behind her to where Noel and Riley were standing. The large men surveyed the damage, their faces growing grim.

“Finn thought you could use the help,” Noel said and moved around the room. He tossed her keys on the desk. “Your car is out front.”

Claire smiled at him. He might be gruff, but Noel sometimes understood more than he ever let on.

“We’ve called someone to come in and fix the windows,” Noel said and ignored her smile. “They should be able to get them done today.”

“And insurance?” Claire asked.

“Finn is lining it up now,” he said and looked out the window. “They said they’ll be able to go off the photos. I’m waiting for the officer now to file an official report. Kace Allen called in a favor on this, so it should be fairly easy.”

Claire nodded and watched Noel and Riley walk back out the door. Knowing she had people like that on her side made it a little easier.

She turned back to Anna, who was sitting on the now upright desk.

“So,” Claire said and took a seat next to her, “I didn’t really expect you here after yesterday.”

Anna sighed. “It was quite the night,” she said and looked to her legs as they dangled over the edge. “I kicked him out.”

Claire reached across and took her hand.

“Good,” she said. “Maybe you should be careful, though. He thought I had Harriet killed, and thought I should arrange the same for you. What if he does something stupid?”

“Jason's too chickenshit to do anything to me. That's why he was trying to get his future mistress to do it for him.”

“Anna, I would ne—“

“I know,” Anna said, holding up her hands. “You already did me a favor by punching him.” She sighed. “I should have known really,” she said. “I’ve been avoiding the signs for some time now. I was fairly sure he was seeing that blond bitch he works with.”

“Oh?”

“Just a couple smart remarks from her when I came in to get some papers.”

Claire gritted her teeth. She hated to think that Anna had put up with that sort of treatment for someone like Jason.

“Claire, you’ve got to believe me when I say how sorry I am for last night.” Anna’s eyes welled with tears, and her lower lip trembled.

Claire pulled her in for a hug. “You have no reason to apologize,” she whispered. “There was no way for you to know.”

They clung to each other, each seeking some sort of comfort.

“You know what we need,” Claire whispered.

Anna laughed through her tears. “What?”

“Chocolate.” She pulled back and smiled. “How about we go to dinner? My treat.”

Anna looked around at the destruction.

“Don’t you need to stick around?” she asked.

Claire shook her head. “Noel and Riley will take care of it. That’s what family does.”

Anna sighed. “It must be nice to have people like that you can count on.”

Looking around the room, Claire knew she was lucky to have all these people here to help. It was nice and even better to know that there was always someone she could call.

“It is nice. Sometimes you just have to count your blessings.”

She thought back to Conor. She had been harsh with him, and maybe a little unfair. Tomorrow, there would be so many things that she’d need to do to counteract the negative impact his actions might have caused her, but in the end, she did understand, even if she didn’t really want to. He was in a bad position and didn’t have a lot of options. Maybe if they had talked about it a little more, she might have thought of something else. She rubbed her temples. Everyone was trapped by circumstances outside of their control.

Maybe not though. When he had come to her, she already thought he was going to screw her over. Claire sighed. She just hoped she hadn’t sent him off for him to do something really stupid.

Chapter Thirteen

Conor was getting pissed. They had driven all over town looking for Ennis, and it was like they were being led on a wild goose chase. Members of Ennis's crew kept telling him, “You just missed him.”

First, it was a bar, then a club he liked to frequent, and now they were headed to the yacht. If he wasn’t there, Conor was going to have to take matters into his own hands. He was half-convinced Ennis had instructed everyone to fuck with him. Now, whether that was just to stall him or just to amuse Ennis remained to be seen.

He had tried calling three times, but every time, his call went straight to voicemail. He found it hard to believe that a man like Ennis would let himself be out of communication for so long.

Luckily, Conor knew that Claire was with the family, so Boris wouldn’t stand a chance of getting to her, at least for a while. They couldn't stay with her forever, though, and Finn would need them to leave at the end of the day.