Page 48 of Dublin Charmer

Finn frowns. “And if yer wrong?”

“I’m not. I’m the security officer for his little band of mercenaries, remember. I have a little dive apartment that I go to when I think someone’s following me, but that’s not my home base.”

“What if yer brother gives up yer home base? He’s been a captive for months now. Him breaking wouldn’t be a surprise.”

I shake my head. “I moved my home base as soon as he was taken. Not even Gio knows where I am.”

His hand comes up to tuck a strand of blue hair behind my ear. The gentle gesture catches me off guard. Strangely, I don’t pull away. Instead I have to fight the urge to lean into his touch.

“All right. We’ll speak to Tag and see what he thinks. Odds are, he’ll want to send a team to collect it for ye.”

I scoff. “They’ll never get inside. I’ve rigged the entrance with traps that will detonate rather than let strangers gain access to my stuff.”

His lips curve into a half-smile. “Of course ye have. Okay, then if yer going, I’m going too. I’d like to see where the notorious Nyx lives.”

The idea of having Finn in my personal space makes a swarm of butterflies flutter in my stomach. Before I respond, he leans down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is brief but deliberate, his hand cupping my cheek with surprising tenderness.

When he pulls back, I’m breathless.

“What was that for?” I whisper.

“Because I’ve been wanting to do that again since the party.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “And because it seems we’re on the same side now. Ye know what they say, the best romance trope is enemies to lovers.”

Oh, this man.I tilt back in his office chair and reach up to pull him down to me.

Despite it being crazy and reckless, I kiss him back, deeper this time, and let myself sink into the warmth of his mouth. Kissing Finn is like falling into a warm, drunken haze. My skin tingles, my body relaxes, and for just a moment, the danger and troubles of my world melt away.

Too soon, Finn pulls me out of the chair and wraps his arms around me, ending the kiss with one hell of a grand finale. When we break apart, we’re both breathless and I’m still a little dizzy.

I rest my forehead against his chest. “Let’s go talk to your brother.”

Finn

The flower delivery van reeks of lilies and roses, but is still one of the better backdrops for a covert Quinn mission to the south side. Nyx settles onto the bench seat beside me, the two of us cramped shoulder to shoulder because of the shelf of flower arrangements down the side wall.

Kieran slams the sliding door shut and then hops in the front with Kiefer Gallagher behind the wheel.

“Your brother didn’t seem happy about this,” Nyx says.

“Tag’s never happy when anyone is in danger. At least he let us go.” I check my Browning 19mm, making sure it’s loaded before tucking it into my shoulder holster.

I’m no sharpshooter like Ginny or Sean, but I can hit what I aim at when it counts.

“So, how are you doing with all this?”

She draws a deep breath and glances sideways to look at me. “My one and only concern is my brother. Once he’s safe, I’m happy to help you take down Gravely.” Her expression hardens. “That bastard’s been terrorizing the people of North Dublin for too long.”

“On that, we agree completely.”

We drive along and I watch through the windshield as we cross the bridge over to the south side. “When we were kids and Da first created the truce between the families, I used to get so excited about coming to this side of the river.”

“Your father created a truce between the families?”

“Aye, he did. And it held firm for almost two decades until Mattie McGuire had him assassinated so he could wipe us out and take Northside.”

Nyx frowns. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “We just found out about the hit. But Mattie was already dead, so there’s nothing to be done about it. Da’s gone, so the only thing left for us to do is make sure the legacy he built goes on to serve the citizens of Dublin.”