Page 6

Chapter Six

T he next day when the door swings open to Finn, I curse Lorcan and his matchmaking skills. I sent Lorcan a text when I landed to let him know when I’d arrive at the house. He knew it would be me at the door. I step around Finn. The idea I don’t understand how to seduce a man is laughable. Lorcan and I are going to have a chat. This isn’t how I work.

“Carys must be a pretty shitty employer if you decided working for Lorcan is better.”

Instead of turning to address Finn, I continue heading to the back of the house toward Lorcan’s office. I offer Finn a wave above my head, not bothering to give him the satisfaction of a reply.

His deep laughter follows me until I round the corner. When I get to Lorcan’s door, I press the buzzer like I saw Antonio do yesterday.

It takes a moment for Lorcan’s voice to come through the speaker, and when it does, it’s breathless. “Yes?”

“Kim.”

The door buzzes, and I enter the spacious room. Shirtless, Lorcan runs on the treadmill at a full-on sprint. His stride is impressive. It’s been a while since I’ve done the same, and my limbs ache with the remembrance of an unrelenting pace.

“Just be a tic,” he calls to me before upping the speed on the treadmill.

I ease into a chair and cross my legs, watching him with mild amusement. His build isn’t of a runner, more like a boxer or wrestler. As he slows, I say, “That’s quite a pace.”

“You never know when you might need to run for your life.” He grabs a towel off a chair and wipes his face. With one last swipe at his neck, his gaze sweeps me from head to toe. “You work out?”

“Not much lately. I should probably get back into it.” Fitness is vital for my job, but I’m athletic and don’t worry about it as often as I should.

“There’s a communal gym off the front entrance.”

“Meaning Finn uses it.”

“Maybe. I don’t. I wouldn’t know.” He tosses his towel into a laundry chute by the workout equipment and crosses the room to perch on the edge of his desk.

“Pushing me on Finn isn’t helpful.”

Glowering at me, he runs a hand through his damp hair. “I know my brother. You don’t need to worry how you appear. If I seem interested, he will be too.”

I twist in my chair to face him. Gone is the charmer from the last couple of days. In his place is a man with a determined, edgy air.

“I need you to be ready in twenty minutes. I have a few errands to run.”

“I’m ready now.” I indicate my tight black yoga pants and my flowing black shirt. “Unless we’re going somewhere special?”

He looks me over again before he rises and heads for the door. “What you’re wearing is fine. I’ll meet you at the front door in twenty. Go unpack, explore, whatever.”

Explore. “Sure.” The doors I passed on the way to this one showed promise. The best place to be is the office though. “I could wait for you here.”

He chuckles and wanders closer to me. “I’m sure you could.” He bends toward me, and his lilting voice purrs in my ear, “Unless you’re my a ghrá , you don’t get to stay here alone.”

I close my eyes as the Irish washes over me. My father used to call me his a chroí. Neither of those will ever happen. I’ll never be Lorcan’s love, and I’ll never again be my father’s heart as he squeezes me tight.

“Want to know what it means?”

“No.” I open my eyes and meet his gaze. “I like a bit of mystery. Besides, it clearly means I need to be someone you trust.”

Opening the door, Lorcan’s smile fades. “Front door.”

“Twenty minutes. I got it.”

He motions along the hall, shutting the door behind him. “Down there, to the left. That’ll be your rooms.”

“Rooms?”

“As many as you want. It’s a big house. We’ve got staff but hardly any live-ins.”

“Were there staff here the day your father died?”

“Place was empty save for him.”

“Odd.”

“Very.” Lorcan gives me a curt nod and crosses the corridor to another door. “My bedroom—if you ever need to find it.”

A smile spreads across my face. “If, huh?”

Amusement lights his hazel eyes. “Stranger things have happened.”

“I’ve got bigger fish to fry,” I say.

He chuckles and punches in his code without looking at me. “Oh, I doubt that fish is bigger.” He winks at me before disappearing into his bedroom.

As soon as the door clicks tight, I ignore the tingling in my stomach and start wandering down the corridor trying each handle. After a few linen and broom closets, I realize he’s only told me I can look around because anything worth seeing is under lock, key, and security code.

