Page 30 of Resurrection

Ricardo’s face morphs into disbelief tinged with annoyance. “I just said two minutes ago I was trying to figure out a plan to contact her. You think if I had an address, I’d be sending her analarm clock?” He nods at Carys. “What kind of warning is that? Vague. Stupid. You want someone’s attention, you find what matters to them.” He passes his phone to Jay and then glares at me. “For example, I want to get to Carys, I’d wager I target you. She risked a hell of a lot to save you.” Calculation is clear in his gaze. “And your posture tells me the feeling is mutual. Aww. Ain’t that sweet. Mutually assured destruction.”

I straighten, annoyed that my protectiveness is so obvious, so different from the way Jay treats her.

“Get me my money, or I’ll figure out a way to make sure both of you pay with your own form of hell.”

“You don’t threaten me,” I growl.

He chuckles. “I just did. What are you going to do, Finn Donaghey? You’re nothing without your patsy guards.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Carys takes the phone from Jay and scans the information. She removes a handgun out of her purse. Without a word, she passes it to me.

The weight of it in my palm is relaxing, and the tension in the room dissipates. Is this a green light? I take a deep breath as I check it over.

“Before we came,” Carys says, “he said he still had this intense urge to murder someone from the FBI. I told him I wasn’t keen. Usually I prefer to handle things much more civilly. Make no mistake, Ricardo—you threaten me, you threaten Finn or Jay or anyone else associated with me, and I’ll set him loose. He’s been murdering people since he was fourteen. He knows all the ways to do it, and some of them you won’t see coming. The only thing holding him back is me.”

I focus on the gun as she talks. Her description of me as a barely restrained animal is painful and thrilling. As a kid, I didn’t have a choice. Lorcan was the soft one, and so I became harder and harder to protect him, to protect myself. Shoot first. Apologize later. Still my wildness is a big part of her attraction.When we got together, watching me fighting in The Cage made her realize I wasn’t a boy anymore. I was a man. She’d never deny it. Those qualities which are hard for her to resist are also why I can’t be with her. At some point, I’ll make a mistake like last time, and she’ll pay the price. A consequence I cannot bear.

Jay nudges my shoulder while Carys and Ricardo negotiate new terms for their agreement. “Don’t shoot him.”

My lips quirk up, and I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans. “He’d probably already be dead if Carys wasn’t here. You don’t negotiate with disloyal people.”

“I hear ya on that. But disloyalty in others is sometimes the only way we can get shit done.”

I put my hands on my hips and only half listen to Carys discussing the details of the money transfer. “Why didn’t you see it?” I ask Jay.

“See what?”

“Kim—Kimi.”

“Ah.” Jay rubs his face. “That’s a difficult question. We run a different organization here. You get me? The illegal stuff isn’t so brutal most of the time. Kim blended—she was easy to like, quick to gain our respect. Backstory held up when we ran our checks. Smart. Funny. Tough as nails in a tight spot. And Carys loved her in a very genuine way as only Carys can. I think she saw herself in Kim.” One eyebrow cocks up and then he tips his chin. “Why didn’tyousee it?”

There had been noticeable shades of Carys in Kim—made sense they’d gravitate together. No nonsense, tough when needed, with this vulnerability underneath most people didn’t catch. I saw it a few times in Kim, much more often in Carys. Carys loved her—trusted her. I wanted to believe Carys hadn’t been fooled.

I run a hand through my hair and then return it to my hips. “I did, and then I didn’t. And then I did again. Lorcan—he—Idon’t fucking know. But I needed to be sure if I was going to pull the trigger. To keep my brother on my side, her death had to be justified to him.” I give a humorless chuckle. “Little did I know, he understood what she was and didn’t fucking care.”

“You thought you could make Kim’s death justifiable to him?”

With a shrug, I puff out a breath. “I misread that one.”

He chuckles.

“All right.” Carys turns on her heel to me and Jay. “Let’s go. I need to trace this money now. Jesus Christ. I rescue you and my whole business goes to shit.”

“Uh, thanks for that, by the way. Not sure I’ve said those words.”

Carys waves me off as she strides to the front entrance. With the door ajar, she glances over her shoulder. Her mouth is open, ready to say something. Instinct kicks in when a sharptinghits the gutter and waterspout. Time slows, narrows, focuses. Blood rushes to my brain, roaring, drowning out everything but Carys.Save her.

Grabbing her arm, I haul her to the ground, shielding her with my body as Jay yells, “Shots fired. Get down! Get down!”

Chapter Twelve

Carys

Finn’s chest is pressed to my face. He’s grappling for the gun at his waistband as his other arm helps shield me. It has to be the adrenaline. His injuries are still healing, and I’ve watched him walk enough the last few days to know he’s stiff and sore. His movements are sure, fluid, painless.

He glances at me, tucking his chin to meet my eyes. “Were you hit?”

I swallow. My shoulder stings. Is the pain from a bullet or how he dragged me to the ground? “I’m fine.”

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