“Vasov beat her up badly.”
“I know, that’s why you dislocated his shoulder.”
I shook my head. “He deserved worse.”
Aidan whistled. “You were concerned someone would think you’d beaten her?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “She could have covered it up like she did at the wedding, but—”
“That would hurt like a motherfucker.”
“Exactly. And for what? To grab a coffee out in a cafe?” I shrugged once more. “Just didn’t seem worth it.”
Aidan sighed and, shaking his head, muttered, “How is it the brother with the biggest kills has the biggest heart?”
“Fuck that, it has nothing to do with heart.”
My sneer had his smirk making a reappearance. “If you say so. I’ll give Ma and Da an update. Should keep them off your backs for, oh, say…an hour or two.”
“I’ll expect a call in the morning, shall I?”
“Conference, probably. Ma won’t be happy learning shit secondhand from Da.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
“They care, Eoghan,” he said softly, but his tone was insistent enough to have me scowling at him.
“I know they do, but they forced this shit on me. If they expect me to be happy about it, then they can fuck off.”
He snickered. “Please, God, let me be there if you tell Da that.”
I flipped him the bird, because we both knew how well that would go down. With that done, I tugged at the towel around my neck and muttered, “Everything’s still arranged for Boston, right?”
Aidan hummed. “Yup. I’m surprised you’re getting involved in that, to be honest. Thought it would be too small fry for you.”
“On a regular day, it would be. But after I’ve been cooped up on my honeymoon? We could both do with a break from each other.” That was definitely stretching the truth, but I wasn’t about to admit to the reality of living with Inessa—she was no trouble. No bother. If anything, she was a nice view when I got bored doing what I was doing. Still, that didn’t mean we wouldn’t do well with some space and time apart.
“Does she know you’re going away for a few days?”
The question had me sighing. “That means I should tell her.”
His laugh said it all. “Use your fucking brain. Of course you should.”
“I doubt she’d want to know.”
“When you didn’t come home, she would. Don’t forget, she might think you’re dead.”
“Now who’s being maudlin?”
“Thought that was the translation for realistic in your dictionary.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Either way, tell her or don’t, but it would be kinder to keep her in the loop.”
I heaved a sigh. “Okay.”
Aidan pursed his lips. “You really like her?” His surprise was clear.
“Yeah. She’s decent.” I tipped my chin up, not willing to discuss her further when I knew he’d be relaying it all to Ma. Maybe another time, when our parents weren’t so up in my business, I’d share. I was secretive about most things. It was in my nature. But I was usually open with my brothers.
The past few years, I’d locked myself in a little. After the marriage had been arranged, I’d admit to going on more jobs, and that put me in my head more than was wise. Only my brothers could pull me out of the headspace a kill put me in, but it wasn’t like they could pull their magic if I was, A, avoiding them, and B, in another country with another target in place.