‘Do you think he planned to hurt her?’ I ask Sean who was waiting for me when I came out of the secure accommodation where Finlay is staying tonight.
‘No.’ Sean says instantly. ‘He’s far more likely to be the victim of shit like that. I can’t help feeling that maybe someone else put him up to it.’
‘Chris?’ I nod. ‘Yes, he did say something suspicious.’
I’m sure that Chris rigged the whole thing, but it didn’t hurt to put Finlay in his place.
‘Well, currently the kid’s crying too hard for me to get any sense out of him. But maybe his memory will be better in the morning,’ I say.
Both he and Niamh might have claimed that nothing happened in that cloakroom, but I know that was only because I opened the door. Finlay’s face was a mask of pure guilt and there is definitely something he’s not telling me.
‘Call the doctor to come and check him over,’ I ask Sean.
‘Sure,’ he says.
I do a quick recce of the ground floor to make sure there are no other unexpected issues occurring. Thankfully, everyone seems to have found a place to sleep. Blowing out a breath, I head for my own room, trying to block out my returning thoughts of Niamh.
I don’t expect to find her curled up on the chaise longue on the upstairs landing. Her eyes are squeezed shut, but her body is far too tense for her to be asleep. I crouch down beside her and put a hand on the side of her face, and she jumps. Her tongue traces her bottom lip and I don’t miss that its trembling.
‘What are you doing here?’ My voice sounds gruff, and I see her recoil, frowning. ‘Rose has a spare bed in her room.’
‘Oh, um…’ she glances over at Rose’s bedroom door. ‘I think she?—’
‘Fuck’s sake.’ I start to stride towards the door, startled when Niamh jumps up and grabs my arm.
‘Don’t!’ Her cheeks are a bright shade of pink and I falter. My first instinct was to castrate whoever is in my sister’s bed, but I know who it is, and Matt’s an acceptable choice for her to have made, for now. Even if it is difficult for me to accept that Rose is an adult now and able to decide for herself.
Matt may work for the Rialis– understandable as he’s water Kin and they represent the sea god, Llyr, at Court– but for the first time in years, Rose is happy. Despite being friends with Chris, he’s always seemed sound.
‘Sorry,’ Niamh says. ‘But it’s all she’s talked about all week. Seeing Matt tonight, I mean. Not specifically…’ She waves her other hand vaguely in the direction of the door. ‘I didn’t know where to go.’
I look down at where she’s touching me, the sensation of her bare skin on mine sending shockwaves through my body. My breath catches and for a moment all I can think of is how much better it would be if she were touching more of me.
She pulls her hand away, as if she’s aware of my thoughts, stepping cautiously back out of reach.
‘I think they just fell asleep,’ she says, gesturing towards the door.
I lean closer, use my heightened senses to listen, then wish I hadn’t.
‘No,’ I tell her. ‘They are definitely not sleeping. Come with me. There are guest rooms.’
‘Actually, I think…’
I roll my eyes, crossing the hall to first one door, then the other. Fuck’s sake, is everyone in the house getting some tonight except me? And Niamh. And, of course, Finlay.
‘You can sleep in here,’ I say, placing my hand on a door and pushing a tiny amount of magic through my fingers to unlock the charm keeping it secure. I turn the handle with one hand and push the door open, standing aside to let her go in first.
‘Where are we?’ she asks, looking around wide-eyed.
‘My room.’
My body responds when the confusion in her eyes morphs into fear as I undo my tie and slip my jacket off.
‘But… I can’t… Thanks, but I think I should just go home.’
‘What would your parents think if you arrived home at this hour? There’s no one here willing to drive you and surely your parents wouldn’t want you getting a taxi this late, alone and upset.’
‘They would rather I got home in a state than not at all,’ she blurts out.
