In one of his lightning swift moods swings that were coming more and more frequently these days, Aidan tipped his head back and roared at that.
Then, as we all chuckled because the bastard had one of those infectious laughs that you couldn’t help but laugh with, he raised his gun, which was tipped with a silencer, and shot the architect in the leg.
The scream was muffled by the gag, but it still went through the air, as did the scent of more piss and shit this time as the guy let everything loose.
“That’s for not getting the right permits,” Aidan informed the bound man. “And that’s for thinking you could jerk me around.”
***
Aoife
“Aoife?”
It was Finn’s voice, but I was too freaked out to even look outside the closet. One of his shoes was digging into my left butt cheek, and I swear, I felt like my chest was absorbing my legs through osmosis I was so tightly squished in the space, but that didn’t mean I was about to leave the relative safety of this little haven I’d made for myself.
Of course, havens never lasted forever.
The brisk clip of Finn’s expensive shoes against the marble tiles sounded loud to me, and I braced myself for him to open the door.
I didn’t want him to.
I wanted to stay in here, pretend like I hadn’t come to the attention of the Five Points, but that was futile when he opened the door and was staring down at me as though I’d just discovered the way to Narnia in here.
“They’re gone.”
My stomach twisted. “Did he kill that man?”
“Do you really think you should ask me that question, little girl?”
If my stomach had twisted before, now, it went diving into a somersault.
“No. I shouldn’t be asking that question. No, I know it’s the most stupid question I could ever ask, but seriously, I don’t know if I can stay in an apartment with a dead body.”
He snickered. “And you think I could?”
At his amusement, I glowered up at him, squinting when I saw that perfect fucking smile that made my ovaries do a happy dance.
I gnawed at my bottom lip before I whispered, “I don’t know, do I? It’s part of business for you.”
He pursed his lips at that, those morsels of sin that made me think of kissing him, of drowning in his mouth. “Well, many may consider me a monster, but I’m not a fucking freak. The man walked out of here. With help.”
“Aidan O'Donnelly let him go?” I’d have reared back, but there was no space to move.
“He does have reason, sometimes. Especially when there’s a profit to be made.”
I knew better than to let a whisper of judgment pass my lips, but in my mind, I was sad for Fiona. Sad because she’d never have imagined her boy was involved in these kinds of doings, and if she’d known, it would have broken her heart.
“What is it?” he ground out, making me wonder what he’d seen in my face.
“Nothing. Just a cramp,” I lied, and he tutted then leaned down, grabbed my hands and hauled me to my feet.
Immediately, I staggered as one foot went numb.
Even as he went for me, I wrapped my hands around his waist and hugged him tight.
“I was so frightened,” I whispered, and I didn’t know why I made that admission of weakness to him when I couldn’t to anyone else, but it was the truth.
The unpalatable truth.