The grin vanished. “You know better than to ask that.”
“I don’t,” I said flatly. “Because I’m going to pay it.”
Mulligan gave a short, humorless laugh. “That’s rich. You want to save your brother—fine. But you don’t get to know who holds the leash.”
I leaned forward. “If I’m going to settle it, I need to know who I’m settling with.”
“No,” he said sharply. “You don’t.”
The table between us felt like tinder. His eyes had gone cold—not hard.Afraid. It was subtle, but I saw it.
“Is it the man in the mask?” I asked, voice quiet but steady. “The one who stayed seated while your brute beat a poor bastard half to death?”
Mulligan didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to.
“Your man was doing the damage. You stood by, silent because the one calling the shots didn’t need to speak. He just sat there, watching. Waiting. And you kept glancing his way. Because he was in charge, not you.”
His jaw tightened. The silence stretched.
“Who is he?” I asked. “What’s his name?”
He shook his head once. “You don’t want to know.”
“Why?”
“Because he’ll kill you soon as look at you.”
I stepped around the table, close enough he had to tilt his head to keep me in view. “He won’t succeed.”
Mulligan stood then—slowly, deliberately. His voice was low, almost flat. “You want advice? Tell your brother to run. Far and fast.”
He turned away, leaving his unfinished drink and the stack of chips on the table.
But just before he disappeared into the shadows, he paused.
“I saw her, you know,” he said over his shoulder. “This afternoon. Red hair. Fire in her step.”
Blood chilled in my veins. I didn’t move.
“I could’ve stopped her. Should’ve, maybe. But I don’t make it a habit to harm women.”
A pause.
“But the man your brother owes? He’s not me. He’s not bound by rules or reason. And he doesn’t hesitate.”
His gaze met mine for the briefest moment.
“Keep her out of this, Your Grace. While you still can.”
Then he walked away, and the darkness swallowed him whole.
As I steppedinto the alley, the cold hit me like a blow, but I barely felt it.
All I could think about was Rosalynd.
Mulligan had seen her. Had known she’d been there this afternoon. And he’d chosen to do nothing about it. Not because she wasn’t in danger, but because he didn’t hurt women.
The man who held my brother’s debt? He wouldn’t have that restraint.