Page 61 of Retribution

He searches my face for a moment. “Oh, I doubt that. If we were becoming good mates, you’d have told me you were almost killed today.”

I take a moment to assess his reaction. He’s angry, but it’s restrained. “Who told you?”

“Antonio. You were rattled earlier. You faced down Derry O’Malley the other day without flinching. So I went digging. What puts a crack in Kim’s armor?”

I cross my arms and focus on his bed.

“Antonio was quite happy to tell me about your adventure with the Zhangs.” His jaw hardens. “Why didn’tyoutell me?”

I stare at him for a moment, wondering which version is the best one to put out there. “Finn set us up.”

“What?” Lorcan growls, his posture tightening.

Chapter Twenty-One

Meeting his intense gaze, I say, “Finn thinks you’ll go ballistic about what happened. That it’ll unite you two.”

“Unite us?” Lorcan scoffs. “He killed our father. Nothing is going to unite us.”

“You don’t know that yet.”

“I know it. I can’t prove it.” He points his finger at me, any hint of seduction gone. “That’s your job.”

“He says he didn’t do it.”

“Of course, he’s going to tell you that.” His focus bores into me. “I understand you’re in a tough spot. Hold back or tell Finn whatever you want. With me, you give me all of it—whether you think it matters or not.”

I purse my lips and stare him down. “Fine.”

“It’s not fine. You can’t be keeping this shit from me.”

“What are you going to do about the Zhangs?”

“What I have to do. My brother thinks he’ll get a reaction, so that’s what’ll happen. I do nothing, and he’ll know something is off.” He looks me up and down. “I protect my own. Always.”

My heart clenches at the emotion in his eyes when he stares at me. Valued. He values me.

“Did you see who shot at you?”

“Not very clearly. Both men, I think. I shot one in the arm, one in the leg. Antonio finished them off.”

His hand wraps behind my head, cupping my neck. “You did good.”

“I’m still alive.”

Lorcan gathers me into his chest. “I woulda gone ballistic if anything had happened to you.” His other arm, holding his drink, cradles my back.

I wrap my arms around him and, for a moment, let myself breathe him in. The mix of cologne, whiskey, and the familiarity of his own personal smell comforts me. “If you knew, why didn’t you say something?”

“I wanted to see if you’d tell me. It’s about trust. It’s gotta run both ways, or this won’t work.”

In the end, it’s not going to matter. Even if we get to that place, at some point, I’ll be betraying him. That part is inevitable.

“Tomorrow morning when you and Carys go shopping, you take Sean, Antonio, and Ian.”

“I don’t need three bodyguards. You hired me as a bodyguard. I can take care of myself.”

“It’s nonnegotiable, Kim. I’m not playing around.”