Page 64 of Accepted Precedent
Mickey
Iwake up to the alarm chiming on my phone and groan. Leaving Evelyn and Andrew this morning is going to be fucking torture, but too many pieces of my plan are crumbling. Under no circumstances should she ever have to see, let alone touch, a dead body. Still, pride filled me as she recounted her experience. Evie’s always been a strong woman, and I’ve definitely underestimated her—as well as Kristin.
Pressing a soft kiss to her temple, I whisper, “I’ll be back in a little while, angel. Call me if you need anything.”
“I’m up, I’m up. Where are we going?”
“Shh, no, love. Go back to sleep. I have something to take care of.” I brush the hair away from her neck and kiss the dark pink bruise I left with my mouth last night. While I didn’t make love to her, I couldn’t help marking her as I washed away every drop of dried blood on her otherwise flawless skin.
She turns to face me. “Let me come with you.”
“You’ve done enough. Stay here and rest. I won’t be long.” My phone vibrates with a text, but I ignore it, closing the distanceand stealing a kiss from the woman I’m determined to spend the rest of my life with. It buzzes again, and I reluctantly break away from her to check it. Her soft whimper has me regretting it.
Ned Collins
It’s been a busy night for me.
I have good news and bad news.
What’s the bad news?
I know why last night didn’t go as planned.
I don’t have time for a back-and-forth with him, so I call.
“Good morning, Mr. Gallagher. Your Project Snapped seems to have resolved itself. You’ll want to connect with the Blakes and Taylors.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I ask through clenched teeth at the mention of the Blakes. I spoke with Christopher at the gala, but I have a feeling he won’t heed my warnings.
“They are my clients, so I cannot divulge the specifics, but your brother is privy to it. I can confirm your plans for Jaclyn Taylor are unaffected.” I’m about to ask why Finn is involved when he adds, “But the reason I’m contacting you is because Mrs. McKinnon is why the man we hired didn’t make it to his mark last night.”
“Spit it out, Ned! What happened last night?”
Evie tucks into my side, which would normally calm me. If her friend is responsible for why she had to remove a fucking bullet from a man’s skull, I don’t care if my brother is in love with Ileah—she’ll pay dearly.
“Again, it isn’t my place to say. This call is merely a professional courtesy. Your brother has more answers than I do, but so help me, if I clean up a fourth mess this morning, I’m raising my rates.”
I trace lazy circles on Evie’s back, and the more she melts into me, the more I’m able to relax. “What do you mean by four?”
“Call. Your. Brother.”
I huff a small laugh. “My apologies. I appreciate you contacting me. Thank you for the assistance earlier. We’ll speak soon.”
He mentioned three projects. The only reason my brother would have information I don’t is if he dared to meddle with Ileah and Tim McKinnon. Why is Ileah the reason Kristin had to kill Tim’s opponent? Why are the Blakes and Taylors involved? Why is everything I’ve worked for burning before my eyes?
As I try to piece it together, Evelyn’s palm on my cheek pulls me from my thoughts. “Hey, what do you need?”
“You,” I reply without a second thought. “I need you, angel.”
Moving my hand to her hip, keeping my palm on her belly, I will back everything I’m feeling. I fail, angry with myself for not protecting her. After sacrificing everything for me, she’s stuck in the crossfires.
“I need both you and Andrew, but we’re losing him,” I admit, my heart stuck in my damn throat. “Your sister…” I can’t bring myself to speak it. Instead, I explain, “She had to step in because of… unforeseen circumstances. But if I wasn’t selfish last night, none of this would’ve happened.”
“First of all,wearen’t losing anyone. Andy’s never been mine, and I don’t want him to be. Second, all of that is bullshit, and youknow it.” She laughs softly against me, and I hold her tighter, kissing the top of her head. “It wasn’t selfish. You needed time with him. I’ll never be enough for you.”
Between Kristin telling Andrew she feels inadequate, and now Evie struggling with feeling the same, something needs to change. I can’t lose Evelyn too.
“What are you talking about, angel?” I shift, tangling my legs with hers. “You’re more than enough.”
