Dirk put his hand to his throat, which was a ruddy purple. “He was choking me,” he said. “I only stung him to make him release his hold on me. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Ciaran yelled. “You dare to come into our cove and?—”
“I came to see my men,” he said, foolishly defiant. Like he had any right to be mad. “And your cove, it’s all fucked up. The water, it ain’t right. I could barely see. I didn’t see your men until they were in front of me.”
Beau made a low growling sound, the hammer still in his hand. “We aren’t your men, Dirk.”
Dirk’s eyes met his, and they hardened for a split second
“Bullshit,” Tobin said. “He was trying to be stealthy, and he had no idea we were on to him because I was there.”
Because Tobin had shielded them.
“He thought he was there alone,” Fray added. “And he thought he was going to get here undetected so he could snoop.”
Tobin smiled. “Tell us, Dirk, what were you snooping for? And don’t forget, I know when you’re lying.”
Dirk looked around at everyone, confused.
Ciaran crouched down beside him. “Snoop for what?”
Dirk paled. “I wasn’t snooping.”
“Were you spying?” Ciaran said, his tentacle hand swaying at the ready.
“I just wanted to see my men,” he said.
“Bom-bom,” Tobin hummed, like a buzzer for an incorrect answer.
Dirk shook his head, scowling at Tobin before looking back at Ciaran. “How does he know? He doesn’t know shit.”
Then Ciaran’s tentacle smacked down on Dirk’s thigh, and Dirk let out an almighty scream. He gripped his thigh, roaring through the pain of it. Then he was sweating and panting, still gripping his thigh, which was now red and blistered.
He looked up at Sawyer. “Ain’t you a cop?” he said through gritted teeth. “Do something!”
Sawyer looked at Ciaran, because damn, he knew his man had power, but that was...
“That was so fucking hot.”
Everyone laughed, but Fray laughed the loudest.
Ciaran stood up to his full height, his arm now ending in a human hand, which Sawyer was very quick to take. Ciaran pressed a kiss to Sawyer’s head, and then he gave Otis and Pania a nod. “Take him inside, make him... comfortable. We’ll see if he’s ready to talk.”
Chapter
Seventeen
TOBIN
Dirk was full of shit.
He was also tied to a chair in the middle of the room, looking a little worse for wear. Otis and Pania had gone outside, and Kellan, Hendrix, and Dylan had gone too, taking Hudson with them. But Fray sat off to the side, never far from Tobin, and Beau leaned against a table with his arms crossed, watching. His hammer was on the table beside him, though, something Dirk hadn’t missed.
Tobin had seen into Dirk’s mind. He’d seen how clever he thought he was coming into the Cove undetected. He’d seen what Dirk thought of the unusual water, how disgusted he was. And Tobin had seen that he was looking for something but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was.
Or who.
It was someone else’s voice in Dirk’s head. He was remembering it as he searched the cove.
