I pause, fork halfway to my mouth. "Close protection for who?"
"The sister."
The fork clatters against the plate.
The sister.
Da's expression doesn't change, but I know him well enough to see the curiosity lurking beneath the surface.
He heard something. Saw something. The man doesn't miss a fecking thing.
"She's family now," he continues, like he hasn't just dropped a bomb on my morning. "The wife's twin. Mrs. Mackenzie wants her covered whenever she's off the estate, and since Miss Dalla will be presenting some of her work at the showing?—"
"Someone else can do it."
The words come out sharper than I intend.
Da's eyebrows rise. "Excuse me?"
"I said someone else can do it. Put Brennan on her. Or Cillian. I'll handle the perimeter."
"Cillian's in Belfast. Brennan's on Aleksandr." Da sets down his tea, and now I see it—the steel beneath the patience. The commander beneath the father. "You're the best close protection we have, RJ. You know it. I know it. And this woman is connected to people who have enemies on three continents."
"So assign two men. Three. I don't need to be one of them."
"What's the problem?"
Blue eyes. Ash blonde hair. A mouth that curved when she told me to enjoy my lurking.
"There's no problem."
"Then why are you arguing with me?"
Because she saw me.
Because she didn't flinch.
Because when I told her to go inside where it was safe, she looked at me likeIwas the interesting danger, not whatever shadows I was warning her about.
Because I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since.
"There's no problem," I repeat, and shove a forkful of eggs into my mouth so I don't have to say anything else.
Da watches me for a long moment.
I can feel his assessment—cataloging my reactions, filing them away for later analysis.
He's been reading people for longer than I've been alive.
There's no hiding from him.
But he doesn't push. That's not his way.
"The showing starts at two," he says finally. "Mrs. Mackenzie wants you in position by noon. Full suit. Try not to look like you're about to murder someone."
"I always look like that."
"I know. That's the problem."
