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“You know I have to watch my words.”
I grunted. “Well, I don’t need your apologies. Actions speak louder than words, and I know the Resolute desk is exactly where you want to be, not here visiting with me.
“So, I repeat, what do you want?”
He hesitated a second before explaining, “My approval rating has never been higher.”
“You’ve been focused on taking down the Sparrows,” I inserted. “People are outraged by the corruption and you’re taking a hard-line stance. It makes sense that you’d be popular with the masses.”
“Yes, it does… but that comes with problems of its own.”
“Meaning the Sparrows are out to get you?” Why did that sound as childish as me catcalling, ‘The boogeyman is out to get you?’
Truth was, though, that the Sparrowswerelike boogeymen.
If they could pull the wool over the eyes of Five Pointers, then I didn’t think the government had a chance at staying out of things.
“Yes, it means my family and I are targets,” he said carefully. Carefully enough that I knew he was including me in that sentence.
That was probably the first time he’d ever been so inclusive, and it was because I was potentially in danger.
He should totally win the ‘Dad of the Year’ award.
“I’m safe. I have guards of my own,” I told him stonily.
A sudden ache inside me bloomed to life.
God, I missed my mom so bad.
Why had she been taken from me when I’d been granted not one, buttwodeadbeat dads?
“You need to check their affiliations.”
“I think Finn’s seen to that,” I drawled. “He’s more concerned about my safety than you ever were.”
“That’s not fair,” he spat.
“Isn’t it? Seems pretty accurate to me. Look, if you’re calling to give me a heads up, I appreciate it. I’ll tell Finn—” Even if I really didn’t want to have to. “—and he can up my security.”
“My hands are tied here, Aoife, but I’ll gladly pay for extra men to come and protect you while these active threats are ongoing.”
My brows rose. “That would lead to a paper trail.”
“That’s how sure I am that there is a plot to hurt my family,” he murmured.
I sat there, surrounded by luxury and kids’ toys, and found myself accepting a simple truth—from birth, I’d been borrowing trouble. Just by having his DNA, I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop without even knowing it.
Rubbing my eyes, I replied, “When?”
“I don’t know. There’s no real way of guesstimating, and trust me, I have the best analysts in the land trying to pin down dates.
“What I do know is that the chatter’s been high since before Christmas. I’ll message you a number that you can use to contact me in case of an emergency.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’ll tell Finn. He’ll handle everything.”
“I know he’s richer than me so he doesn’t need the extra help financially, but I want to—”
“You don’t have to,” I told him coldly. “I appreciate the warning. Happy New Year.”
