Page 70 of Devil in Her Details

Lilly whirled on him, sent him a big smile, then dashed off.

He scowled after her. The little lynx abandoned him just like that?

“You never take your daggers out in foreign places.”

Dagger turned back to his brother. “This isn’t a foreign place.”

“It’s as foreign as they come.”

“Are you here for another round?” Dagger growled. No, this wasn’t his world, but neither was it that bloody foreign. No place with her was foreign. He might not understand why, but he understood the distinction clearly enough.

“You like her.”

Well, the lynx was likable. “You don’t like her.”

“I don’t have anything against her,” his brother denied. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried she’ll hurt me that much, are you?” Dagger sneered.

“Worried you’ll get hurt, period.”

Dagger crossed his arms. “You didn’t seem all that worried about any of the other brothers.”

Saint nodded, falling silent for a moment. He seemed to be grappling with what to say, and Dagger’s heart almost softened at his plight. Almost. He could compromise on many things, but this was not one of them.

“You’re not like them,” Saint finally said.

Dagger scowled.

Saint sighed. “They didn’t let go. You will let go. That’s how you’re different.”

Dagger held his brother’s gaze and said nothing, because what was there to say to that? He wanted to pretend to misunderstand even though he understood perfectly well. He wanted to say his brother didn’t make a lick of sense, but that would only be lying to Saint and lying to himself. The latter he could do, but not the former.

He thought of Lilly. The way she’d smiled at him before she dashed off, bright and carefree, as though she hadn’t had any trouble in the world. As though he hadn’t had any trouble in the world either.

You will let go.

An inevitability.

Aye, bastards survived by knowing their place. And Dagger had always known his.

“That’s my business,” he said finally. “It’s never been yours.”

Saint nodded, then turned to go.

Dagger watched his back disappear before he moved, returning to the drawing room at a slower pace. His brothers were exactly as he’d left them, if a bit more sullen, and taking up entirely too much of Lilly’s furniture. His brows pulled together when his eyes swept the room and found no sign of her. The little lynx had vanished entirely. He pressed forward anyway. “I’m fine. There’s no reason to worry about me. You all should leave.”

Maxen scowled.

Drake nodded and rose to his feet. “We’ll be close.”

“No need.”

“Have you forgotten what happened to Drake at his last fight?” Maxen growled, also rising to his feet. One by one, each brother followed suit, and the room seemed to shrink even further as they all stood.

How could Dagger forget? A swarm of brigands had set upon Drake in the dark. His brother had nearly died. It wasn’t that he couldn’t read between the damn lines. If there was a chink in their armor, their uncle would find a way to hammer on it. The man had a nose for weakness the way rats had a nose for rotten corpses.

But was he a damn whelp?