Page 118 of Cruel Debts
"Memory loss is not only typical with head injuries like the one he received, but wildly different from person to person. It can last a day, a week, a month, or even be permanent."
"And you're telling me that you want me to believe he's just been wandering around Port Wylde, undiscovered, this whole time. That you," she pointed to Hawke next, "master of intel and secrecy, couldn't find a single clue to lead you to him? Never once came across him. And you," she pointed at me next, "never walked by him in the daylight on a mission? That you never once realized your contact was keeping him in an apartment literally five minutes from the Guild?" Now she looked at Asher. "Or you, the man who tracked down and assembled this team, never thought to look harder. Ask questions."
Keehn looked visibly uncomfortable. "They had their reasons, I'm sure."
"Reasons that are no longer satisfactory to me."
Trinity stood up, put her hands on her hips, and stepped between Asher and me. "Don't you think you're being a little rude, ripping open old wounds while we're all here? Shouldn't they be allowed some privacy to sort through their own shit before you make it public knowledge?"
"Trinity," I muttered in warning, but she wasn't listening.
"And mybrotherneeds to be seen by a doctor. He needs rest. What hedoesn'tneed is an interrogation." Her hands moved to her chest, where she crossed them in challenge. "Which I assume is one of the next things on your checklist."
"You're pretty brave for a girl who just had to be rescued from her own stupidity."
Hawke was on his feet in a heartbeat, outrage clearly running through his veins. "Now you wait just a minute—that's unfair and playing dirty. She's notstupid?—"
"She walked out of a safe haven and into the arms of the enemy. I'd say that's stupid enough." Lilly looked at Hawke likehewas the idiot here now. "Shut up and sit down, Ghost, before I sit you down myself.Permanently."
She would do it, too. She'd done it to several Guild members who crossed her or disobeyed a tenement of the creed. Lilly St. Clair wouldn't hesitate to put a dog down if it bit back. And Hawke was that dog right now.
"Maybe we should all just let the tempers in the room cool before we make any more rash decisions?—"
Lilly's hand was around Mistwood's throat in a heartbeat. "I don't think you should talk right now, unless you have a suggestion on how to fix this."
"Well, he can't go around being my brother anymore," Trinity said with a huff, stepping her foot right back into the mess. "Keehn should get his name and his life back now that he remembers who he is."
Lilly pursed her lips, regarding Trinity thoughtfully. "And what, then, should Danny do about his own reputation he's built here as Detective McCoy?"
"Detectivewhatever his name is can get fucked, for all I care. He gained that reputation with the help of Keehn's existing reputation. It's not rightfully his."
"This man has helped your trio of terror escape persecution and eliminate targets for years now. Without him, they wouldn't have been in a position to protect you or this city. Without his help, they wouldn't have found you on their own. Without him, your brother's reputation ends the day he walked away from the force in your little podunk town and never came back." She leaned in, her face inches away from Trinity's now. "If it weren't for my ex-husband, this Guild wouldn't exist like it does now, and you wouldn't be sitting here arguing with me despite the multiple warnings you've received to shut your mouth, little girl."
"Says the woman acting like a raging bitch," Trin snapped back, baring her fangs.
I watched Lilly's hand reach for the blade on her thigh. So did Asher. His hand darted out, and he yanked Trinity onto his lap a second before the blade swiped at the air where she'd just been standing.
"Enough," he snarled, glaring at Trinity where she sat in his grip. "Stop poking the tiger. They have claws, and your skin is thinner than you think."
"Smart man," Lilly said with a smirk. "But your girl has spunk. I like that."
"I don't care what you like—mmmf!"
Asher's arm banded around Trinity's shoulders, and he covered her mouth with his hand. "Shut. Up. Pretty Bird."
Keehn perked up at that, but his lips pursed, and he kept them shut.
Oh, great. Now we'd have to face the fucking Inquisition later. Just what we needed.
"What the hell are we going to do? Anyone have a suggestion? I'm all ears." She sat atop her desk and flipped that blade in her hands over and over, staring at the shine of the metal in the fluorescent glare. Her eyes fell on each of us in turn, but nobody dared make a sound.
Well, no, that wasn't entirely true. One persondidmake a sound.
Trinity.
Lilly's eyes moved to her, slowly, calculating. "Let her speak, Surgeon."
He sighed and removed his hand, shooting Trinity a warning glare. She didn't look back at him before she started to speak, but shedidlook at Keehn with eyes full of pity. Empathy. Sympathy.
