I would have been less shocked if the son of a mafia boss had offered me drugs or weapons. “I’m good, thanks.”
Killian gestures towards Max with the same offer and gets an eye roll in response. Max is guarding the rear exit, splitting his attention between the outside space and the Irishman. I’m watching the tunnel entrance in case the catering manager tries to sneak his staff back in.
“Shouldn’t you call Katarina?” I ask Killian. “She’ll want to know why you completely ignored her order to stay away.”
He chews on his food. “I’ll give her a minute or two to calm down first. I don’t know if you noticed, but she has quite a temper.”
“I know she cares about you,” I reply, recalling her tears earlier. “And making her go through another goodbye is going to be hard.”
“Would you be happy if your last goodbye with Duke was in a public restroom? She deserves better.”
He finishes his sandwich in a couple of bites and wipes his hands on the sides of his dark pants. If you ignored the crumbs and his blackened heart, Killian is disarmingly attractive with kind eyes. It’s a shame every time he speaks, he makes it sound like a threat.
He stalks back towards me. “If your man doesn’t hurry up, I might have to find Katarina on my own,” he says, and it’s the first sign that he’s not as laid back as he pretends.
“The fuck you will,” Duke replies, appearing from the tunnel. His gaze sweeps over me. “Are you OK?”
I manage a nod, but my lips tremble as he stridestowards me. My breath hitches when he slips an arm around me and pulls me close.
“Ouch. Who smacked you in the face?” Killian asks jovially when he registers Duke’s split lip. “It wasn’t Katarina, was it?”
“No, it was me,” says Calder, who comes to stand next to us.
Killian simply shrugs. He doesn’t ask why. It’s as if punching your brother is a totally normal thing to do.
“I’m sorry,” I say to Duke. “I didn’t want to bring him here, but he got in the car and then…” Duke’s darkening expression makes me think twice about continuing. He’s going to explode.
“And then what, Grace?” he growls.
I wince. Why do I feel guilty about getting Killian into trouble? I use my hand to form the shape of a gun.
Killian has a bemused look on his face as he watches me mimicking a gun being aimed at my head. It’s why he doesn’t see Duke’s fist flying at him until it’s almost too late. He tries to dodge it, but there’s a sickening thud as the punch glances off his cheek.
The Irishman recovers quickly, his face reddening with rage. He pulls back his arm to retaliate, but Calder inserts himself between the two men.
“Now isn’t the time.”
“Threaten Grace again, Killian and you’ll be the one dodging bullets,” Duke snarls over Calder’s shoulder.
“I was never going to hurt her. Katarina would’ve killed me,” Killian retorts. “And let’s not forget you pulled a fucking gun on Kitty too!”
“I think that’s enough bickering,” comes a new voice, this one deeper.
Rory’s frame fills the tunnel exit, effectivelyblocking it. Ed is close by too. I can hear him arguing with the catering manager further down the tunnel.
“So, boys,” Rory continues, tapping his cell phone once before slipping it into his pocket. “How do we get out of this mess?”
If nothing else, it’s a good reminder that it’s a shared problem and we’re all on the same side. Or at least, I hope we are.
“It’s simple,” says Killian. “Someone’s going to sneak me into the house so I can speak to Katarina.”
“And then he’s going to leave,” I add, reminding Killian of his promise.
“Sure,” he replies.
His assurance is no more convincing than it had been the last time he promised. I don’t think I’d believe Killian McConkey even if he swore a blood oath, and I especially don’t believe him when it comes to Katarina. He might act like the drama he’s created is just a game, but there’s a persistence to his actions. He loves her, and the world is conspiring to take her from him. That’s not a man to trust.
“You get ten minutes, Killian. No more,” Duke says, already checking his watch. To Rory, he adds, “There’s no time to argue. We’ve got to get him in and out before eight o’clock.”
