“If you want honesty, then you should know my interest isn’t purely in being a good brother. I don’t know her. She doesn’t know me. There’s more to it than that.” He worked his jaw, suggesting the act of telling was difficult. “Her vote is crucial to getting Marchant Haulage out of the stalemate. We can’t do that if she’s dead. If we don’t have her, the vote goes to unknown parties. We need to bring her back.”
I bit back the next words that wanted out of my mouth. From helping Mila research the Marchant family, I was fully aware of how many people were supported by payouts from the business. Kane’s branch of the family tree was one of them. He didn’t get the money, I was certain of that.
His mother was a much more likely recipient.
There was urgency around his drive to fix the business. A company he’d shown zero interest in until now, according to his sister. I was sure it was to do with his mum. I was equally sure that any progress I’d made in getting him to open up would reverse in a heartbeat if I pushed him on that.
The emotional state I’d been in all day flexed its claws in me again.
I liked it when he spoke to me.
It felt precious. A tiny amount of trust from a man who gave up so little to anyone. He was so closed off, and for a woman like me, who needed information like I did air, every hard-fought word was a gift.
Outside, the night flickered by in black skies and yellow-lit empty road.
Kane turned the tables on me. “Where did Warford come from?”
“I finally found something in the tablet. A train ticket notification. Only that, though. Once we get there, I don’t have a location to try.”
Kane rubbed his cheek, shadowed from stubble. “I have some ideas of where to look.”
“Let me guess, it starts and ends with their red-light district?”
He released a laugh.
I stared.
He caught me. “What?”
“That sound. I didn’t know you were capable.”
He pressed his lips together in a return to his typical grumpy expression. Almost. He was beginning to relax around me, and that gave me a tight feeling in my chest I couldn’t explain.
A while on, my head was nodding. I wasn’t used to late nights, and it was after two.
“Sleep if ye want. Are ye warm enough?” Kane’s low tones curled around my brain.
“Can you close the window?”
The noise of the wind whipping by filled the car on our flight along the motorway.
“I need it open. My hoodie’s in the back.” He reached to snag it for me.
Under the warm top that smelled of him, I let myself rest in the presence of my own pet predator.
Sometime later, I woke to a light touch on my face. I blinked my eyes open to find my door open and Kane standing over me. We were parked in an underground car park, yellow lights over concrete and oil stains.
He’d stroked my cheek. I was almost certain.
“We’re here. Need me to carry ye upstairs?”
He already had both of our bags over his shoulder. I rubbed my eyes. “No, thank you. Where are we?”
“My apartment. For the next few hours anyway.”
Kane locked the car then directed me towards the back of the space. More slowly, I followed, taking him on from a sneaky side view.
I’d dreamed about him.