“Lost?” Finn calls from the end of the hall.

I frown, annoyance sparking in me. “You’re allowed on this side of the house?”

He pushes his hands into the pockets of his light jeans and strolls toward me. When he gets closer, he gestures wide, his T-shirt stretching across his broad torso. “No booby traps or explosions. I guess I’m allowed.” He stops in front of me. “Terrible manners my brother has. He should have at least shown you to your rooms.”

I narrow my eyes at Finn. “I’m quite capable of finding them myself.”

One side of his mouth quirks up, the opposite side to his brother. There’s no dimple, and his icy blue eyes are piercing in comparison to Lorcan’s warm hazel ones. “My brother is far too trusting.”

The codes and locks on the doors say otherwise, but I stare at Finn, willing him to continue. He rubs the back of his head.

“I’ll walk you to your rooms.”

“No need,” I say. “I have to meet Lorcan at the front soon, anyway.”

“I’ll walk you there.” He strolls beside me in silence for a moment. “Your weapons are at the front.”

Not all of them. I have one in the heel of my shoe. “Thanks.”

“Not much of a talker, are you?”

“Should I be?”

“Most women are.”

I cock my head.

“Yes, I realize the obvious deduction is you’re not most women.”

“Just like you’re not representative of most men.” I give him the once-over. Men in their position are suspicious by nature, but I hoped the introduction through Carys might have softened them both. “Were you in Lorcan’s corridor to check up on me?”

Finn’s gaze is steely. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here. You’re under my roof. My father died here. You can never be too careful when not even your own home is safe.”

It’s a reasonable response, but it’s not the whole truth. “I’m here because Lorcan hired me.”

“To do what?”

I give him a sly smile. “Whatever he wants.”

Finn’s eyes narrow as we enter the long, wide front entrance. His pace slows, and he faces me. “You were already doing whatever Carys wanted. I can’t imagine my brother came up with a job title more impressive.”

I take in the grand entrance, the high ceiling. “Titles don’t matter to me.”

“Ready to go?” Lorcan calls to me as he comes striding toward me down the narrow side hall. Two different burly guards, ones I don’t recognize, are a few steps behind him. “ Deartháir mor .” Lorcan nods at Finn.

“ Deartháir beag ,” Finn responds with a slight nod.

I raise my eyebrows at Lorcan, but he only shakes his head, taking my hand on the way past Finn. At least they’re still addressing each other as brothers, even if the terms of endearment resemble battle cries.

“Anything I should know about?” Finn asks from behind us as we approach the exit.

“Checking on some of our assets today.” Lorcan doesn’t break his stride.

“Perhaps I already checked on them.”

“Then they’ll get another visit. I need to help Kim become acquainted with some of her tasks, people involved.”

With my free hand, I scoop up my firearms off the table at the entrance. I’ll have to put them on in the car. As Lorcan leads me out the door, I glance back at his brother. He’s watching us, a frown marring his face. When he catches me staring, curiosity lights up his pale eyes. Is it suspicion or attraction in them?

Sliding into the black SUV, I risk one more peek at Finn, who is in the open doorway, hands thrust into his pockets, his expression pensive.

“Big brother is intrigued.” Lorcan’s lips are a hair’s breadth from my ear. “Well done.”

His face is close enough if I lean in a fraction, I could connect our lips. I lick mine, thinking about what it would be like to kiss him. He smells of oak trees and mints, and I wonder if the whiskey he drinks has fused with his skin.

“Men aren’t tough to figure out. A hint of the forbidden. A touch of mystery.”

Lorcan eases away from me, his back pressing into the leather seat. “Not me. I like my women to be what they seem.”

“No surprises.”

“Highly overrated.”

Unable to resist, I say, “So what am I?”

A smile tugs on the edges of his lips. “You’re the everything woman. Not a chance you’re what you seem. I’m safe as houses.”

Such a British thing to say, as though houses are safe. He should know better given what happened to his father. “Safe as houses, huh?”

“We’re going to be good mates, you and me.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I take in his profile. He may not be tempted by me, but I can’t say the same for myself. That spells trouble for both of my jobs.

Distance. Detachment.

My head needs to stay in the game. If I still had a heart, I might have to worry about it too.