Well, if he wanted to know what Kell intended to do with his future, he would have to be more straightforward. "He's cool. I mean, he's still fucking weird, but I think I can handle him for another couple of months. I left him with enough to do until I can get back up there."
Which would be next week. It was past time to start hiring associates who would run the Chicago branch. Sometimes Eric and Tate just didn't think big enough. They didn't have to lose their clients. They simply had to grow.
The way he had to grow.
Eric frowned. "Well, I hope you're here long enough to see all the indictments come down now that we've turned the client list over. You know Gates is already behind bars, as is Helena. The judge Gates had been protecting got arrested last night. He was a very frequent customer, from Marie Wright's days, all the way until just before Karen Ehlers's murder. They've barely scratched this guy's surface, and already it looks as if the feds will file corruption charges against him. Some other names are being tossed around as clients of Ehlers-senators, athletes, university officials, even a rock star or two."
"I'd definitely enjoy seeing what happens with the case," Kell said with a grin.
Tate approached, wearing a big, sloppy grin. Damn. When Kell had first started hanging out with Eric, he'd tolerated Tate because they'd seemed like a package deal. The big dork had grown on him quickly. Now Kell couldn't imagine living without him.
"Hey, how was Chicago?" The shit-eating grin on Tate's face let Kellan know the big guy was far more aware of what he'd been doing up north than Eric.
The fucker still had him tagged. At one point, Kell would have regarded it as a horrible invasion of his privacy, but now it just felt like someone gave a damn about him. "I don't know. You tell me."
Eric sighed. "You didn't."
Tate shrugged. "He's been in the hospital. He shouldn't have been traveling. I had to keep tabs on him. Besides, I didn't need to tag his phone to hear what he was doing. I just had to talk to Jeremy from Petty and Associates."
Yeah, he was never going to be able to slide much past Tate. "I thought he would be good to head up litigation. He got passed over for partner and he's hungry."
Eric's eyes widened. "You're taking on new partners?"
Tate grinned. "Nope. We're taking on new partners because we won't be in Chicago enough to keep the firm running, but I don't want to give up the income. Do you?"
A huge grin broke across Eric's face. "Now that you mention it, Belle has very expensive tastes. Do you know how much this master bedroom renovation will cost? We need the money just to feed her need to make things pretty."
Eric had accepted him back. Kell was finally coming home. A weight lifted off him and he felt lighter than ever.
From the other side of the room, Belle looked up and her eyes sparkled as she caught sight of him. He could see her relieved sigh. She'd thought he wouldn't return. He couldn't blame her for fearing he would walk away for good. He'd started to a hundred times. But the thought of never holding her again had stopped him. He intended to prove to her that he was a changed man. He'd changed for her. Because of her.
After a quick hug, Belle left Kinley and approached him with a wariness in her eyes that saddened him. She slid into his embrace, but didn't give him her usual full-body cuddle.
Obviously, she had no idea he'd come back to stay.
"Hey, Kellan. I'm so glad you could make it back for the engagement party." Her smile was gorgeous but didn't quite reach her eyes. "How was Chicago?"
His whole body went on alert the minute she got near him. Blood thrummed through his system, racing to get to his cock because it had been far too long since he'd been inside her. "Chicago was fine, but DC was a little more interesting."
Everyone stopped, all three of them staring at him. It was good to know he could still surprise them.
Eric reared back in shock. "What on earth did you do in DC?"
"Shit. Did you kill someone?" Tate looked wide-eyed. "Because you really should have called us, man. We would have helped bury the body."
It was good to know he could count on Tate if he ever needed to murder someone.
Kell laughed. "I didn't kill anyone." Though he had laid a couple of his demons to rest. "I went to see my father."
Belle had tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. "You wanted to mend the rift between you?"
He hadn't changed that much. "Hell, no. I looked the asshole in the eye and told him what I thought of him. And then I told him I wanted to be part of the family again-and not because I'm desperate to get in good with dear ol' dad."