The waitress appeared to refresh our drinks, and Sinclair never pulled his eyes from mine as we waited for her to disappear once more.
“There is very little I don’t know, Caitlin.”
“Are you the one who told him?” I held my purse in my lap; I wouldn’t be staying for dinner. I needed to get out of here as soon as I could. I needed to tell Sal everything.
“I was not. I would never hurt Madigan that way.”
“But if not for her, you would have hurt me?”
“If not for her, there would be nothing to hurt you with. I don’t care that you cheated on your husband, Caitlin. He was, well, he wasn’t worth much. What I cared about was my son’s friend not being hurt.”
“And yet you sent those pictures and that recording. She opened that envelope, Sinclair.” I lowered my voice and leaned in. “She listened to the recording of the man she believed was her father being shot after she found out who her father really was.”
Something flashed in Sinclair’s eyes. Something I couldn’t quite name, but something that terrified me to my core.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Kelley. You have a phone call.”
I looked up at the waitress. Had she heard what I said? Without looking back at Sinclair, I nodded and stood. “Excuse me, Sinclair.”
I followed the waitress, my hands gripping my purse tightly. No one knew I was here. No one should be calling me. When I reached the kitchen, a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the shadows.
“Liam? What are you doing?”
“We need to go, Caity. Now.”
Liam dragged me through the back of the restaurant and toward his car. He helped me into the passenger seat and rushed to the other side, climbing in.
“What the fuck is going on, Liam?”
“I don’t know. I was told to follow you and see who you were meeting.” Liam glanced in my direction. “Cian’s gonna be pissed when he finds out.”
“Cian has no say over my life and who I have dinner with.”
Liam snorted as he pulled into traffic. He wove through the lanes, and I thought he was taking me home. When we passed the turnoff to my house, I asked, “Where are you taking me?”
Liam’s silence was deafening. Sal had left town abruptly. He was in Nebraska again. He’d gone alone this time. He never went anywhere alone. Someone was always with him to protect him. But with him gone, there was only one other option.
Duncan wouldn’t have me kidnapped off the street, and neither would Mac. Which meant Liam was following Cian’s orders. That theory proved correct when we pulled into the garage beneath Cian’s building.
“Why am I here?” I asked as Liam helped me out of the car. I dug my heels in, stalling for an answer, but Liam was big andstrong. If he wanted to, he could throw me over his shoulder and carry me upstairs. I didn’t doubt for a second that he would do exactly that.
Instead, he held my arm in his grasp and dragged me into the elevator.
“Why am I here?” I asked again, but Liam was my brother’s most loyal soldier. He was loyal to all of us, but I guess I fell to the bottom of the list of people he gave his loyalty to.
The elevator doors slid open, and I growled, “Liam McGuire, I swear to Christ if you don’t let go of my arm right now...” My threat fell flat when I saw Cian staring at me. Bolstering what little courage I had left, I asked, “Cian, what the fuck is going on?”
He moved toward me, his eyes full of love, but the tension in his shoulders told me how angry he was. When he stood in front of me, he snarled, “Why don’t you fuckin’ tell me?!”
“I don’t know what’s going on. I was having dinner with a friend when Liam showed up and dragged me out.”
Cian looked at Liam. “Who?”
“Crispin Sinclair.”
“Son of a bitch!” Cian cursed. He turned his back on me and walked to the window on the other side of the room. I didn’t dare move. Cian didn’t get angry often; he was pretty laid-back. He wasn’t muscle like Ty and Mac. He was the brains. He knew computers, and he knew how to stay levelheaded. He didn’t do anything without thinking it through first.
At least I’d always thought so.
