Page 58 of Redemption

Funny, it’s not the blood bothering her but rather the ruined fabric. I focus on Pierre-Jacques and ignore her quiet rage. At least her emotion seems authentic. Apparently, she cares about clothes. She and Carys would have that in common if nothing else. “Francois probably called you already, but the McCaffrey men are yours.”

“Did he beg for his life?” Her hands hover over the dampness of her dress, disgust marring her features. When I don’t answer right away, she glances up, a cunning gleam in her eyes. “Well?”

“No.” I shrug. “He went out like a man.”

She glares at Pierre-Jacques, unsatisfied with my answer. “Did you kill the rest of his family?” Pierre-Jacques asks in a leisurely tone.

I chuckle. “Uh, no. Had you listened to my plan, you’d have known who I needed to kill to get this done. Lady Macbeth here has the blood of the only person who couldn’t survive in her lap.”

Her eyes narrow at my reference. What I’m trying to figure out is whether she’s more like Iago. A poison in Pierre-Jacque’s ear, partners in the PLA, or is she manipulating him?

“Yes, but you have a certain reputation.” Pierre-Jacques flicks his hand. “Kill them all.”

“What can I say? I learned a few things in prison about being more economical.” Beside me, Lorcan covers his mouth, but he remains a silent presence.

There are more sides to Jade than a house of mirrors, and I can’t tell whether she understands why I put the box in her lap or not. If she was at the pub eighteen years ago, she’ll have seen Lorcan too. So far, they’ve given no indication they don’t trust him. Trust is earned, but it can turn on a dime.

“Leave us.” Pierre-Jacques picks up his wineglass.

“What? I don’t get a pat on the head? A cookie?”

His furious gaze bores into mine. “You disrespected Jade, and you’re alive. The fact you still have a head is because you brought me someone else’s. Leave us.”

The instinct to bite down, swagger harder, rises and waits at the back of my throat. I swallow the urge. Until we’ve got Lucas, Sofia, Lena, and the girls moved to a more secure location, I can only push so hard. Carys wouldn’t forgive me for putting them in danger for my ego. The CIA would never pardon me for ripping his head off without knowing the larger PLA plan. Tentacles of the organization lie across the world. Take one off and another grows in its place.

Instead of escalating, I rotate on my heel and stride to the door which leads to the stairs. My brother follows behind as a silent shadow.

“Not you, Lachlan. We have things to discuss.”

“Aye.” He turns back. “Yes, sir.”

I half turn in response, uneasy at the thought of leaving him alone. In this situation, he’s not my brother, he’s the PLA’s hired gun. If they don’t suspect anything yet, insisting on staying will raise their ire. Our gazes connect for the briefest moment before I’m through the doors and headed for Carys. There’s only so much protecting I can do, and I relied on Lorcan to take care of himself once our father was disposed of. I can’t start coddling him now.

In the hallway outside Carys’s bedroom door, Jay is playing twenty-one with a deck of cards. “You winning?” I smirk.

He chuckles and sweeps up the deck. “You’ve returned.”

“How were things here?” Even though we chatted a few times, communication was tricky with the distance between us and people on both ends listening in. My respect for Kim’s duplicitous nature might have increased a smidge in the last week. Here, in the PLA mansion, I’m just like her. Vulnerable from both sides—two agendas tugging on me for attention. Figuring out which to prioritize, and when, isn’t always clear.

“Weird. You?”

“Same, actually.” I frown and check the time on my phone. How long will Jade and Pierre-Jacques stay awake? We can’t speak inside, but middle-of-the-night trysts came with their own risks. “Three a.m. Field. You got me?”

“I got you.” Jay rises to his feet and ambles along the hall to his room.

I slip inside the door, and Carys stirs in bed but doesn’t wake. At home, she became a light sleeper with Lucas needing fed. I undress as quietly as I can and slide between the covers behind her. When I tug her flush against my body, she sighs.

“You’re here,” she murmurs. Her ass moves against my erection. She turns in my embrace and burrows into me. “I missed you. I wish you never had to leave me again.”

My arms tighten around her, drawing her as close as I can. The whole week I was gone, there’d been a dull ache under my breastbone. The same one I carried with me in prison. Right now, it’s disappeared. Vanished. I’m never going to get into heaven, but having her in my arms is pretty damn close to perfection. Amazes me, sometimes. I get to feelthiswith her after everything I’ve done.

She trails kisses up my neck until she reaches my lips. “Show me how much you missed me.”

Easy. I’d give her that demonstration all night.

Carys’s hand is secure in mine as we sneak down the rear staircase. Daniel and Noel switched watch posts for tonight, and I’m confident we can get to the fields without Daniel seeing us. He’s lazy and borderline incompetent. Once we’re outside, Jay’s build is a shadow in the distance.

We’re silent while we trudge through the field to meet him. When we arrive, he says, “What’d you learn?”

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