Page 36 of Redemption

“Kim has an Irish accent?” Not a surprise, really. I had an inkling this is what was going on with Lorcan and Kim. “You can’t go yet.” I follow Finn toward the door.

He takes out his phone, and a few seconds later, mine vibrates on the bedside. “My number.” He pops open the door, and the openness of his expression turns wary. “Be there in a sec.” He shuts the door before I can catch a glimpse of Kim. “Fire Evander. Tell him he’s shit at his job. Whatever you need to do to get rid of him. I’ll be in touch.”

My stomach drops, and I put my hand on the door before he can open it again. “If you’re lying to me—if you don’t come back for me—I’ll never forgive you.”

“I gave you my number.” He searches my face. “We’ve got lunch tomorrow with the PLA. You can stay—for now. At the first sign of more trouble than I can handle, I’m shipping you outta here. You got me?”

I nod. Does he realize I won’t leave regardless of what he wants? May not matter, because I can’t imagine him admitting a situation has gotten out of his control. I throw my arms around him, desperate for one last embrace. He squeezes me tight.

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you too.” His voice sounds hoarse.

He hasn’t uttered those words to me in months, and my chest expands in relief before he pulls away and disappears out the door.

I press my back against the wood and sigh. I don’t have a plan if he doesn’t call me tomorrow with a time to meet him. Honesty. That’s what I’m banking on.

The door vibrates against me with a knock. I check the peephole before opening it to Jay on the other side. He slips past me when I give him room to enter. For a moment, he gazes around the room.

“So, he found you, huh? But he didn’t stay?” Jay pins me with his gaze. “What’s going on?”

I shut the door and frown. “How did you know he was here?”

Jay’s eyebrows lift. “For one, these walls are thinner than they look. You two areneverquiet, much less after you haven’t seen each other in months. For two, I opened my door as he was going past. He muttered, ‘do fucking better,’ as he walked past me.” He shrugs. “Probably lucky he didn’t stop to deliver a right hook with it as well.”

“I have so much to tell you.” I nod toward the one cramped chair in the corner of the tiny room. “You should sit down.”

Chapter Seventeen

Finn

Afterhefinishessweepingthe place for bugs, Lorcan passes me a beer in the kitchen of their tiny one-bedroom apartment. They’ve got some kind of blocker installed in their car, but everywhere else could be unsafe to speak.

Earlier today, sleeping on the couch didn’t bother me. Tonight, knowing I could be in Carys’s hotel room mean these cramped quarters will be a hell of a lot more uncomfortable.

“She’s not leaving?” He eyes me from the other half of the kitchen with his back pressed into the counter.

“Nope,” I admit. “I’m getting soft in my old age.”

He chuckles, and one side of his lips quirks up before he takes a sip from his beer. “Maybe you’re getting wise.”

“This seems wise to you? Letting her stay? ’Cause if I let my brain lead, it feels reckless to me.”

“Par for the course, then.” Lorcan downs more of his beer. “Kim’s none too pleased.”

“Not a surprise.” I roll the bottle between my hands. “What’s the PLA’s beef with the McCaffrey family?”

“Nothin’, as far as I can tell. I reckon they came up with that bullshit to get you on board. Your murdering spree to avenge Carys’s wound is legendary in certain circles.” Lorcan shrugs. “Pierre-Jacques is unhinged enough to go after the McCaffrey clan for sport. Motives are secondary.”

A twinge of recognition stirs in my gut. Not that long ago, that was me. Murder for sport. “You must have considered me unhinged all our lives.”

Lorcan chuckles and grabs another beer from the tiny fridge. “Indeed. Though now I reckon it was because you didn’t have anyone to hinge yourself to.”

“You’re saying Carys is a good influence?” I squint and ponder the implication.

He purses his lips and narrows his gaze. “You’re not so cocksure anymore. When you’ve got something to lose, life is infinitely better and worse. You’re always on the cusp of having everything you want or losing it forever.”

“Thanks for the recap.” I grab my beer cap off the counter and flick it toward the garbage.

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