Page 22
Story: Retribution
“Checking up on me?” I keep my elbow on the bar, leaning in so my fingers rest close to my gun.
Finn’s lips quirk up as he sets his glass on the wooden surface. “You know the only person I trust?”
It should be his brother, but I suspect he doesn’t even trust him. Both his parents are dead. “No idea.”
“A dead man. That’s the only person you can trust in this business. Anyone else, given the chance, they’ll drive a knife into your back and not even think twice.”
I give him a steady stare and try to keep my features neutral. “Very cynical.”
“It’s the truth, Kimmy.” He draws out my name.
My name. He can’t know. It’s a common nickname. A wisp of panic threatens to take hold.Calm yourself, Kim. Keep your head in the game.
“It’s Kim.” I sip my whiskey. “Just Kim.”
“Okay, Just Kim. What are you doing here?”
“Having a drink.” I raise my glass. “It’s been a long week or so.”
He cocks his head and picks up the remnants of his own drink. “Mydeartháir beagtreating you well?” He downs the rest and sets the empty glass onto the bar.
There’s no menace in his tone. It’s not what I think. He doesn’t know. After releasing my held breath, I ease down my shoulders and take my hand out of my jacket. My heart calms in my chest, the sprinting done for now.
“You thought I was going to kill you?” His voice is tinged with surprise. He stares at the side of my jacket where I keep my gun. “Thought you could take me, did you?”
I give him a wry smile. “Your brother thinks the two of you are on the cusp of a war.”
“If I was going to use you to start it, he’d never see it coming.” Finn leans back in his chair. His pale gaze looks me over.
I shift in my seat so I’m facing him, an arm propped on the back of the stool, exposing one of my guns. “Perhaps you’re the one who should be afraid of me.”
He chuckles and with lightning speed snatches my gun out of its holster. I grin, pretending amusement at his quickness, his deft skill with a gun. Sweat trickles down my back. Very few people get the best of me. It scares me and pisses me off he’s done it.Stupid.Stupid.In the back of my mind, I hear Carys say a man will get a woman killed.Only if I let him.
“The day I fear a woman is the day I quit this business.” He checks the safety on the gun. “There’s no quitting, Kimmy. The only two ways out are death or jail.”
“You’re warning me?” This time the nickname doesn’t send my pulse skyrocketing.
“Nah.” He offers me the gun handle. “You don’t know enough yet. If you stay, someday you’ll know too much, and then you’ll be like me and Lorcan. No way out.”
“I’ve been in this business, or a version of it, for a long time.” I shove my gun back into its holster.
“Moved all around as a kid. Lived in Newport very briefly. Mother and father split up. You’re not close to either one. One brother killed in a freak accident. You were a runner for an organization in Miami for a few years. Carys snatched you out of obscurity because she has a soft spot for tough, beautiful women. You’ve been working for her for about a year now, right?”
My jaw clenches. At least my backstory holds up. The lies roll off his tongue, but they hit me smack in the chest. Being confronted with them all at one time makes me unsteady. “Yes,” I bite out, unable to say more.
“Why would you leave her to come work for Lorcan?” He gives me a side glance. “That’s the question that’s been circling.”
“Your brother was very persuasive.”
“I’m missing something. But I’ll figure it out.” Finn tilts his empty glass from side-to-side. “I like a little mystery.”
“You drove all this way to check up on me, to figure it out?”
“Added bonus. I’m here expanding my empire.”
He’s focused on the alcohol lined up behind the bar, but he’s clearly serious.
“Empire?” Does Lorcan know? Should I tell him? Or is Finn testing me?
Finn’s lips quirk up as he sets his glass on the wooden surface. “You know the only person I trust?”
It should be his brother, but I suspect he doesn’t even trust him. Both his parents are dead. “No idea.”
“A dead man. That’s the only person you can trust in this business. Anyone else, given the chance, they’ll drive a knife into your back and not even think twice.”
I give him a steady stare and try to keep my features neutral. “Very cynical.”
“It’s the truth, Kimmy.” He draws out my name.
My name. He can’t know. It’s a common nickname. A wisp of panic threatens to take hold.Calm yourself, Kim. Keep your head in the game.
“It’s Kim.” I sip my whiskey. “Just Kim.”
“Okay, Just Kim. What are you doing here?”
“Having a drink.” I raise my glass. “It’s been a long week or so.”
He cocks his head and picks up the remnants of his own drink. “Mydeartháir beagtreating you well?” He downs the rest and sets the empty glass onto the bar.
There’s no menace in his tone. It’s not what I think. He doesn’t know. After releasing my held breath, I ease down my shoulders and take my hand out of my jacket. My heart calms in my chest, the sprinting done for now.
“You thought I was going to kill you?” His voice is tinged with surprise. He stares at the side of my jacket where I keep my gun. “Thought you could take me, did you?”
I give him a wry smile. “Your brother thinks the two of you are on the cusp of a war.”
“If I was going to use you to start it, he’d never see it coming.” Finn leans back in his chair. His pale gaze looks me over.
I shift in my seat so I’m facing him, an arm propped on the back of the stool, exposing one of my guns. “Perhaps you’re the one who should be afraid of me.”
He chuckles and with lightning speed snatches my gun out of its holster. I grin, pretending amusement at his quickness, his deft skill with a gun. Sweat trickles down my back. Very few people get the best of me. It scares me and pisses me off he’s done it.Stupid.Stupid.In the back of my mind, I hear Carys say a man will get a woman killed.Only if I let him.
“The day I fear a woman is the day I quit this business.” He checks the safety on the gun. “There’s no quitting, Kimmy. The only two ways out are death or jail.”
“You’re warning me?” This time the nickname doesn’t send my pulse skyrocketing.
“Nah.” He offers me the gun handle. “You don’t know enough yet. If you stay, someday you’ll know too much, and then you’ll be like me and Lorcan. No way out.”
“I’ve been in this business, or a version of it, for a long time.” I shove my gun back into its holster.
“Moved all around as a kid. Lived in Newport very briefly. Mother and father split up. You’re not close to either one. One brother killed in a freak accident. You were a runner for an organization in Miami for a few years. Carys snatched you out of obscurity because she has a soft spot for tough, beautiful women. You’ve been working for her for about a year now, right?”
My jaw clenches. At least my backstory holds up. The lies roll off his tongue, but they hit me smack in the chest. Being confronted with them all at one time makes me unsteady. “Yes,” I bite out, unable to say more.
“Why would you leave her to come work for Lorcan?” He gives me a side glance. “That’s the question that’s been circling.”
“Your brother was very persuasive.”
“I’m missing something. But I’ll figure it out.” Finn tilts his empty glass from side-to-side. “I like a little mystery.”
“You drove all this way to check up on me, to figure it out?”
“Added bonus. I’m here expanding my empire.”
He’s focused on the alcohol lined up behind the bar, but he’s clearly serious.
“Empire?” Does Lorcan know? Should I tell him? Or is Finn testing me?
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