Page 112 of Devil in Her Details

She reached for her tea, which had cooled, and took a sip of it anyway. Outside, the morning was well underway. Dagger would be back with his brothers, wouldn’t he? Polishing his daggers, perhaps? Being insufferably composed about everything, probably? He was rather practical about all things, was he not? And tidy. And good at everything. That was what made him so extraordinarily maddening. But was he feeling even a fraction of what she was feeling? This peculiar hollowness. This inability to taste eggs.

I’m never going to want anything else.

Lilly inwardly shut her eyes, her head, her heart.

“When are we leaving?”

Her brother exhaled. Not quite a sigh. “Within the hour.”

Lilly nodded. Good, then.

Time to go home.

*

Dagger stared at the door of the inn that Lilly had yet to emerge from with her brother. It wouldn’t be long now. Any moment now, she’d exit the door, enter the carriage, and disappear from his life forever. Did she hate him for leaving the way he had? Anger was fine. He’d be angry as well. Furious, even. But he didn’t want her to hate him. Knowing that little lynx, she’d probably vented on a pillow.

The corner of his lips quirked, but no humor pulsed in his veins.

Only coldness.

“What a sad sight you make, frère.”

Dagger groaned. “Don’t you have another brother to go and annoy?”

Reaper shrugged, leaning against the wall beside him. “Since Deveraux, that shite, left, no.”

“I don’t care. Go bother someone else. I’m busy.”

“I can see that. Busy spying on a little chaton. You didn’t come home last night, so I thought I’d come and see if you’d run off to London without, how do they say, a by your leave.”

Dagger growled, “Are we back to this? What am I? A bloody child? I don’t have to sleep at home. I can bloody well sleep in a ditch if I want.”

“A child, no. One hairsbreadth from plastering yourself to the back of that carriage, yes. And ditches get pissed in. I’d avoid those.”

Bloody everlasting hell. “And what do you know about that?” Dagger asked. Only mildly curious.

“About pissing in ditches or knowing you’re about to attach yourself to that carriage like a besotted whelp?”

“The second one.” He didn’t want to know about his brother’s damn pissing habits.

Reaper gave one of his careless shrugs. “I know from observing Maxen and Drake in their love habitat.”

“Love habitat?” Christ save him. “Forget I asked.” He bit down on his jaw until his teeth threatened to crack. “She’s leaving.”

“I know that, frère. I have eyes, ears, and all other senses. I even understand why you are letting the delightful little thing go.”

“Then why the devil are you here stabbing my eardrums with your poor choice of words?”

“Don’t you know? Even misery grows tiresome without company.”

Ignoring his brother, Dagger straightened. Lilly and her brother had stepped from the inn. He wasn’t worried that she’d see him. He’d concealed himself well enough for an untrained eye. But Christ, she looked so damn beautiful.

“She looks tired.”

Dagger glared but didn’t move his eyes away from her. He refused to wrench them away just to pierce his brother with a warning look. He didn’t know when he’d get another chance to look on her face again.

“So tragic.”