Page 75 of Savannah Royals
“It is?”
“It is. For tonight.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep your composure and integrity after the massive pill I just forced you to swallow, but I admire you for it.”
“I just tried to swallow it with as much integrity as you showed by sharing with me.” He reaches for my hands. “So is that everything, Kat? No more secrets?”
Don’t let him catch you, don’t let him see,my mother whispers in my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck rise, spooked.
“It’s mostly everything,” I answer.
“Mostlyeverything?”
“It’s everything I’m able to share right now. I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s my entire story. Because then later…” My vision starts to blur with tears. He rises from the desk. “Later, you’ll say I lied to you. And then you’ll leave for sure.”
“Kat.” He wraps his arms around me. “You know what? It’s okay. I said it’s enough, and I meant it. When you’re ready to share more, I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
“Okay.” I give a tiny sniffle into his shirt.
I let him kiss me then, a tiny kiss on my cheek to swallow the single tear I let slip. But that one kiss turns into two, and two turns into three.Sweet butterfly kisses to soothe something that, deep inside me, is positively aching.
There has always been so much darkness in me, so many holes. But standing here with him, he lends me his light. And he shines it into every corner until I know I’m safe.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
AtourfirstMagpiestakeout, I discreetly pass along an early Christmas gift for Abe—a neatly folded slip of paper with the name and contact information for the head of security at the hospital. There’s also a line from Matthew saying he recommended Abe for an open position.
“You don’t have to do this for him,” I told Matthew when he handed me the note.
“Kat, I don’t hold anything against Abe. He showed up to meet me head-on, like a gentleman, marching himself straight into the lion’s den to do it. And he didn’t so much as bat an eyelash when I kissed or touched you throughout the night. He’s a stand-up fella. He respects you. Your history with Abe doesn’t bother me.”
I ignored his insinuation. That Paul—who hasn’t shown his face—is neither a gentleman nor a stand-up guy.
“Even still,” I replied, “this…setting up a job for him, this goes above and beyond.”
He shrugged. “You go to bat for the people you love, Kat. I’ve watched my father do it time and time again for my mother. Even when it’s hard for him. This is nothing. Abe is important to you, so if I can help him, of course I will.”
Simple as that.
When I give the paper to Abe, he nods appreciatively and pockets it before Paul or Tony notice.
The Royals and I proceed to spend the misty December night outside, casing the Magpies’ riverfront den on the outskirts of the bayou. How they came to be in possession of a dilapidated clipper ship on the Savannah docks is beyond me, but they’ve held the vessel for three years, sleeping below deck in their maritime clubhouse and stashing loot in the ship’s underbelly. They post round-the-clock guards at the base of the gangplank, with the remainder of the crew safely ensconced inside the vessel.
We’re about two hours into our initial recon, the scrapings of a rudimentary plan forming, when Paul makes a surprisingly rash announcement. He wants to hit the ship next week, on New Year’s Eve. He says that date will make for a perfect “object lesson.”
This is a bad idea for multiple reasons, theleastof which being I’ve just made New Year’s plans with Matthew. Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I tell Paul I won’t be able to run a job that night.
“Why the hell not?” He whirls on me. “And so help me god, Kat, if your little boyfriend’s name comes out of your mouth anywhere in your explanation, I’m going to lose it.”
I stay silent. Stonily so. My eyes burn into his with frustration.
“We’re going to talk about this later.” I hear the threat in his tone.
“Oh, leave her alone, Paul,” Abe says.
“Stay out of this, Abe.”
“What’s our Plan B?” Tony asks, blowing on his hands for warmth. “We push it back a few days?”
