“There’s The Deathless on the back burner too—he was absent tonight,” I add, guzzling down the whiskey I’ve poured. “Thought that was interesting.”
“Probably up to something.”
“Fedorov’s a cocky bastard,” Lochlan says. “He didn’t count on needing his A team against us. Thought a few low ranking henchmen would be enough.”
“It was ’til our special visitor helped us out,” I say.
Ronan tilts his head in curiosity. “You mean Hino’s son? What part did he play in all this?”
“It wasn’t clear,” I answer. “But he set off the alarm the second time and distracted Fedorov’s men. That’s when we were able to turn the tables on ’em.”
“The Bratva and Yakuza have never been chummy,” Lochlan says. “Seems we’re not the only ones who’ve got a problem with Fedorov and the Russians.”
Ronan reclines in his chair, arms folded behind his head. “Maybe we need to send this Kai Hino some flowers as a thank you.”
Eventually, I leave Ronan and Lochlan in the office and go wandering Callahan House. Jhene’s here somewhere, holed up in whatever room Oona’s stashed her in.
It takes me five minutes and cracking open a few different doors to finally find the right one.
Oona’s fussing over Jhene like a mother hen, applying a Band-Aid to a scrape on her elbow and lecturing her about the bath salts she’s placed by the tub.
“They’ll help with the soreness,” she says. “Don’t be afraid to use them. Empty the whole bloody jar if you must.”
Jhene offers a small, hesitant nod as if unsure what else to do. She’s never been one to easily accept letting someone care for her.
Simone’s sitting beside her on the bed, a sympathetic frown on her face. “Oona, you’ve already told her three times.I’m sure Jhene will use as much of the bath salts as she wants.”
“It’s my job to remind her!” Oona says defensively, hands notched on her thick waist. “And don’t forget to change into the pajamas we’ve provided. Those are straight from Simone’s closet. They’re real silk!”
I clear my throat, finally interrupting the moment. The three women look up in unison.
“Can I have a moment with Jhene?” I ask. “Alone.”
“Oh,” Simone says, glancing from me to Jhene. She rises from the bed, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Of course you can. Come, Oona. Let’s go check on theotherCallahan brother. He was shot tonight or something.”
Both women pass me up at the door, except Oona pauses for a quick second. She issues a warning look and says, “You be nice to this girl. She’s been through enough without you being mean to her.”
I shake my head, half tempted to laugh at how she sizes me up.
Oona’s an old-school Irishwoman, neither gentle nor timid. She’s the backbone of Callahan House for good reason and probably wouldn’t hesitate to knock somebody over the head the way many grandmothers do.
I wait for us to be alone before shutting the door and shoving a hand through my hair. I hadn’t planned this far ahead.
Suddenly, me and Jhene are alone together for the first time in over a week. Since our big fight when I discovered her burner phone.
What the hell am I supposed to even say to her?
It’s an understatement to say things are a mess. Everything about the situation’s difficult and complicated on both sides.
But as soon as I look at her, I’m aware my feelings havegone nowhere. They course through me, beating hard inside my chest.
…inside my damn heart.
I’m in love with this girl. A complete fucking goner as far as she’s concerned.
It’s been like that for weeks now, even as I’ve fought it and denied what was happening.
I draw a heavy breath and sort through where to begin.
