I shook my head. "I'm fine. I'll be back down in a few minutes."
"Okay, shout if you need me."
He went into the sitting room on the second floor while I continued up two more flights of stairs to get to the fourth floor. I noticed that this many stairs would be a hazard to a child and that the entire house would have to be baby proofed.
"More work," I grumbled to myself.
I sighed when I got to the fourth floor and headed into Kane's room. I walked into his en-suite and relieved myself on the toilet. When I was finished, I washed and dried my hands and headed back into his bedroom.
I kicked off my shoes and slid my feet into my fluffy bunny slippers and groaned in pleasure as I did so. They felt like a million tiny kisses on my feet with each step I took in them. They were simply Heaven.
I turned to exit Kane's room, but the sound of a phone ringing halted my movements. I scanned the room and spotted Kane's phone charging on his locker on his side of the bed. I blinked dumbly when I realised my mind automatically put him on the right-hand side of the bed, and made it his spot while I claimed the left.
Brain, we don't live here!
I shook my head clear and walked over to the phone. I glanced at the screen and saw Damien flash across the screen. I smiled and picked the phone up. I tapped the screen of the phone and brought it to my ear.
"Welcome to your voicemail inbox, you have one new message. Press one to hear this message."
I went to put Kane's phone down, I really did, but I was curious as to why Damien would leave a voicemail when he could have just rang the other brothers if he wanted to talk. He clearly had something to say for Kane's ears, and the nosey bitch in me wanted to know what it was.
I pressed one on the screen and brought the phone back to my ear.
"Hey, it's me. Look, I don't want you or the others to worry, but I've been keeping tabs on Big Phil and his boys. Before Ryder says anything, I've been keeping them from a distance. I was just curious who was running the compound now that Marco is gone. Turns out Big Phil has made himself at home there."
Damien paused when a noise sounded in the background then resumed speaking a moment later.
"Anyway, I swung by when everyone was out and found Manny on watch. Can you believe it? That dude is still the worst drunk I've ever come across and he is on guard duty. Fucking idiots."
Damien paused when another noise sounded in the background. I snorted when he said, "Fucking broken window."
He either left the room he was in or moved away from the window; wherever he was now it was quiet. Real quiet.
"So I asked Manny how things have been. He didn't know it was me because I had a hat on and a scarf covering my face. He was kind enough to let on that the new boss was heading to Ireland because Dominic's name resurfaced in the underground. Brandon runs his end in the underground legally now so word has spread that Dominic is his fighter, and if anyone wants to challenge him, it's fifty grand a head. Fifty. Grand. Dominic better be getting a nice pay cheque for that price. Tell him to hit training hard. No doubt those ball busters in the underground will want that purse."
Fucking hell, people had to pay to get their arse kicked by Dominic?
I mean, really?
Why on earth would anyone want that type of hurt for free, let alone pay for it?
People baffled me!
"Be on the lookout and keep lying low. Especially you Kane. Manny said he has some unfinished business with you. I gotta go, my shitty apartment is falling apart. I'll call again later. Bye."
I lowered Kane's phone from my ear and looked at the screen. I didn't move for a couple of minutes as I tried to process what I just heard.
"Hey, what's taking you so long?"
I turned my head to face Kane when he entered his room. He looked at my hand as I lowered my arm to my lap. He had focused on the phone for a few moments before he looked up to my face.
"Who was that?" he asked, taking a step closer to me.
I blinked. "I missed the call, but accidentally entered your voicemail."
Another step forward.
"Who left me a voicemail?"
I licked my lips. "Damien. He was warnin' you and your brothers that he heard someone was comin' to Ireland."
Kane kept his eyes on mine. "Can I have my phone?"
I lifted my arm and held the phone out for him to freely take.
"I've a question."
Kane swallowed as he took his phone from me. "Shoot."
"Who is Big Phil and what business do you have with him?
"I don't understand the question."
I stared at Kane. "It's a pretty direct question. Who is Big Phil and what business do you have with him?"
Kane opened his mouth to speak but closed it when no words were spoken.
"Kane?" I pressed. "Why can't you just answer the question?"
He continued to stare at me and after a further silence he parted his lips and said, "Because I don't want you to know who Big Phil is."
I blinked. "Why not?"
"Because you're pure to me and Big Phil taints everything he has involvement in. I don't want to discuss him with anyone, especially you. I can't give you a direct answer, so this will have to be good enough."
I hated that his reply made me more curious to know who this Big Phil was. But instead of arguing, I raised my eyebrows and said, "Okay."
Kane licked his lips. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not," I replied, honestly.
He eyed me, unsure if I was telling him the truth or not. "Really?"
I shrugged. "Kane, you don't have to share every aspect of your life with me. We are just havin' a baby together. We don't need to know one another on a deep personal level."
My reply made him frown, but he said nothing.
"Are you ready to show everyone the DVD?" I asked, hoping to get out of his room and away from the sudden awkwardness and lingering silence.
Kane nodded his head and held his hand out to me and pulled me up to my feet.
"They're all in the living room waiting."
I snorted, "It's so weird you have your sittin' room on the second floor."
He raised his eyebrows at me. "The two most important rooms have to be next to one another, the kitchen and the gym."
I snorted. "My two favourite rooms right now are me bedroom and the bathroom. Luckily they're next to each other in me apartment."
"That's only because you pee more than you eat right now."
My stomach rumbled and it caused me to grunt, "Damn you for mentionin' the kitchen."
Kane lightly smiled. "Come on, we'll get you something to eat before we play the DVD."
I was down for that.
"I'll give you your injection, too."
"Great," Kane grumbled.
I walked by Kane and tried to ignore how different he was being. He looked deep in thought, a million miles away even though he was right next to me.
"Are you okay?" I asked as we walked down the stairs.
Kane glanced at me. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, babydoll."
I didn't believe him.
Mentioning this Big Phil person changed him.
"Okay," I said, not wanting to the press the issue.
We walked down the stairs side by side, but Kane let me go first into the kitchen. I checked his blood sugar level then gave him his second and final injection of the day. When that was done, I made myself a bowl of cereal because I didn't want to wait around for something to cook. Kane sat and played around with his phone while I ate my food.
I didn't exactly feel awkward, but I did feel a little uneasy. Something was bothering Kane, I could tell. He was avoiding eye contact with me and playing with his phone, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. He looked like one of my students when they were hiding something from me.
I thought of something to talk about, and my flowers at school quickly entered my mind.
"Thank you for my flowers."
Kane looked at me. "What flowers?"
I frowned. "The flowers I received at school today … you sent them, right?"
Kane shook his head. "No."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Who sent them then?"
"I have no idea, but it wasn't me."
Huh.
That was weird.
I stood up when I finished my cereal and Kane followed suit. He walked over to the kitchen door and waited for me to put my bowl in the sink. I walked out ahead of him and sighed when I got to the stairs. "I wish there was a lift in this house."
Kane snorted behind me and placed his hands on my hips. "Let's go, babydoll."
I huffed and puffed up the stairs and sighed in relief when I got to the second floor and headed for the sitting room. Kane was still behind me, but his hands were no longer on my hips. I kind of missed his touch, but I forced myself to believe that was because he gave me a boost and made moving around easier.
That was my story and I was sticking to it.
"Finally!" Bronagh stated when Kane and I entered the room.
I held up my hands. "Sorry, I was hungry."
Bronagh waved me off. "Play the DVD. I wanna see me niece."
"Nephew," Nico mumbled.