Page 28 of Redemption

“We’ve got clothes for you in the car.”

Her accent is something I’ll have to get used to. Each time she speaks, I’m tempted to gawk around for another person. “I haven’t had anything that wasn’t government issued in months.”

“Breakfast it is.” Lorcan unlocks the car.

Kim sweeps the booth for bugs while Lorcan and I order meals from the bar. We stand in companionable silence, and I take deep breaths, wondering when my freedom will set in. Probably not until I lay eyes on Carys. The rest of this’ll fade to the background.

“You gonna fill me in?” I ask once the bartender has punched in our orders.

“No.” Lorcan takes money out of his wallet. “Best wait for Kim. CIA isn’t so sure about this arrangement ’tween you and me.”

“What aren’t they sure about? The fact we’ve shot each other or the fact we ran a mafia empire together?”

Lorcan’s lips twitch. “I suspect both.”

“They figured assigning us to the agent who fell in love with you was the winning strategy?”

The smile drops from his face, and he grimaces before meeting my gaze. “They reckon I’d never do anything to hurt her. They’re not wrong.”

Message received. I’m still lower in the hierarchy of his affections than she is. Not that I’m keen to test that anytime soon. One family shootout is enough for this lifetime.

“You’d better ask any questions you’ve got tonight. Once you’re in place, it’ll be too risky to appear overly familiar with each other.”

“I’m not much for pretending.” Normally, that’s a strength. I am who I am.

Lorcan snorts as he accepts the coffees and the change. “Who’s pretending? Kim doesn’t like you, and I’m not sure how I feel about you. Should be easy enough.” He gives me a hard stare. “Sometimes to get what you want, you’ve got to be willing to be who you’re not.”

He sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, one of the ones Carys bought for Lucas. The point doesn’t go over my head. Whatever it takes to get back to Carys is what I’ll do—including another three years in prison or putting my life on the line. “That what you’re doing now? Being who you’re not?” I grab my coffee and follow him to the booth in the far corner.

“No.” Lorcan’s tone is annoyed. “I reckon that’s what I was doing before Kim. I’ve barely got two pence to rub together, but ’tis a much more fulfilling life.”

The urge to mock him settles over me, a familiar blanket, but I can’t bring myself to joke. I understand what he means. While I missed my money and power when our empire fell, love for a couple people has sprung up in its place. “So, faking your work for the PLA is that fulfilling?” I’m still me—can’t help a little dig.

Lorcan slides Kim’s coffee to her and slips into the booth beside her. I take the opposite side. We might end up on the same team, but I’m not sure we’re there yet. “We’re not in with the PLA yet,” he admits. “Getting you is our power play for access.”

“Why me?”

Her lips twist. “We don’t know.” The Irish accent isn’t as thick, more of an undercurrent than a driving force in her words. “Trust me. We didn’t go looking forthisopportunity.”

“You’re still pissy about me shooting you?” I eye her over the top of the mug as I sip my coffee.

Her jaw clenches. “Less about that and more about you murdering my brother in cold blood and him literally dying in my arms.”

A frown mars my brow. What is she on about? “What brother?”

“Chadwick Lee,” Kim seethes. “Ring any bells?”

My back hits the soft cushion of the booth as though she’s shot me. That’s a blast from the past. His death was one of the life sentences I received. Wondered how the FBI was able to pin that on me. “Wicked Wickie was your brother?” I cock my head, trying to catch any family resemblance.

Maybe a bit. Wickie was Asian, wasn’t he? I’m not sure what Kim’s ethnic background is. Asian wouldn’t have been my first choice. Lee’s father was Korean, wasn’t he? Then something else clicks in my memory, and I home in on Lorcan who is avoiding my gaze. Dare I bring it up? She must be aware. Would he hide a secret that big from her?

Let’s test the waters. “Lorcan, what was the deal with Wickie’s father again?”

He winces, and Kim’s eyes narrow. Proof enough. We’re on the same page. Old me would’ve rubbed in that piece of information, ground the salt into the wound until we were all squirming. Maybe I’ve learned a thing or two in the last year. “Appears I missed a step with all the shooting at the warehouse. Care to fill me in?”

Kim and Lorcan exchange a long look. “Want me to tell it?” He rubs a thumb along her cheekbone as though wiping away a tear that hasn’t fallen.

She gives a quick nod and stares into her coffee cup, avoiding my eyes. Then Lorcan launches into an involved story of how our family has intersected with and decimated Kim’s. When he gets to the end, she raises her head, her gaze defiant when it meets mine.

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