‘I uh.’He clears his throat.‘I didn’t believe you until now.’
‘About what?’
‘That you’re a killer.’
Lachlan makes a left onto the backroads, avoiding the highway until they reach the private stretch that leads to the Estate.‘I am.’
‘I could see it,’ Jules says so quiet Lachlan barely hears the words.‘You were going to go back in there and kill him.’
He stillis,he just won’t say anything about it.
‘Yeah.’
‘Is that in your contract?’
‘Full-neutralisation authority.’
‘I don’t want you to kill him.I know you’re probably planning to go back and do it later.’Lachlan sighs.‘All we have is honesty, Bodyguard.I’m gonna ask you every day forever if that guy’s still alive.’
‘So get used to hearingno.’
‘I don’t want that.’
‘He’ll just hurt someone else.’
‘That’s not why you’re doing it.’
‘I’m a professional.It’s not gonna flag.’
‘I don’t want you to end a life for me!’
‘He hurt you.’
‘He’ll think twice before he does that again, trust me.’
‘They don’t think twice.They just adapt.’
‘Lachlan,’ Jules says seriously.‘I handled itmyself.That means a lot to me, OK?If you kill him, you’ll undo all of that.’
Lachlan scowls.‘He tried to—’
‘But hedidn’t.I stopped him.Your CQC shit works.That’s enough.Maybe not for you, but for me it is.Do you understand?’
Lachlan sighs hard.‘Heard.’
‘Yeah, I know youheardme, but say you understand.’
‘I understand.’
‘Good.’Jules wipes his eyes, massages his pulse point with his thumb.
Lachlan drives them home, slowly coming back to himself.
Danya is waiting for them.He quietly assures Lachlan they have a clean forty-five seconds to get into the Cove, so they hurry up the staff stairwell, avoiding people, and make it inside where it’s safe, familiar, trulyhome.
Lachlan checks on Mimi, finds her fast asleep.
Against his better judgement, he goes to be with Jules in the bathroom.
