Ronan flexes his fingers carefully, only a slight crinkling to his eyes. “You have some skill with field dressin’.”
I shrug. “Had to patch myself up a time or two.” I take a step closer to the bathroom door, darting a quick glance behind me to where he dropped my backpack. “I’ll…uh…make the tea.”
With what might be a laugh, he lunges for me and grabs my wrist. “You might be good at hidin’ from other people, Zephyr, but I can see right through you. I’d get in the shower, and when I got out, I’d find nothin’ but an empty apartment. Until your body washed up on the shores of the Charles River. Or worse. Only a piece of it.”
He’s not wrong.
“Dante Lambert is the case officer assigned to Jasper Yoden’s murder. Or so he says. He asked me to send him regular updates. When I found you on a traffic camera turnin’ onto Newbury Street, I put that info into my case notes and sent Lambert a copy. That was before I brought you back here, and like I said…no one knows this address. Not even my boss.”
“What about your car registration? DMV records? Hell, there’d be a background check on your record for the lease.There are ways.” I don’t care how safe hethinkswe are, he doesn’t know François. Doesn’t know how far his influence reaches.
I’m shaking now, ready to knee him in the groin and see how far I can get before he catches me until Ronan pulls me closer and wraps his left arm around my waist. “I saw that asshole’s face, Zephyr. He’s comin’ after me now too. We’re in this together.”
How can I believe him after finding out the only person I trust is working for François? Then again, what choice do I have? If I leave, it’s only a matter of time before François tracks me down. And Martín? He’ll be dead too.
Staring up into Ronan’s blue eyes, I search for a reason to believe him. “How does…together work?” I ask on a whisper.
His fingers cup the back of my neck, threading through my hair, and he dips his head. Not to kiss me, but to touch his forehead to mine. “We trust one another. We’rehonestwith one another. About everythin’. Can you do that?”
Warmth seeps into me, and I forgot what it was like to be…touched. To be held. To not be alone. Nodding softly, I relax into his embrace. “I can try.”
Chapter Nine
Ronan
When I comeout of the bathroom, showered and dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, I hold my breath until I see Zephyr standing at the counter. She’s clad in a black tank top and a pair ofmyboxer shorts. As the kettle goes off, she pours the milk into the mugs,thenadds the tea bags and hot water.
“I’m impressed,” I say from just outside the kitchen. “Takin’ tea should always start with milk in the cup first.”
“Pouring milk into hot tea screws with the taste,” she says, staring between the mugs and the clock on my microwave. “I didn’t know where you kept your whiskey.”
“And you didn’t snoop? What kind of fugitive are you?”
She flinches, then returns the milk to the fridge. Four hours ago, I was ready to shoot her if she ran, and now…she’s in my kitchen, looking like she belongs there. “Not a very good one, apparently,” she says under her breath.
Fuck. That was thewrongthing to say. Retrieving the whiskey from the pantry, I uncork the bottle and fill two Glencairn glasses with generous pours. “Thought we could have this on its own while the tea steeps.”
“I don’t usually drink,” she says, her shoulders hunching. “I can’t let my guard down.”
“You’re safe here, Zephyr.” After I set the glasses on the coffee table, I offer her my hand. “Come with me.”
Her green eyes narrow, but she lays warm fingers over mine and lets me lead her to the front door. With my left hand—big mistake—I rap on the door and stifle my grunt. “Reinforced steel. If anyone stops within a two-foot radius, this display panel will light up and the camera in the peephole will record exactly who they are.”
Zephyr relaxes by degrees, though she hasn’t said a word.
Pressing my palm to the screen, I wait for it to read my print before a menu pops up. A tiny gasp escapes her lips when I tapAdd Palm Scan.
“Go ahead. It’s a closed system. No internet access. Your prints won’t go into any database.” I wish I knew how to reassure her, but until I learn what she’s gone through, anything I say could cause her to rabbit.
“Why would you…?” she asks, her eyes glistening. “I could disappear.”
“Do you want to?” Zephyr’s strength amazes me, but underneath the tough exterior, there’s a terrified, lonely woman who desperately needs someone to believe her.
“N-no. For the first time in four years…no.” She presses her hand to the screen, and the lock scans her palm print. When it’s done, the system prompts for a name, and she doesn’t hesitate to typeZephyr.
“Will you come sit with me?” Nodding toward the couch, I almost stumble as she links her fingers with mine and doesn’t let go, even when we sit down and she takes a tentative sip of the whiskey.
“You buy the good stuff.”
