Page 18 of The Chief
Molly left a bullet in my Rover. A bullet with Finnan’s name on it.
Did you do this?
Different voices floated in my subconscious. Keir’s voice was like a violent vibration against my skin, setting my nerve endings ablaze. The other voice was…
“Fallon?” My voice was soft, raspy. I peeled my eyes open. Forcing myself to blink, removing the grittiness behind my lids and focus on what was directly in front of me.
A stripper pole?
Where the fuck was I?
My body felt as heavy as my mind, so I didn’t attempt to sit just yet. I simply let my eyes rove over the space, noting the pole was connected to a shiny podium only about three feet in diameter. Something warm was beneath my cheek, and my breath ghosted over the surface a moment before dissipating. It felt like leather, and it continued along my body, also something lay atop me—soft against my skin—trapping in the warmth and warding me against the artificial chill in the room.
My gaze skittered to the floor where plastic wrappers lay discarded, along with a stray piece of suturing thread. Opposite me, the door lock disengaged, and I stared at the handle as it dipped.
Keir stepped into the room, looking the same as he did before, minus his leather jacket. My eyes dropped to his thigh, seeing a white bandage peeking through the hole in his pants each time he moved. His dark eyes settled on me, bearing an uncomfortable weight, assessing me. “How are you feeling?”
The question, although simple, jarred. “How do you think I’m feeling?” I tried to snap, but my voice lacked the necessary heat.
The side of his mouth kicked up into a grin. “Feeling combative already? I’ll take that as a good sign, Jynx.” He was close enough I could smell him—Turkish tobacco and dark chocolate—and I braced for him to grab me, but he only leaned over to retrieve a bottle of water. He offered it to me, and when I nodded, he helped me sit up.
My world spun for a moment, then I took the bottle he offered, breaking the seal. At least I knew he hadn’t tampered with it. Drinking greedily, I emptied it quickly, then set the cap back on top.
“More?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Good.” He plucked the empty bottle from my hands and set it on the small table beside the couch. “Tell me where?—”
“Was Fallon here?” I interrupted, ignoring his glare. He’d probably lie and say she wasn’t, but I swore I heard her voice. Also, the lingering medical rubbish made me think of my friend.
He narrowed his eyes. “Aye, she was.”
“I want to see her.”
“You have no bargaining rights here, Jynx,” he reminded me.
“And you killed a man in front of me. I can go to the police.”
Rage fell over his features as Keir pressed his face closer to mine. “You’re in no position to threaten me,” he warned. “You’re in my world now. The only rules that apply aremine.”
His words took me back to nine years ago when another man thought he could rule my world. I’d gotten angry then and foolishly done something that still haunted me to this day. But Keir wasn’thim;Keir was trained in violence. He was a clan member. If I no longer served his purpose, he would snap my neck without a second thought. But maybe that was what would save me.
Keir was right. For now, I was in his world. I would play by his rules, but I’d always been good at slipping through the bars eventually.
I stared into his beautiful face, my gaze lingering on his lips. “Okay,” I said demurely.
He jerked back. “Okay?”
I sat up a little straighter. “I’ll tell you everything I know,butI need your word that I’ll have clan protection.”
He balked, giving me a look of skepticism. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“Andyouare? I have the information that you want. You wouldn’t have chased me down not once, but twice, if I didn’t have something you desperately wanted.”
His stare shifted from cold to arctic. Men like him never enjoyed being outmaneuvered by anyone, let alone a woman. “I wouldn’t protect you if you were my own blood,” he replied in a soft snarl. “You threatened my boss.”
I shook my head. “I’m not the one behind the threat.”
