Page 98 of Forbidden Protector

“I know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you still going to marry Jack, even though he’s not part of theDead Eyesanymore?”

Aimee’s parted lips slam closed. I can tell I haven’t said much to ease her concern, but Aimee visibly restrains herself from questioning my judgment further. A soft appreciation for my older sister blossoms within me.

“All the same, I want you to have our address,” Aimee’s response is measured, her words chosen with care. “Just in case you change your mind.”

She writes it down on a slip of paper and passes it over to me. I don’t recognize the address, but at the bottom, she’s scrawled the digits of a phone number. It’s different from the number I remember. It’s a silly and obvious detail, but just another concrete reminder of how much has changed.

“I called you,” I confess, my voice barely above a whisper. “I called you so many times, but you didn’t answer.”

“I know.” Her admission carries a weight of its own.

“Why?”

“I didn’t know if I could pretend everything was okay, not when I heard your voice.” Aimee’s soft gaze glances down at the paper in my hand. “Stay in touch with me, okay?”

My heart swells at the sight of her barely restrained desperation. “I promise.”

Relief floods her face. “I love you, Roche.”

The simple powerful words escape my lips without thought. “I love you too.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Arnie

Roisin has been quiet since the moment we left the cafe. A glance to my right shows me that she hasn’t stopped staring pensively out of the car window.

I can’t imagine it would have been an easy conversation for her to have. But judging by her sister’s tears and the prolonged hug goodbye, they must have left things on better terms.

My own conversation with Jack had ended up being, at the very least, enlightening. If nothing else, he’s a useful man to be owed a favor from, and he was more than grateful for my discretion concerning Roisin.

“You’ll consider my offer?”he’d said as we’d watched the Maguire sisters slowly break apart, whispering their final goodbyes.

I held out my hand.“For her sake.”

Jack had seemed satisfied, shaking my hand before we’d gone our separate ways. Roisin followed me wordlessly out of the cafe.

The rational, pragmatic part of me wants to drive us back to the warehouse. But with this encounter with our so-called enemy so fresh in my mind, I’m not sure how to face Connor right now. And Roisin’s been through enough emotional turmoil for one day.

“What did Jack want?”

Roisin’s quiet voice breaks through my line of thought.

“To thank me, I guess,” I admit casually. “He offered me a job.”

I hear the rustle of Roisin’s clothes as she turns to look at me. “What kind of job?”

“He needs a strategist, someone with an eye for detail,” I explain, glad that she’s focussing on something other than the thousands of thoughts seemingly plaguing her brain.

In my peripheral, I see her furrow her brow. “So, you’d be a part of his gang?”

“Yes,” I clarify, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “It would be somewhat of a demotion from my current position. Pay wouldn’t be as good.”

Roisin huffs. “I thought you didn’t care about money?”

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