Patrick

Later that night, Nya was upstairs sleeping, and rather than stay with her, which I wanted to do so badly, I went downstairs and found Michael waiting for me.

One look at his face and without speaking, I nodded toward the French doors off the kitchen. Funny because my brother’s expression was always serious. Still, I could see that there was something more behind that expression today, something important.

The blood rushed through my veins on an adrenaline-fueled push, and it felt as though I was tingling as I went forward. I knew, suspected anyway, that he had information about the people who had tried to shoot me. As much as I told myself it was business, as much as I tried to keep it that way, I was excited. Couldn’t help but be.

Because as much as I promised I wasn’t like my father, Aengus, as much as I tried not to be like him, I would never pretend that there wasn’t something about this, something about knowing I had found my enemy and was preparing to punish that enemy, that excited me.

We stepped out of the house and closed the door.

“Don’t want your guest to overhear?” Michael asked.

I ignored him. “What did you find?” I asked.

My tone was icy, though that wasn’t directed at him, not completely. I didn’t want to indulge his games ordinarily, but that was true even more so now. I was focused, had a purpose, and nothing would deter me from it.

“Sean’s on them now,” Michael said. “Or at least one of them.”

“Where?”

“Still here in the city,” Michael said.

I released a laugh that was both bitter and annoyed. “They didn’t leave?”

“No,” Michael said. “Arrogant as fuck, don’t you think?”

“I do. But maybe there’s some other reason,” I said.

“Like what?” Michael asked.

“I don’t know yet. Who are they?”

Michael reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a small envelope and offered it to me.

I took it and quickly flipped through the pictures inside.

“You recognize him?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Hard to say. How did we find them?”

“Declan tracked them down. Apparently they used to be hooked up with a club that ran into some trouble and started freelancing.”

“I’m surprised. They don’t strike me as club types,” I said.

“Apparently that’s ancient history, and they’ve been upping their game,” Michael said.

“And this is the first I’m hearing of it?” I responded.

“You’ve been busy going legit,” Michael said.

I looked at him and shook my head. “It’s no excuse. I know every move that gets made here.”

“Apparently not,” Michael responded.

I wanted to punch his smug face but I couldn’t, not when he was so right. I had been distracted, had let myself lose a little bit of sight of the business, and it had come back to bite me.

“An oversight I intend to correct.”

“Should we grab them?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. But keep an eye on them. Tell Declan I only want our most trusted on this. I also want to know every move they make, every person they talk to. Everywhere they go.”

“So we’re just going to watch?” Michael asked, not exactly questioning, but not entirely accepting either.

“Yeah. For the moment. Because there’s going to be information. If I didn’t know about them, what else don’t I know about? But don’t worry, Michael, their time will come soon enough,” I said.

At least in that he seemed not to doubt me. And he shouldn’t have. I was annoyed that they had tried to kill me and failed, even more annoyed that they had been operating right under my nose.

They would get their comeuppance, and it would not be pleasant. Until then, I would do as I had always done, be patient, wait for the right time to strike.

“Feels like you don’t have to worry about anybody taking a shot at you for the next little while,” Michael said.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m not gonna be caught flat-footed again.”

“Good plan,” he responded.

“I’m surprised you’re not…occupied,” he said, looking toward the second story of the house, though he barely moved.

“How do you know I wasn’t?” I replied.

He gave me a grudging smile for that. “So you’ll still be there when duty calls,” he said.

“Yeah, you know that nothing is more important to me than my brothers and my business,” I said.

“Then why is she here?” he asked.

There was no particular scorn in his voice, no particular disapproval either, which was a feat for Michael. There was only curiosity, something I understood.

“You know we have rules, a code,” I said.

Unsurprisingly, my little brother was unconvinced.

“Yeah, I know. But this…”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Michael again looked at me skeptically. “Pat, I know the lady was in a tough jam, but to bring her here? Twice?”

“What was I supposed to do?” I asked.

“Anything else. I don’t know what you have going on with her, but…”

Michael looked at me, his expression for one of the first times not angry, not even irritated. He was simply concerned.

“What?”

“Just take care of yourself,” he said.

I looked at him, shrugged, smiled. “She seems dangerous to you?” I asked.

“You’re taking people at face value now?” he retorted.

He again had me, but I took some solace in the fact that he seemed to have internalized some of the lessons I had tried so hard to instill.

“I don’t take people at face value, but I know I have nothing to fear from her,” I said.

That wasn’t entirely true. I did have something to fear from her, but not what Michael thought and nothing that I would ever confess, not even to myself.

I looked at Michael again, noticed that he didn’t look satisfied, not exactly, but he seemed unwilling to push the matter. Instead, he said, “Well, whatever you say. Just take care.”

He looked at me intently for another moment but then began to move toward the front door. “I’ll report back, and I will know exactly where they are at all times,” he said.

“I’m not worried,” I said.

“Good,” he replied.

“See you later,” I said.

He nodded and then left. But I stayed outside, thinking about what he had said, what it meant.

Nya was no danger to me. The very thought of it was ridiculous on its face. Yet Michael’s words came back at me. Made me think. I walked around the peaceful, calm yard, considering what he had said.

More than once, I found my gaze pulled toward the portion of the house where she was, felt my body engage, activate at the very thought of her.

I enjoyed women, made no bones about it, but I had never craved someone as I did her. Even now, under these most trying circumstances, the impulse to go to her only seemed to intensify and not lessen.

I didn’t understand it. I certainly had never experienced anything like it.

It occurred to me then that that was what Michael had met. That was how she was dangerous. Without even trying she had gotten under my skin, and had made me do things that weren’t smart.

Because bringing her here, twice, as Michael had reminded me was not smart. Going back to her after that first time was not smart.

In truth, I didn’t want to see her come to harm, wouldn’t allow that to happen. But there were other ways I could achieve that goal, ways that didn’t involve Nya in my house, in my bed.

But the truth was, that was exactly where I wanted her.

And that was dangerous, the most dangerous thing of all.