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“Jack.” Desperation begins to seep into my voice. “Please, just–”
“I’m not about to put my fiancée in danger on ‘please,’ Arnie!” Jack raises his voice loud enough for a couple of the other patrons to glance our way.
I lean away from him, giving him space to compose himself.
“Look. I came here because I wanted to thank you for the heads-up about Connor and Padraic’s alliance. You will always have my respect for that,” Jack gives me an earnest look—perhaps the most trustworthy I’ve ever seen him. “But Aimee’s well-being comes first. It’s dangerous enough that I’m here.”
I try to imagine what Roisin would say if I went home empty-handed. If I told her just how fiercely Jack Duffy cared for her sister, would she drop it? Or would she get that look on her face, the one where she practically disappears into her grief? The shining light within her fading until she becomes a shell of a person curled up in the rain?
Would she run out into the world with nowhere else to go and no one left to turn to again?
“I will owe you.”
My offer hangs in the air between us.
“What?” Jack murmurs.
“You know who I am, what I do.” My eyes do not leave his face as I pause to let it sink in. “I will fucking owe you.”
Realization floods his expression and the tension in the air seems to thicken around us.
He glances around before leaning in closer. “And you expect me to take you at your word?”
“I’m not a hard man to find if you feel my services are performed inadequately,” I point out.
Jack considers this before giving me a curious once-over.
“What have you done?”
“Something I shouldn’t,” I mutter under my breath, but Jack still seems to hear it.
He gives me a knowing look while he continues to chew it over. “Anyone?”
“Anyone.” I nod.
“You realize I could say Connor, right?”
“I’m willing to take that risk,” I ponder. “Your fiancée may not be on speaking terms with her brother, but I doubt she’ll be bumping up the wedding if you put a hit out on him.”
It’s a gamble, to say the least. Jack could easily call my bluff here. All I can do is hope my reputation and stats speak for themselves.
As one of the best assassins in the city, I regularly trade in both money and favors. Favors that usually involve acquisitions money can’t buy. I can’t remember the last time I ever offered to do a job for free. Not even for Connor.
Jack seems to know this, too.
“I will have to speak to her.”
I nod carefully. “Of course. If I knew murder was the way to your heart, Jack, this conversation could have gone a lot smoother.”
The tension between us diffuses instantly.
“I’m not promising you anything,” he warns, but I wave him off.
“You have my number. When she’s ready, let me know.”
Jack finishes his beer and looks past me. A strange expression crosses his face as he stares into the middle distance. “Do you ever get the feeling that no matter what you do, it’s gonna end up wrong?
“I’m not sure how much more I can persuade you, Jack. I promise your fiancée will be safe–”
