Page 38 of The Irish Redemption

“Close to you?” She tilts her head in a way that reminds me of a curious puppy.

“Do you think I fuck everyone in the back of my car?”

Her cheeks flare pink immediately and she looks away. “I don’t know,” she mumbles. “I’m sure you fuck a lot of people.”

“No.” For some reason, it’s very important to me that she knows that. “I’ve never fucked anyone in my car except you. In fact, I haven’t fucked anyone in way too long.”

“Really?” The coy way she glances at me suggests she likes hearing that, but given how I’ve interpreted things so far, I’m not sure I can trust myself.

“Really.”

“Well…” Evelyn moves on her seat and brings her hands to the table, twisting her fingers together. “At least I got to see you again, one last time.”

My full attention locks on her immediately. “What do you mean, one last time?”

She looks at me with those gigantic doe eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. Everything just got on top of me and I got so angry at what you were saying. It feels like I’m out of control, and everyone is making these assumptions and choices about me without listening to me, and now?—”

“Evelyn.” I move to sit next to her and place my large hand over her clasped ones. “What are you talking about?”

“Harry wants his money now. As in, he’ll kill me in forty-eight hours if I don’t have it ready for him. And I don’t have that kind of cash so…” She shrugs and her eyes sparkle with tears. “I thought drinking would help me feel better, but…” She trails off, shaking her head.

For me, though, this is perfect. “I’ll pay for it.”

“What?” Her head snaps up.

“I’ll pay it. That’s barely anything. Plus, it saves me from working out how the hell to get my hands on Harry before he runs back to the family.”

Evelyn’s mouth drops open. “You’re not serious.”

“Deadly,” I say, then pull my hand away from hers. The contact is almost too much, like her touch is searing into me, and I can still feel it even as I rub my palm against my thigh. “Call him. Tell him you have the money and want to meet.”

Despite the soft surprise across her face, her eyes narrow. “So that’s it. I’m just a tool for you to use again.”

“Does it matter?” I reply. “I’ll pay your debt and get my hands on the little rat. It’s a win-win.”

Evelyn’s face twists into a frown and she nods. “So just a tool.”

“A debt-free tool,” I joke, but it’s clearly too soon for humor, so I rise and take a few steps away lest I get overcome with the urge to touch her again. “Evelyn, if you were just a tool, I wouldn’t be helping you.”

“Helping me gets you what you want,” she replies, looking up at me. “So just a tool.”

“All I need is a name and a face, and I already have that for Harry. I can get to him without you, so no. I wouldn’t be helping you if you were just a tool.”

“Then why are you helping me?”

I stare at her, and my mind goes blank as my heart skips a beat.

That is the one question I can’t answer.

16

EVELYN

We rehearsed this countless times over the past few days, but as I walk toward the alley where I’m supposed to meet Harry with a duffel full of money over one shoulder, I forget everything.

Once again, I’m doing something that terrifies me while Cormac waits out of sight. Strange how familiar this is starting to feel. The only difference is that this time, this really will benefit me. Harry will get his money, and I will be debt-free, and maybe Cormac will finally get some answers as to whether the Russians really were involved in his father’s death. I hope he does so that he can move on, and yet a tiny part of me hopes he doesn’t so that somehow, we can run into one another again.

And again.

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