How to Hack a Hacker - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,37

Of course we can accept you fully. Hell, we’re not any better than you.”

“Your family spent over two decades cleaning up their act,” Kyou managed. His core shook from some emotion he didn’t care to put a name to. “And you’re telling me that they’ll be fine with a wanted criminal in their midst?”

“Yes.”

Kyou put both hands over his face, hiding it, as he felt entirely too vulnerable just then and didn’t want Brannigan to see his expression. How could he convince Brannigan this was a mistake, trying this, when the man was so confident that it wouldn’t be?

Those arms came around him again, gently this time. Kyou let himself be drawn into the embrace, but he didn’t relax into it. He stayed stiff and unyielding even though part of him wanted to latch on and not let go.

“Caro.” Brannigan’s voice was low and soothing as he spoke against Kyou’s temple. “First of all, I do not consider myself better than you. I’ve lived differently, that’s true. But you know best of all just how morally grey my operations are on a day-to-day basis. I don’t think of you as someone to be pitied, or someone wrong. You are incredibly precious to me, and that’s all I see when I look at you.”

Brannigan sounded so sincere that Kyou couldn’t argue against him. And the man wouldn’t be advocating this hard if he felt differently, right? Kyou told his own fears that, and found himself waffling. This was still a bad idea, though. “But your father won’t feel the same way. I mean, look at me. He invested so much in me, and this is how I turned out.”

“A brilliant man who’s done his level best to protect his only son.” Brannigan snorted. “You really think my father’s disappointed in you?”

Kyou’s fears faltered, ground ashore. “He’s not?”

“He’s very much not. He’s not aware of precisely who you are, but he knows you were one he tried to save. And he’s very keen on meeting you. Really, if he possessed any idea of where we were right now he’d already be knocking the door down.”

Oh. Well. Kyou hadn’t really expected that. He’d have thought Mattias Genovese would have been disappointed on some level. The man had gone legit himself, given Kyou so many advantages, and he’d still gone rogue on him. Kyou expected disappointment and anger.

“Does that put some of your fears to rest?”

Kyou shrugged uncomfortably, not willing to acknowledge that Brannigan had taken about half of the wind out of his sails. It was really hard to argue with the man when he used facts and logic against him. It was why he was so terrible to negotiate with in a board meeting.

“Good, then let me address the other thing you threw at me. These people you tried to date, when it ended so poorly, were you dating them while protecting me?”

Sighing, Kyou nodded.

“Have you considered that they were jealous? They knew your attention wasn’t on them. I’ll hardly have the same opinion since it’s me you’ll be focused on.”

That…was a really excellent point.

“And I really, truly mean it when I say that my family’s been expecting me to date you for years. If you’d like, I’ll call my father tomorrow and have him confirm that for you. If you’re expecting trouble from that end, you won’t get it.”

Suspicions roused, Kyou finally dropped his hands. “Wait. If they were so sure you’d date me, then why have you been signing up for all of those dating sites? And going on blind dates?”

“Going on a date was a sure-fire way to get you to call me,” Brannigan answered matter-of-factly.

Kyou made a sound like a deflating balloon. “God, I’m not that predictable, am I?”

With a soft laugh, Brannigan pressed a kiss against his temple but didn’t answer.

He really had shown his hand there. Kyou just couldn’t seem to keep himself from messing with Brannigan’s dates. But no wonder the man felt so confident that Kyou wanted him. That jealousy of his left little room for doubt.

“Caro, I firmly believe this isn’t a mistake. I think that if we sit down, and properly work this out, we can find time for both of us—time that doesn’t involve you staring at me from a screen. I know your career is important to you. I don’t want to end that. But I do want you to step away from the desk more, experience life rather than watching it through a monitor.” Putting their foreheads together, Brannigan