Page 20 of Destroy Me
Her friend’s glance was open and friendly, just like always. Had she talked to Fionn this morning? Had he told his mother what they’d done last night? Had he spilled more details about her past? She couldn’t tell, couldn’t read Siobhan’s body language well enough, but God, she wanted to. Wanted to know if her friend was still her friend.
“Good morning,” she said, cautious of the minefield she was stepping onto.
Siobhan jutted her chin toward the coffee maker. “Help yourself. How I ended up with an Irishman stuck on coffee in the morn, I’m not knowing.” She grinned. “Certainly gets him up and going, if you know what I mean. Maybe that’s why coffee is such a favorite in the States.”
Lyse crossed to the cabinet to grab a mug, hiding her blush from Siobhan. Somehow she didn’t think Mack needed help gettingup and goingin the morning. The man was a typical adrenaline junkie, even flirting with sixty years old. Most of the teams Lyse had worked with at Global First were the same, the men filled with an overabundance of testosterone. Even Fionn. Or especially Fionn. He surely had plenty of sex drive.
And she’d been in bed with him this morning. Surely Siobhan didn’t think…
Lyse blushed harder.
“Mack is showerin’. Fionn is out walking the perimeter, he said.” Siobhan transferred thick slabs of bacon onto a paper-towel-covered plate. “They’ll be back in time for breakfast.” She pointed at a loaf of fresh-baked bread Lyse recognized from the local bakery. “Cut that up, yeah?”
Grateful for something to do with her hands, Lyse rummaged in the drawers until she found a knife, then got to work. She was four slices in when she caught a glimpse of Fionn at the edge of the tree line.
“He’s always been a stubborn one.”
Lyse startled, the knife dropping from her hand to clatter onto the counter. Siobhan patted her back before moving to the sink nearby. Rather than attempt to pick up the knife and start again, Lyse planted her palms on the cool tile surface and breathed, staring at the spot where Fionn had disappeared into the woods once more. What had Siobhan meant, he was stubborn? Of course he was stubborn—that was part of what made him good at his job, at hunting. If only he’d ease up on that stubbornness where she was concerned.
“So…” Siobhan stuck her hands under the running water. “I got Fionn’s side of the story from what little he was telling me last night.” She reached for a towel to dry. “We’ve known each other how long, dear?”
Lyse’s heart gave a kick that took her breath. She rubbed at her chest a moment. “A few weeks.” It was the truth, though not wholly honest. Lyse knew to the day how long it had been since she’d first made contact with Siobhan.
Siobhan nodded. “I remember you walking into the post office like it happened yesterday.”
Lyse had ordered coffee online. It had always been a weakness. Her fellow geeks in the tech department didn’t care if the coffee tasted like sludge, but Lyse had always figured if she was going to run on caffeine, it should at least taste good.
Siobhan worked the counter at the post office. After the third package, she’d invited Lyse to the French patisserie, a more local option for coffee.
“Fionn obviously believes you were after finagling your way into my life, but we both know better.” Because Siobhan never met a stranger. “So why don’t you tell me your side of his story, and let’s get things straight up front?”
Lyse took a deep breath, hoping it would calm her. Give her courage. It didn’t. She turned to face Siobhan. “What he said was true. I did set a bomb. And he was almost killed.”
Siobhan stared into her eyes for a long moment, seeming to take her own measure. “But not for the reasons Fionn thinks.”
“Fionn…” What did her motives matter? What she’d done, that was what mattered. Motives could’ve gotten him killed despite how hard she tried to save him. “It doesn’t matter,” she finally said.
Siobhan scoffed, then nodded toward the bread. “Bring that to the table.”
Some of Lyse’s tension eased. Siobhan would drop it now. She would believe Fionn, turn away from Lyse, and when the time came for Fionn to drag Lyse back to the States to face charges, Siobhan wouldn’t feel torn between the two of them. She could continue on, happy, and Lyse wouldn’t carry one more regret on the pile that already threatened to crush her.
After setting the bread on the table, Lyse sat in the chair across from Siobhan and cupped her warm coffee in her palms. Siobhan passed her a plate. “Food, then talk.”
Of course. “Siobhan…”
Siobhan pointed the fork she was using to dish up bacon at Lyse. “Don’t be arguing.”
Siobhan had the whole mom argue-with-me-and-you’ll-regret-it thing down. But even that force of will couldn’t keep Lyse’s stomach from rebelling, so she focused on the warmth of her coffee instead of the food in front of her. “What do you want to know?”
“How close were you and Fionn before?”
Not nearly as close as I wanted?“We were colleagues. I was the head of the tech department at Global First.”
“I always knew you were way smarter than you were lettin’ on,” Siobhan said. She nibbled a piece of bread. “So what’s the story?”
Lyse focused on the rich brown of the liquid in her cup. “Fionn’s best friend, Deacon, was targeted by a crime lord from South Africa. He’d killed the man’s son a couple of years before while trying to rescue an American senator and his family. Mansa took exception to the loss of his heir, criminal or not.”
“So he came after Deacon?”
