“We all have a part to play.”
“Now, what?” I ask, looking at the door. “You kill me and try to escape? You know as well as I do, Maeve won’t stop until you’re dead at her feet.”
“You think you matter that much to her?”
I snort. “Oh no. I just know how fucking spiteful she is. She’ll hunt you down, bring you back to string up and kill you justbecause you dared to come after her.” I try to shrug and fail. “That’s just Maeve.”
Finley narrows his eyes, mind spinning. He knows I’m right. He knows his cousin well enough to know her ability to hold a grudge can level buildings.
Slamming the butt of his gun into my head, I tip over, falling to the muddy ground. My vision blackens for a few moments and my head splits in two. Stomach rolling, I fight the urge to vomit, tongue burning with bile.That’s another concussion.
Groaning, I dig my head into the dirt, willing the pain, the dizziness to stop. Did he really have to hit me? Fuck.
“I have a better idea,” he says, snapping the ties. I flail out blindly, clipping his chin before he wrestles me down. He snaps zip ties on to my hands, pulling me up.
Everything is doubled and I blink away the pain as he grins.
“You’re coming with me.”
42
COLLINS
“What happened?”
Maeve and I look up at the interruption, both of us in the med lab. One of the younger runners took a knife to the side during a sale—Roman has been steadily attacking us every time the guys are on the streets—and I’m hunched over, stapling closed his wound.
It’s not deep, but it’s on his ribs. He’s lucky it didn’t puncture.
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, my sister watches me work. It’s been like this since Simon left. Somehow she knew what happened in this room and refused to let me go through it alone.
Who would have thought Maeve had a soft side?
She glares at Killian who materializes like a ghost. They’re not on the best of terms since he killed her deal. Thankfully, all I got was a frown when she learned I had been there.
“What are you talking about?” she asks, voice sharp.
Killian rounds on her, curving into her space. Her face twists into a mask of fury and he doesn’t look too thrilled either.Like gasoline and fire.
“Finn called me out of the interview with Hayes. Said there was trouble.”
“I didn’t call for you,” she snaps. They seem to stare each other down, neither willing to give up.
“Then why the fuck am I here?” he asks, eyes narrowing. “You think I wouldn’t run here unless you were in trouble? You call—I come. That’s how it works.”
“Ha.Right.” She shoves off the wall, their chest brushing. “That’s never been the case. You’re putting your nose into someone else’s business. Where it doesn’tconcernyou.”
The runner cuts me a glance, eyes wide. I shake my head.
In the time I’ve been allowed to see this side of Maeve—this side of the clan, I’ve realized a few things.
One? The men respect her. They very rarely talk poorly to her, ignore her demands, or do anything to get on her bad side. She seems to have built a good rapport with them.
Two? She always speaks calmly back to them. She doesn’t yell or blow up.
And three? All of these things do not apply to Killian.
“Be pissed at me all you want,” he murmurs, smirking down at her angry face, “but do not lie to me. Whathappened?”
