Page 247 of The Villain We Tempt

…A body that looks a whole lot like the late Nacho Castellano.

43

LOCHLAN

“You haveany idea how long you’re going to owe me for this?”

I roll my eyes at Ronan from the stern of the small boat, where I’m steering the piddly little outboard motor.

“I feel Idon’tactually have to thank you,” I say tightly. “Since you’re my brother and helping with shit like this is sort of expected. Still?—”

“Hold up.” Ro turns to smirk at me from the bow of the small boat. “Are you saying it’sexpectedfor me to help you remove and hide a body thatyourgirlfriendis responsible for?—”

His mouth snaps shut when he sees my eyes turn to lethal points.

“Just fucking with you, Lochie,” he says, quirking his eyebrow. “Take it easy.”

“Notthe time,” I growl.

He nods, any trace of humor gone from his face. “In all seriousness, I’mobviouslytaking this to my grave.”

“Appreciate you.”

“I know,” he chuckles.

The small motorboat Ronan and I just “borrowed” from the Knightsblood University boathouse near The Spire putts closer to the jagged plateau of rock just above the tideline.

After I found her, I scooped Galina up into my arms and carried her back to my room at Kingsward Hall. She told me that right after I took off at a dead run, Nacho started to ramble about his infatuation with her, saying he was going to take her to his family estate in Mexico and marry her.

Then he tried to kiss her, and she fought him off.

He got angry and tried to push her down and climb on top of her, which is when she reached for the rock and smashed it against his head.

She panicked and ran, and he chased her down the cliff path until he made a lunge at her, missed, slipped, and went over the railing to the rocks below.

I just held her and told her I loved her, and that she was safe now.

Then I tucked her into my bed and went straight to Ronan’s room.

“There’s a body we need to take care of?”

“Whose car we gonna take?”

I grin as I replay the exchange in my head. I mean, it’s a line from the Ben Affleck movieThe Town, but Ronan and I use it with each other all the time as code for “ride or die”.

The boat bumps up against the rocky plateau with Nacho’s broken, shattered body crumpled on top of it. I get us parallel to the rock. Then Ronan grabs Nacho’s wrists and I take his ankles, both of us grunting as we swing his body into the bilge where it lands with a dull thud.

“So…Galina?” Ronan prods.

I nod as I turn the motor back on and steer away from the rocks, out toward the open Sound.

“Yeah,” I growl. “And?” My eyes level with him, waiting for a snarky comment.

Ronan just shrugs. “Cool. I like it.”

My brow furrows. “What. No biting sarcasm? No jokes?”

He chuckles. “Nah, man. I don’t know her very well, but I think I like her. And if she’s the reason you’ve been less of a prick recently, I like her even more.”