Page 15 of Kept to Kill
‘Heard you’ve had a girl in here for days. Not usual for you,’ she fished.
He rolled his eyes. ‘Who’d have thought the Army of the Dark Brothers was no better than a gaggle of bored fishwives,’ he muttered.
She shrugged. ‘You’re the Commander now,’ she drawled. ‘All the men want to be you and all the women want to fuck you,sir.’
He made a face and she laughed at him.
He cast a look at Lilith, still behind him looking at books, and was a little surprised that he’d turned his back on her. She could easily have snuck up behind him. It would only take one tiny touch, after all. He wasn’t usually so trusting;stupid.
‘This is the girl who’s kept you entertained for so long?’
‘It’s not what you think,’ he said stiffly, feeling Lilith’s eyes on him.
‘No?’
‘No. She was Vineri’s. She has a gift and I aim to keep her very close.’
‘Aye?’ Maeve’s eyes surveyed Lilith as she skittered across the tent with a book in her hand, and she frowned. ‘Any particular reason you’re keeping her half naked, then?’ Her tone was cold and Quin only just stopped himself from grimacing. Maeve didn’t take kindly to women being mistreated. She wanted the pleasure tents taken down as well as other laws put in place. It had made her unpopular enough that several attempts had been made on her life since her return to the Army.
‘Aye. I’m the Commander and I wish it,’ he said sharply instead of admitting any wrongdoing.
She barked a laugh. ‘Fuck off, Quin.’
He snorted. Maeve was one of the few Brothers who didn’t treat him any differently now that he was in charge. That was one of the reasons he knew he could entrust her with this.
‘I asked you here because soon we travel north.’
‘Aye, to the capital, I hear.’
Quin raised a brow. Funny how everything that was meant to be secret traveled twice as fast through the camp. Could no one keep their mouths shut?
‘Aye.’ He sighed and gestured to his desk. ‘I need a steward for while I’m gone. Greygor had that worm Morden do it, but, truth be told, I’ve never liked him and I’d trust him with fuck all. I need someone who is loyal to me. Someone organized.’ He looked at Maeve meaningfully.
‘Am I loyal to you?’ she teased. Then she crossed her arms over her chest. ‘You’re taking me away from my unit, and you know how much time I spend in their company. What’s in it for me?’
Quin’s lips pursed as he thought. Maeve didn’t want for much, and she would be taken away from Jax, Callan, and Seth. Their unit was extremelyclose. She’d want something special.
‘A favor in the future?’ he suggested.
‘A favor from Quin, Commander of the Dark Army?’ She sounded intrigued, and Quin could see that he finally had her undivided attention. ‘Well, you don’t give those away every day. I suppose it’ll do,’ she stated, ‘but I’ll need a document with your seal upon it. Morden, especially, won’t believe you gave such a task to a woman without proof. And you know how they like to play at their intrigues whenever they can. Grown men turn into children with dangerous toys. They’ll come out of the woodwork like vipers once your presence isn’t forcing them into the darkness to do their shady deals.’
‘Aye, I’ll give you the authority, Maeve.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘But any power grabs and, friend or no, I’ll kill you as I would anyone else.’
Maeve had the audacity to give him a cheeky wink and a smile. She knew he would do as he promised no matter how much it pained him; she was just fearless like that – always had been, he mused, except when it came to Callan, Jax, and Seth. She’d run from them like a frightened mouse and hidden herself for years. He still didn’t know the whole story, but it was between her and her unit. Not his business.
‘I have to meet the others,’ he said, getting up and donning his cloak.
‘I might as well start now,’ she said absently as she began to shuffle papers around on the desk. ‘How’s Bastian getting on? I didn’t much like Payn, but Bastian …’ She shook her head.
‘Fucking worthless,’ he muttered as he began to walk off, and she snickered.
Quin glanced over at Lilith as he left the tent. She was sitting back on the bed reading one of his books, and he swung back on a whim. Just because she didn’t seem dangerous, that didn’t mean anything.
‘Don’t touch her,’ he warned Maeve, and she gave him an odd look.
‘I don’t tend to fuck women, Quin. You know that.’ Then she winked at Lilith, who was watching their exchange with wide eyes.
Quin shook his head at his incorrigible friend and went out into the rain. He would meet his Brothers in Mal’s tent, away from the girl. He didn’t want her knowing any more than was necessary about their plan and their movements over the next weeks. He trudged through the mud, pretending not to know that someone was following him. The fool would learn soon enough that he wouldn’t be easily slain. As he neared Mal’s tent, he heard an ‘oof’ and then silence. Bastian appeared at his side.
