“Protection. Real protection. Not this—” He gestures at the room, the house, the invisible eyes. “Not whatever polite prison he has you sitting in.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying no?”
“Yes.”
His hands curl. “This is madness.”
“Madness would be staying because I believe I’m safe.”
“You aren’t.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
The question is too large for the room. I answer the part that matters. “Because leaving ends the only path to the truth.”
He stares at me. “The truth won’t keep you alive. It won’t bring Seane back. It won’t fix this.”
“No.”
“Then what does it do?”
I look at him. “It gives me somewhere to put my hands. I’m not going home to become proof that the Brennan familysurvived him. I’m not going to sit in Dublin while men decide my father’s murder is too difficult to pursue because the Italians wrote a cleaner version first.”
“We can pursue it from home.”
“With what?”
“People talk.”
“People die.”
“We have reach.”
“Not here.” I stand.
Rory looks at the door, then back at me. “If I walk out without you, I may not be able to get this offer again.”
“I know.”
The exit door is open.
I choose the cage.
Chapter 8
He Knows She Chose
POV:Alessandro
Luca reports from the front drive. “Brennan is leaving.”
“Alone?” I ask.
“Yes.”
