Page 73 of Retribution
Lorcan’s right hand and left hand comment comes back in a rush. Was he meeting with the Russians while I was keeping Finn busy? And Finn knows? Does Lorcan suspect the Russians might have killed his father? My brain kicks into gear, churning out question after question as the two of them stare each other down.
“Are we done here?” Lorcan shifts away from me, his fists clenching and unclenching.
Finn shrugs as though he doesn’t care. “That’s up to you.”
Lorcan’s hand trails around my waist as he rounds the table and heads for the hall.
I sigh as the door clicks closed behind him.
“That seemed rather cold. He didn’t even ask you to come with him.”
Because he has some weird notion you’ll find me irresistible and tell me the truth.“I don’t get you.” I turn to face Finn. “What the hell was that? You practically beg me to tell him the Zhangs came after me and then you almost blow the truce to shit.”
Finn’s jaw hardens. “There was no begging. I asked. You did it.”
“Whatever. You need me to help win Lorcan back for some nefarious plan you’ve cooked up.”
“You saw him. You understand why I need him.”
“Not many people think like him, that’s true. If you need him so badly, why are you determined to piss him off?”
“I want him in the organization, fully in. He needs to realize he’s not in charge.”
“Seems like he should be in charge.”
Finn chuckles. “It would.” He indicates the large map on the table. “But what I said is also true. He’s smarter than me. No doubt about it. A strategist, corporate raider. He’s your man. Inthisbusiness though? People fear me. I hold grudges, chase people down, do the things no one else would dare to do.”
“Including murdering your father?”
His attention snaps, and his posture stiffens. “We’re back to that old chestnut?”
“You haven’t given me a list yet. Why stall if you don’t have a reason to hold back? Why wouldn’t you want to know who killed your father?”
“I’m busy sorting out this other shit.”
“Some of which you’re actively creating.” It’s a challenge, but sometimes I can’t help myself. My mouth runs away from my brain.
Finn comes around the table so he’s closer. His icy gaze searches my face. “Why are you so interested in The Cage?”
I laugh, the tension going out of me. “That’s your follow-up?” Inside, my stomach is doing somersaults. I need to back off, control my mouth, if my attitude is going to raise his suspicion even more. Having him grasp I’m the rot he needs to dig out of his house wouldn’t be good. Before I go down, I need to understand what happened to Chad.
“Whenever you get a chance, you circle back to it. It’s very curious.”
“Fit men. Hot. Sweaty. Fighting for money and honor. Name a woman alive who wouldn’t be interested.”
“You sound like Carys.”
“There’s a reason we’re friends.”
He hums and narrows his eyes. “I cannot decide whether I trust you, Kimmy. My brother clearly likes you. Everything seems golden for a while, and then there’s this moment where you’re a little tarnished.” He holds up the gap between his index and thumb to my eye level. “Something you say or do doesn’t quite add up. And a voice in the back of my head whispers to me.”
He’s so close his breath stirs the tendrils of my ponytail that have come loose. Inside my chest, my heart races, and my fingers itch to release one of my guns. Fight or flight.
“Perhaps that whisper isn’t what you think it is.” I narrow the gap between us, my chest brushing against his. My gaze flicks to his, building an air of sexual attraction instead of letting fear win.
“That’s why you’re not dead yet.” His voice is a hair’s breadth from my ear. “I don’t mind the whisper of danger. It keeps me on my toes. If the whisper becomes a roar, you’ll be dead before you realize the volume has skyrocketed.”
Pulling back, I offer him a lopsided smile which goes against everything inside me. “Save yourself a bullet. What you see is what you get.”