Leaning back in his chair, the beat of his heart quickened. He released his breath in a rush. “You don’t need to worry about me. You have more important things to do, like getting better.”
“Yeah, yeah. But they’re coming at this as if I were specifically targeted.”
“Isn’t that a possibility?” he queried, puzzled.
“I wouldn’t have left through the lobby entrance if I weren’t going to meet you. That’s raising questions.”
Startled, Ronan reconsidered the events of Friday evening. He straightened and rolled his chair closer to the desk. “Can we switch this to video?”
An instant later, Ireland’s gorgeous face filled his screen. Her bruises spurred a dark, hot rage inside him. Her worried frown upset him further. She looked pale and drawn, her eyes heavy-lidded over constricted irises.
“Leave us, please,” he told Jules.
“Non, merci,” his brother shot back. “I need to see how ridiculous you’ve become.”
“Is that Jules?” Ireland asked.
“Who else?” Ronan gave her a wide, warm smile. “How breathtaking you are,cher. It’s so good to see you.”
Jules’ derisive snort earned a sharp glance of rebuke.
A faint smile curved Ireland’s lush lips, and the furrow between her brows smoothed a little. She walked to her sofa and sat with care, propping her phone on the coffee table so that she could lean back gingerly. The sling she wore was a further indicator of how badly she’d suffered, and the simmering fury he felt heated further.
She gave a relieved sigh. “I’m glad you have a lawyer with you.”
“Why does he need a lawyer?” Jules demanded, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward.
“Hey, Jules,” she called out, raising her voice. “The police are wondering why I was snatched from the front drive of the hotel when the masquerade entrance was separate. Since I was heading out to meet Ronan, and my family told them about the situation with Vidal Records, the police are asking questions about your brother.”
Jules’ face hardened. “Maudit. I knew this idiocy would lead to trouble.”
Ronan shot him another quelling glance, then focused his attention on Ireland. “It’s Jules’ nature to overreact, so let’s leave that to him. You’re worried because they’re asking questions none of us have answers for. That’s their job, and I’m glad they’re doing it.”
“I’m worried they’re going to dig into your past and get hung up on it,” she pointed out. “And maybe your father’s, too.”
He was briefly startled that she knew about Lucas’s conviction. Had her father finally disclosed his lies? Was that the reason for her ease with him now, compared to just a few short days ago when she’d ended things between them?
“There’s nothing to be done about that. Worrying won’t help.” He studied her expression. “Are you debating whether you can trust your judgment about me since we’re dating?”
Her blue eyes were suddenly dark and turbulent. “I wouldn’t be calling you if I thought for even a second that you could’ve done this to me.”
“I could not.Je t'adore.” His fingertips touched her lips on the screen before he looked at his brother again. “Va te cacher, Jules.”
His brother stood with a scowl. “If you care about him at all,Lizzie,” Jules said with his voice raised, taunting her with the name she’d introduced herself with initially, “you’ll send him back home where he belongs.”
“I’ve tried that, Jules,” she shot back.
Jules looked at him. “And that only made you want her more,non?” he said quietly, his mouth a hard line. He left the room, shutting the door with a little more force than necessary.
Ronan returned his focus to the woman who’d upended his life. “Pay him no mind. He thinks he knows what’s best for me.”
Her smile was wry as Blizzard appeared on the couch beside her and insinuated himself into her lap. She winced as the heavy cat settled onto her thighs. “My family isn’t any friendlier toward you, so I can’t and won’t complain.”
“You’re telling yourself you don’t doubt me, but you’ve been talked into believing that you’re a bad judge of character when it comes to men you date. You’ve repeated the same to me many times. So has damn near everyone around you that I’ve met.”
“My track record speaks for itself, Ronan.”
He held her gaze through the screen. “It does, but not in the way you’ve been told. You don’t make bad choices, Ireland—you give people the benefit of the doubt. And your instincts are exceptionally good, and you listen to them. Which is why you quickly end relationships that aren’t working for you.”
