Gratitude mingled with dismay. “I can’t impose like that.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Honestly … having you here … it’s kind of selfish of me. I … being here without Mum is hard. And after reading your story today in the paper … maybe it would be nice to have each other right now.”
This time my tears fell before I could stop them. “Thank you,” I whispered, wiping them away, though the salty taste of them lingered on my lips.
Feeling his stare, I looked up at Ramsay.
He seemed … conflicted.
Until he washed away the expression with that cool disinterest he was so good at adopting. “I’ll make sure the journos don’t bother you.”
With that, he brushed past Taran and was gone.
Taran frowned, turning back to me. “What … is everything all right there?”
No.
Everything most certainly was not.
32.Ramsay
Akiva pressed her warm, furry body to my legs as we sat with Quinn at a corner table in the Lantern.
I rubbed a soothing hand down her back. My girl had missed me. More than that, she was smart, and she hadn’t seen Silver since the traumatic moment on the harbor. She was anxious and in need of comfort.
“Bottom-feeding scum,” Quinn muttered, glaring over my shoulder to the bar.
I knew there were a couple of journalists there having a drink.
“Not all.” I shrugged. “The woman who helped Silver … that kind of reporting matters.”
“Aye, but these guys are tabloid scum.” Quinn threw back the last of his pint. “They’re not welcome here. They shouldn’t have served them. If Aodhan was here, they wouldn’t have gotten served.”
“Ignore them.”
“You’re lucky they don’t know who you are.”
“Who am I?” I asked dully.
“Tierney’s … you know.”
As if she’d heard her name, my mobile buzzed, and I turned it over. The screen saidSilverCalling.
I switched off my phone.
When I looked up from it, Quinn’s expression had turned … withering. This time it was directed at me. “What?” I snapped.
“I know your moves, McRae.” He gestured to my phone. “You’re going to end it with her, aren’t you?”
My chest felt like a fucking ton weight crushed down on it, but I didn’t deny it.
Shaking his head, Quinn let out a huff of disappointment. “After everything you did for that woman … everything you’ve risked. Make it make sense.”
It didn’t need to make sense.
All that mattered was Silver was safe.
But I couldn’t be what she needed going forth. She was noble like her parents.
