Page 47 of Killian

“Your kindness knows no bounds.” Enzo shakes his head.

I shoot him a smile. “Thanks, Zo.”

“Anytime, Cat.”

I wassurprised when Greer came to me tonight. I assumed after visiting her mother she would want to be alone, but instead she came to me. Instead of the heat usually in her eyes, they hold a sadness. I can’t help but feed her and cuddle her, trying to chase the sadness away.

After several moments of silence, I speak, “Do you want to talk about it?”

She lets out a deep sigh. “She’s not doing well. Did you know she knew what Karrisa was doing and didn’t tell Bash?”

“I didn’t. Do you think Bash knows that?” I tense.

“No. I don’t want to tell him, but if I don’t, wouldn’t I be just like her? It’s hard being in the middle. I love them both, even though neither one has ever treated me right. I understand where they are both coming from. How do you make that decision?”

I squeeze her tighter to me. “It’s a hard one, but you follow your gut. You aren’t always going to do the right thing. We all make mistakes. How you handle the outcome from those mistakes is what’s important. Do you cower and live in the guilt of those mistakes or do you stand up, brush yourself off, and learn from them?”

Her voice is a whisper. “If I don’t tell him and he finds out, he will kill me. Like actually kill me.”

I growl. “He will not lay a finger on you because you are under my protection. That means if he hurts one follicle of hair on your body, he will start a war with the Westies.”

She turns her head, looking up at me. “We aren’t married, Kill. He doesn’t even know we’re a thing.”

I shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. Official or not, you are mine. You are under my protection. I will never let anyone hurt you.”

She gives me a small smile. “I think I have to tell him. She’s slowly going insane the way she is. He needs to figure out a better way to handle it.”

“I’ll have your back no matter what,” I tell her, running my hand along her back.

“I know. You always do.”

“I always will,” I promise.

She leans up, kissing me lightly. “Tell me about your day.”

“Nothing interesting. Business as usual.”

She hesitates a moment. “Can you tell me anything about it? I could use the distraction.”

She doesn’t see it, but I smile. I’ll tell her all about it. I want her to ask, though. I want her to see that I can and will be honest with her.

“I started off at the pub, going over this week’s books. Nothing interesting there. Same issues. Then I went and saw a couple of foot soldiers in Queens. Ever since everything happened with Matteo, I wanted to make sure things were quiet there. I went to the gym and boxed with Conor for a bit. Then back here to finish up some work.”

“What happened to Matteo?” she blurts out, then hides her face in my chest.

I reach down, cupping her chin to pull it up, eyes meeting hers.

“You can ask me anything. Don’t be embarrassed.”

“I know, but there’re some things you can’t tell me.”

I shake my head. “I’ll tell you everything. A foot soldier was killed in Queens. By Matteo. By all accounts, the soldier made the first kill, taking out one of their guards. But the treaty states that in this event, it needs to be discussed. Not only that, but he kidnapped the woman. Matteo made his choice. He went and took out the threat to his woman. I don’t blame him and would have done the same thing, consequences be damned.”

“So that led us here?”

“I saw an opportunity to use it to my advantage. I didn’t want to kill him, but that’s what our way of life requires. Instead, I made a trade. His life in exchange for their best hacker to help me with an issue I was having. An issue that I never intended to involve you in, but I couldn’t resist. Once the idea took hold, I spoke without thinking. I never meant to out you to Bash,” I say, still running my hand along her back.

“I know. It’s okay. It’s about time for him to realize I’m more than his baby sister,” she murmurs.

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