Page 49 of The Chief
Irritation heated my cheeks as I perched my ass on his knee, my legs turned so they were tucked against his other leg. Keir wrapped his arm around my waist, locking me into place.
“Keir, you told me you could shed some light on this declaration of war situation,” Gael said. “So have at it.”
I stared at the Clan Boss’s son, resisting the urge to rub my hands over my arms. Something wasn’t quite right with him. He stared at me like he wanted to bend me over the couch and finish what Keir had started.
“Jynx?” Keir prompted.
I startled, glancing at him, then back toward the Sionnach Clan Boss, whose ice-chip eyes bored into me. Licking mysuddenly dry lips, I said, “The man who gave me the bullet was my ex-boyfriend.”
“Explain it to me,” Gael said. “He simply walks up to you one day and asks you to deliver a bullet?”
“Not exactly.”
“What’s different?”
“He threatened me. And when I refused to do what he wanted, he threatened the life of my younger sister.”
Gael crossed his leg at the ankle. “What’s he got over you?”
I shook my head. “That’s none of your concern.”
For the first time since he sat down, Owen finally spoke. “You’re in our territory and you delivered a declaration of war to one of our allies. Anything you do is our concern.”
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I looked back at Gael. “He knows something about my past.”
Gael raised his brows in question. “And thisthingabout your past…”
“Is private,” I said firmly. “It has no bearing on delivering the bullet to Finnan Quinn.”
“Her piece of shit ex was a member of the Fiach Clan,” Keir interjected, his fingers tightening to the point of pain where they lay against my hip. I shifted uneasily on his knee, feeling his eyes graze my face before he loosened his grip.
“Hewas?” Owen asked.
I waited for Keir to tell him what had happened, but he remained silent. Taking a deep breath, I said, “He’s dead.”
“Right,” Gael replied slowly. “And how exactly did he get that way?”
“I shot the bastard,” Keir replied. “He attacked her, so I killed him.” He shrugged like splattering another man’s brains across my studio walls wasn’t a big deal.
Gael said in a soft voice, “You killed a clan member, Keir. Not sure that was wise.”
“All respect, sir, but I don’t give a fuck. There are some lines you don’t cross.”
Owen looked between us, then addressed me. “So, what’s the problem? He’s dead, he can’t hurt you or your sister now.”
“He had people following my sister, and he hadn’t called them off before…” I hesitated.
“Before I decorated her walls,” Keir finished. I huffed and shifted on his knee, so Keir slid me further along his thigh and settled the weight of his arm around my waist. “Long story short, he’s dead. He didn’t call off whoever was guarding her and now her sister’s life is in danger.”
Gael flicked a look in his son’s direction, which prompted Owen to ask, “What do you need from us?”
“Some back up,” Keir said. “More men to watch her mam’s house. Men to monitor her sister and mother.”
“We can spare two Dogs,” Owen said.
“Dogs?” I asked.
“Watchdogs. Low-level members whose sole job is to watch people and gather intel,” Keir explained. To Owen, he added, “Any additional eyes on the house would be good.”
