Page 19 of The Celtic Resolution
This unexpected alliance with Bruno might be exactly what I need, although the irony of teaming up with the son of the man I’m investigating isn’t lost on me. I have to be careful with what I tell him because anything I say might be passed on to the man in question.
Bruno is convinced someone is either setting up his father or simply using the family name to get some kind of leverage with the Triad. Keeping me alive surely puts Bruno in hot water with the Triads, but when we meet up a week later in the parking lot of a rest stop, he seems fine.
He walks toward me with his head held high and a cocky swagger that matches the light, amused smile dancing over his lips. Dressed in dark jeans, a white Henley, and a black leather jacket, anyone would think he’s on his way to something casual like the cinema and not to raid a Chinese Triad address twisted out of the last informant Bruno had communication with.
“Surprised to see you alive,” I say as I push off from where I was resting against the hood of my car. “Didn’t think the Triad were forgiving.”
“I have my ways.” He smirks, but that smile quickly softens. “And by ways, I mean that they think I beat you and manipulated you into workingforme to their benefit. Just in case you think I’m about to double-cross you.”
“I’m not worried. I told you what would happen if you did, and I meant it.” Working with Bruno over these last few short days has been the perfect distraction from everything else. While Cian tracks down everyone he can from the masquerade, the only thing stopping my mind from spiraling at the thought of my baby is focusing on work. Doing everything I can to stop another Irish scandal is great for focus, and being around Bruno keeps me alert. I don’t trust him, no matter how easygoing his sexy smile is now that he’s not trying to kill me. That mistrust is like an adrenaline shot to the heart, though, and I’m embracing it.
Although that might also be his presence. Now that he’s not actively trying to kill me, he’s infuriatingly charming. As if I need any more trouble in my life.
“Don’t worry.” Bruno chuckles. “I fully expect you to honor that.”
“I will,” I reply nonchalantly. “Have you got the address?”
“Yep. It’s an apartment building a couple of miles from here.”
“And your contact thinks this is where we should look?”
“Well, after a few drinks, he was pretty open about where he’s been doing business and mentioned that a lot of dolls have been passing through there. He called it a halfway house before he passed out in a bowl of nuts.”
“Alright. How do we know this won’t come back to bite you?”
The wind picks up and lifts a few strands of Bruno’s hair into the air. They sweep down across his forehead when the wind passes and as he lifts one arm to push the strands back into his hair, his Henley rides up and a sliver of golden, toned skin winks at me from his waistline.
Fuck.
“I spent a couple of days with him afterward and he didn’t remember a thing. Everyone can handle their drink until I throw in a couple of shots of Sake. Better than any drug, I swear.”
“Alright, I believe you. It’s your neck on the line if we get caught,” I reply, fighting to ignore that perfect, teasing glimpse of skin that remains while Bruno continues to fix his hair.
“And it’s such a pretty neck.” He smirks. “So, your car or mine?”
“Mine.” I turn and walk back toward my vehicle. “I don’t trust you enough to drive.”
“What didhe tell you about this place?”
Bruno stands behind me, stretching and casually hiding me from view as I kneel at the front door and carefully slip my lockpicking tools into the lock.
“Between hiccups and slurred words, he just said it was a doll holding house. He didn’t even provide context,” Bruno replies. “So if I didn’t know what dolls were, it would be terribly confusing.”
“And he just slipped you the information because…?”
“Because I’m an absolute charmer.”
I can hear his smirk from here.
“But in all seriousness, he was complaining about how far he has to travel just to check up on shit and mostly doesn’t even bother because no one’s ever here long enough for his absence to be an issue.”
“Sounds like a stand up guy,” I mutter.
A car drives by, making Bruno stand even closer to me, and my concentration wobbles. Warmth radiates from him like some kind of sauna, and the scent of his slightly spicy yet slightly sweetaftershave mingles in the air. It’s nice. Like walking through a field of flowers on a warm summer's day. I’m so hyper-aware of his presence that my back prickles with every soft rush of fabric shifting against his skin when he moves, every subtle audible inhale when he breathes, and the ever so slight creak of his leather boots. It’s almost as if his intense presence is rewiring my brain so that all I can think of is how nice it was in those few moments last week when he was holding me up against the wall.
He’s lucky I didn’t start crying in his arms over the news I’d received at the hospital. I still need to apologize to Evelyn for ditching her like that.
The lock clicks just as my thoughts run away with themselves and the door swings open. “Bingo.”
