I should get up. Put space between us. Call Kael, give him an update, let his irritation douse whatever this is with cold reality.
Instead, I sit there, feeling every stanza of her breathing, until my own self-preservation finally kicks in.
“I need to call him,” I say, forcing my hand to let go. “Give him the rundown. Go to bed, Tallulah.”
The second my palm lifts, she bolts upright like a spooked deer. “Right. Goodnight, then.” She flees—there’s no other word for it—into the bedroom, swinging the door shut behind her with more force than necessary.
I utter a short, bitter laugh and lean my head back against the couch.
I have no idea what possessed me. I should’ve kept my dumbass mouth shut.
Stupid.
After a minute, I fish my phone out of my pocket and thumb Kael’s number. He picks up on the third ring, voice rough with sleep and something else.
“It’s late,” he says.
He probably has a woman in his bed. He usually does.
“Just wanted to give you an update,” I say.
“Go.”
I keep my response short and to the point. “I brought Tallulah to my place in Tennessee. Things in Virginia escalated.”
He grunts. “Why didn’t you bring her here?”
Because I desperately need to sink my cock into her and I didn’t trust myself not to, with you watching.
The thought blindsides me, hot and ugly and true. I close my eyes, jaw clenching.
“I felt this was the safest place,” I say instead. “No ties to her here. No one outside your circle knows I own it. Harder to trace.”
“Are you saying you think he would come after her in Philly?” Kael asks, voice sharpening. “Let him. I’ll give him a warm welcome.”
“Tally found similar crimes all over the map,” I remind him. “Northern Virginia and beyond. He’s mobile. Predictable only inthe sense that he follows his own logic. I thought it made more sense to take her somewhere random. Anonymous. Away from patterns he’s already comfortable with.”
“Mm,” Kael says. I can hear the gears turning on his end. “And that’s the only reason you took my cousin to a remote location instead of here, where I can keep an eye on her?”
“What other reason would I have, Boss?” I ask lightly.
“You tell me.”
I bite my tongue and say nothing. Babbling won’t help me, and it might reveal more than I want him to see.
Silence stretches. Then: “Send me everything you have on this bastard,” he says. “I’ll send someone to Virginia to work the situation from another angle. Might be time to put the fear of the Irish in this cunt fucker.”
“I’ll do it in the morning,” I say. “A lot of the intel is in your cousin’s head, and she’s gone to bed. Can you send her a computer, too? She’s been whining about it.”
A faint huff that might be a laugh. “I’ll have one couriered tomorrow. Keep her breathing, Bran.”
“That’s the plan.”
We hang up.
I let the phone drop onto my chest and exhale slowly, feeling like I just walked a tightrope between two towers with no net. Kael’s no idiot.
He’s also not forgiving.
