We leave victorious, though my stomach’s tied in knots. Lachlan holds me by his side like I’m a victory prize as we leave. This time, it isn’t the hotel room of the night before but a different one. My mind’s so far away from anything remotely normal, like the frat party Aisling’s invited me to, or the syllabus emailed to me by my professor. It seems like that is only a dream. This is my reality. The two men I love more than anyone else in the world are mired in the lies, betrayal, and brutality of the Irish mob.
Can I choose such a life?
Do I want to?
We take a ride back to hotel, and Lachlan’s speaking to Tiernan on the phone. His voice rises and falls, but I barely hear a word he’s saying. He’s not happy about something. I stare out the window, when we pull up a few blocks away from our hotel.
Lachlan hangs up the phone and pays the driver, opens the door, and this time, it isn’t wariness on his face, or awareness of every detail, but bold defiance. He’s daring anyone who’d threaten to hurt us now to come at him, as if he welcomes a chance to retaliate. I swallow hard. I bet he’s done just that. And more.
He places a hand on the small of my back, and for the first time since that first night here, I see a shadow of a guard following us at a respectable distance.
“Lachlan?”
“Not now.” His jaw is tight, his eyes narrowed on the door in front of us.
“We’re being followed,” I whisper.
“Hush.”
He speaks in such a harsh whisper; I clamp my mouth shut and look at him in surprise. Oh, my. He’s been stern with me, but this demeanor is something else altogether, almost cold and detached. I’m reminded again of who he is and what he’s capable of.
He leads me firmly by the hand into the hotel, but we bypass the regular entrance. Instead, he leads me down a darkened hallway and into a smaller elevator. It’s then that I realize this is the private entrance.
How much does he know that he hasn’t shared with me? Tonight’s been a revelation on so many levels. What else does Lachlan hide from me?
I thought I’d gotten used to the Clan and who they were. I thought I’d accepted them. But now I feel as if I’m floundering with no anchor, and it worries me.
If he notices my reticence, he doesn’t say. His jaw is tight and his eyes steely as we ride the private elevator to an unnumbered floor. I don’t speak when he takes my hand in his, laces his fingers with mine, and brings our folded hands to his lips to kiss the knuckle of each of my fingers. His eyes meet mine, and I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but I think I see apology in those depths. My heart flutters.
No, I tell myself. Stay strong. I can’t let whatever schoolgirl infatuation I’ve had for Lachlan keep me from pursuing truth. Stay strong.
The elevator opens not to a hallway, but straight to a locked door. Again, he tugs my hand and leads me to the doorway, and moments later we’re in a massive suite so big, my entire family could fit in here.
He arranges me just inside the door, shuts the door behind him, then sweeps the place before returning to me. When he does, he finally sighs. I swear he looks as if he’s aged years since this morning.
“Come here,” he says gently, drawing me to his chest and wrapping strong arms around me. Wordlessly, I tuck my head into the hollow of his neck, and my arms go around his waist. I close my eyes.
“You alright?”
No. No, I’m not alright. Tonight, I saw a man killed. Tonight, I saw my brother and the man I love for the brutal mobsters they are. Someone wants to kill me, and I’m on the run.
I don’t respond at first.
He pulls me away from him just far enough so he can grasp my chin and hold my eyes with his. “You’ll learn to talk to me, Fiona. I don’t want anything hidden in that heart of yours that you don’t share with me. Do you understand me?”
He’s got the same stern expression I’ve seen countless times, but I don’t know how to respond.
“There are so many things on my mind, though,” I finally say with a sigh. “And I don’t want to tell you everything.”
His eyes narrow, and his lips thin. The grip on my chin tightens an infinitesimal notch. Not enough to hurt, but enough to capture my attention.
“I didn’t give you that option.”
My temper sparks. “Oh, right,” I snap. “Just like you didn’t give me an option to go with you tonight. Just like I didn’t have an option to speak, or to partake in your conversation with Calum. And just like you didn’t even ask if it was okay with me to come with you to another hotel in another room, when all of my belongings are in my dorm or the other hotel.”