AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s been a while,” Cian demurs as his smile goes soft and sympathetic. He raises a hand and places it on Wren’s arm. “I haven’t seen you since the funerals.”
He was at their funerals?
Wren stiffens. “I didn’t even thank you for coming, but I appreciated it, Cian. I was just?—”
“You were mourning. Please don’t apologize.”
Every single word is drenched with sincerity. His eyes are soft with warmth; even his smile is somber. I could almost swear he means it.
Wren glances over to me. “How do you two know each other?”
“Oh, Dmitri and I go way back,” he answers with a booming laugh. “In fact, I was close friends with?—”
“Where’s Syrah?” I ask forcefully, cutting Cian off. It’s not exactly subtle. Wren looks confused and Cian chuckles under his breath.
“Oh, um… downstairs.”
“She’s probably waiting for you.”
Wren’s eyebrows arch. “Right, okay. I should go back down then.” She turns to Cian. “It was nice seeing you again, Cian.”
“You as well, lass. Take care of yourself out there.”
He takes a half-step forward, but before he can hug her again, I step between them. “We’re leaving the moment the concert is over. Better not waste any more time.”
I’m blocking her view of Cian, so she has nowhere to look but at me. Her throat bobs. “Okay.”
She gives Cian a parting wave over my shoulder and ducks out of the booth. I turn back to him with a glower. He’s leaning comfortably against the railing, pouring himself a cocktail. “How do you know Wren Turner?”
“She’s my assistant. Bee’s as well.”
“Isn’t that something?” He wags a brow at me. “Does the sharing extend to the bedroom?”
I step forward, fantasizing about shoving him over the ledge. If we were more than one floor up, I’d do it, but at this height, the worst he’d suffer would be a broken leg. I want it to count when I do him in for good.
“Careful, O’Gadhra.”
He holds up his hands. “I come in good faith, my friend. I just wanted to borrow your ear for a bit, matter of fact.”
I know he’s goading me, but I take a deep, steadying breath and nod. “Is that so?”
“I want peace. Peace between us. Peace between our men.”
“‘Peace’?” I repeat incredulously, striding right up to him until he’s trapped between me and the balcony. “You dare say that word to my face?”
He flinches. “What happened with Elena?—”
The moment he says her name, all that hard-won control that I’ve been fighting to maintain evaporates like fog under sunlight. My hand wraps around his throat and I shove him backwards, bending his spine against the iron railing. One little heave and he’d tumble down. The fall wouldn’t kill him—but I’d be sure to follow behind and finish the job.
“You may think you can rewrite history,” I snarl at him in a feral growl, “but I remember. I will always remember.” I spin him around, throwing him backwards against the wall next to the exit. “Get out of my sight, Cian. You shouldn’t have come here to begin with.”
Cian straightens up, his hand going straight to his throat. I can see my claw marks there, indented into the sides of his neck. It gives me a fierce sense of satisfaction to see that I’ve drawn blood.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” he rasps. His voice is raw and weak.
“No. My mistake was letting you anywhere near Elena.”
His eyes narrow. “I won’t make this offer again.”
