Page 20 of Resurrection

“Not even going to look?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. Anything else?” Truth is, it’s unsettling that Carys knows the things I’m likely to wear, after so many years. Comforting too. I’m not sure what bothers me more. I’m too volatile, too dangerous for her. She’s a liability for me. Anyone who comes after me will realize Carys is who you dangle over that ledge. Lorcan knew it. Wouldn’t take much for someone else to discover my weakness.

Lena crosses her arms and indecision floats across her face.

“Generally I like people who say what they’re fucking thinking,” I say.

Another brief laugh escapes her. “I’m worried about Carys.”

“I’m gonna help her figure this shit out, and then I’m out of her life.” With a sense of finality, I zip up the suitcase. “I won’t hurt her.”

“Surprisingly, it’s notyouI’m worried about.”

I frown. “Eric?”

She shakes her head. “Charles, her father, has done a lot of dirty deals in Russia. A few of them behind her back since heretired. These packages… Carys isn’t sure they’re from the FBI guy. She hasn’t been able to trace them.”

“So, what?” I say. “You think they’re tied to him or some sort of bad deal?”

“I don’t know. But she hasn’t talked to him about the threats, even though I told her she should. She’s forbidden me from telling him.”

“Fuck it. Tell him anyway.”

Lena chuckles and shifts her feet, not meeting my gaze. “It’s taken me a long time to be this close. I—what I’ve been doing with Charles… She means a lot to me, and she wouldn’t forgive me for interfering.”

My chest swells at her words, and I brace my hands on my hips, trying to determine what she wants from me. “You wantmeto tell Charles?”

“If he found out she was the one who saved you, he’d start a nuclear war. Seriously. Last time the two of you were together, she almost died.”

I grit my teeth and focus on the wall over her shoulder. “I’m aware of what he thinks of me.” He was very clear in the hospital's hallway when Carys was clinging to life. Carys and I didn’t make sense. Carys and I were too different. Carys and I would end with her dead and me in prison, or we’d both be dead. If I hadn’t been forced on a plane the next day by my father, I would have overruled Charles. Never would have listened to him. But once I’d had time and distance, I realized they were right to drag me away. She made me better, and I made her worse.

“I wanted you to understand that what’s going on over there might not be what she thinks,” Lena says.

With a sigh, I ruffle my hair and grab the back of my neck. “How pissed will Carys be about her father’s dealings?”

“Livid. She caught him one other time and told him if he wanted to work for her, he was welcome to. Otherwise, he needed to… How did she phrase that? Stay the fuck out of her way.” Lena winks at me. “She’s got a backbone when she wants.”

I smile and glance at Lena. “You don’t say.” I grab the bag off the bed and stifle a groan. I want to fast-forward time so I’m not so sore. When I head toward the door, she stays put. “Something else?”

She worries her bottom lip. “I heard what you did to the men who almost killed Carys.”

I stare at her and say nothing for a moment, the suitcase clutched in my hand. “She tell you?”

“Charles.”

A bit of a surprise. Of course, he knew what I did. I showed up at the hospital covered in blood, and it wasn’t from his daughter. “He called me a hothead and a fool.”

Lena’s smile is weak. “Probably true, right? He’s got his own temper issues. He knew you would have done anything to protect Carys if you could. It’s just—the lifestyle you lead—you couldn’t keep her safe. Her happiness is his priority, but he also wants her alive.”

“Ah, the irony.” I roll my shoulders and continue toward the door. “The threat she’s facing right now might not even have anything to do with me.”

“You’ll help her whether or not the problem is because of you?”

I grab the edge of the door and stand, poised to exit, to meet Carys back at the front of the house. I half turn to Lena, not quite meeting her gaze. “What I did in Ireland, killing those men. I’d do it every day for the rest of my life if it meant keeping Carys safe. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do.” I yank the door wider. “Including leaving her alone once this threat is done.”

“What if that isn’t what she wants?”

“It is. It will be. And even if it isn’t, we all know I’m not the happily ever after guy.” I walk out the door.

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