When she smiled, it surprised me. “Liar. Lena’s here too.”
I grunted because she had me there. “I forgot,” I admitted, and her eyes sparkled.
“Good to know I take up all your thoughts in a crisis,” she teased, and it warmed me to see her coming back to herself.
Aoife wasn’t the kind of person who let herself be down for long. It made her a delight to be around, if I was honest.
She didn’t have lightning moods, flashing from one to another in less than a heartbeat. It took a lot to make her irate—I knew, because she’d never been that way around me despite all the crap we’d gone through.
“Always,” I admitted easily, and the ease in which I spoke seemed to resonate with her. Her shoulders, still a little high after the shock of moments before, relaxed, and her cheeks bloomed with warmth as she absorbed what I said.
“I’m sorry I froze up.”
“If anyone’s entitled to freeze up, it’s you.” If my tone was matter-of-fact then so be it, because I meant it. “Hell, it’s a wonder you didn’t turn hysterical. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.
“I’m just…” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry you had to hear that so soon after, you know.”
She swallowed. “I guess that’s why I’m here. You guys aren’t being too over-protective.”
“Exactly.” There was relief in my tone. I knew she didn’t want to be here, knew she wanted to recuperate at home, but this was proof she was exactly where she needed to be. “I only want you to be safe.”
“And you? What about you? Are you going to be safe?” she queried, and shadows darkened her bright emerald green eyes.
“When I’m not here, I’m going to be in my office,” I told her, and I wasn’t even lying. “That’s where I’ll be waging my war, Aoife.”
“Will your brothers be safe?” She gnawed on her bottom lip. “I-I know Lena’s all crazy because of what Jr. is going through.”
That had me sighing. “Conor’s safety is pretty much assured, too. He’s like me. Our work is different than the others.”
“It’s still dangerous though.”
I thought back to the meetings with the Russians we’d had and would be having in the future. “Yeah. It’s still dangerous, but less so.”
“Have you seen Aidan?”
“Not since they let you leave the hospital. I’m going today actually.”
“You are?”
There was a fear in her voice that had me lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckle. “I am. It’s okay, baby.”
“Why is it safe for you to be out on the streets but not us?”
“Because the bastards who hit us knew to aim for our jugular—our women, our kids, our families, they’re our weakness. If it had been just men on that church step, I have no doubts they wouldn’t have carried on with the shooting.”
Her brow furrowed. “Really?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Men can be replaced, Aoife. It might cause a power struggle, but with a mob like ours?” I shook my head. “We’re not some two-bit operation. We function like a private damn army. Everyone has a role. But with you and Lena there? It changed shit up.”
“D-Didn’t they realize they’d be raining a whole lot of hell down on themselves?”
I grinned at her—satisfied that she knew we’d be the victors in the end. Hell wouldn’t rain down on us, but onthem. “They got too big for theircojones.”
She didn’t smile back. “Are they going to die?”
“For what they did to you and Aidan? Yes.” I made the admission with no guilt. “Aidan Sr. will see to that.”
“Won’t that just create a vicious cycle?”