Page 26 of The Chief
His dark eyes flared with … anger, maybe? “Right. You’re here to negotiate.”
Glancing away, I answered, “When will I get to see him?”
“When he’s ready for you.”
“I need to see himnow.”
Keir cocked his head to the side. “Why the rush?”
Because my sister and mam’s life depended on it.
“I want to get away from you,” I retorted.
He grinned, but the emotion in his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought we were having fun, Jynx, playing cat and mouse.”
“I have my reasons.”
“Do those reasons have anything to do with why Grady attacked you?”
At the mention of his name, the blood drained from my face. Grady. My heart pulsed in my throat. “How do you know his name?”
“You told me.”
Had I?I didn’t remember doing that.
Possibly sensing my confusion, Keir pressed, “Why was Grady at your apartment?”
“I can’t tell you.” My voice broke.
“Why did you deliver the bullet?”
I shook my head, my hair rasping over the pillow. “I can’t tell you that either.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “You pull that shit with Finnan, and I can guarantee he’ll put a bullet in your head.”
He was right. A man like Finnan wouldn’t take my word, I had to have proof. And that proof was…
“Where’s my phone?” I flung out the question like a lifeline.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the device. His thumb worked over the numerical pad to unlock it.
“How did you get into my phone?” I demanded, outraged at him invading my privacy.
He gave abitch, pleaselook. “Using your birthday as your passcode isn’t very smart, Jynx. I thought someone like you would have made it more difficult to find out what was on here.” He flashed me the screen, waving it at me with a smug smile.
“You know my birthday?” I asked, trying to keep the wonder from my voice. My mum forgot half the time, and she’d been there on the fucking day. Orla was the only other person in this world who celebrated my birthday.
“I know a lot of things about you, Jynx.”
The blood froze in my veins as I contemplated his words. He’d dug into my past. While I knew that on a fundamentallevel—otherwise how would he have known where I lived, or my phone number—what else had he found out?
“I know you’re not from Galway. You only moved here four years ago, when you joined the nursing program. Before Galway, you were in Dundalk. I couldn’t find out why you went there when you were fifteen, but you stayed for five years. You weren’t registered at the school, so I assumed you found a job.”
In a way, he was right about Dundalk. I had stayed for five years, working full time to support myself, and since I hadn’t completed my Leaving Certificate, in the later years, I enrolled in FET courses to allow me to apply for college. Nursing was my way out, and I did everything to ensure I could apply. To protect myself as soon as I’d left home, I’d lived under a false name—the same name I had now. As soon as I could, I made sure I got all the documentation to match. It had cost a lot, but it had been worth every cent.
“Before Dundalk, however,” Keir continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil, “I don’t know…” His mouth curled at the corners as he trailed off, amusement splashed across his expression. He wiggled the phone at me. “I wonder what else is on here...”
I threw the blanket from my body, ready to launch myself at him, to wrestle my phone from his grip before he could find out anything else I didn’t want him to. Then I realized I was completely naked, and vulnerability hit hard. Keir digging into my past was brutal, but I wasn’t about to make it any worse by wrestling my phone from his massive grip while naked. I’d bide my time. “Why am I naked?”
