I tucked my hand in my pocket. “And that is?”
“All Angus has ever wanted was for you two to work together. Or you can leave town altogether.”
“That’s it?”
Shannon huffed. “You might have been a solider once upon a time, Will, but we both know there’s a darkness in you. But you can use that to help your brother. Gather intel with your contacts and let us know what you know.” She inched closer to me. “Rough people up the way you used to. You were so good at the roughstuff, remember?”
She trailed her hand along my shoulder, but before I could swat it away, Nairie took hold of Shannon’s forearm and gently placed it aside. Shy, timid Nairie seemed scared of so many things. But when it came to standing up for me, she never backed down. My heart warmed at the thought.
Nairie’s smile was sweet and saccharine, with a hint of menace behind her big brown eyes. “That’s about the fourth time you’ve touched my boyfriend. I’m Nairie. You are?”
I gathered Nairie in my arms in front of me and braced one of my hands on her hip in a possessive way. I leaned against the bar top, and Nairie relaxed her body against my chest, enjoying my hold. My fingertips grazed the front of her thighs as I held her hips against me. I buried my nose against her neck, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair.
Shannon gawked, then reached out her hand. “I’m Shannon, the first girlfriend.”
Nairie cocked her head to the side in mock pity. “And I’m his last girlfriend. That must suck for you. But time heals all wounds. Well, maybe not those veneers.” She grimaced and pointed at Shannon’s face. “And that botched filler.”
Shannon’s eyes turned to slits. “I can’t wait for you to see Angus again. I know he missed you.”
Shannon emphasized the last sentiment, and I knew it was a threat. I banded my forearm across Nairie’s chest from behind so I could cage her in against me. I wanted there to be no doubt in Shannon’s mind that she was under my protection.
I slowly looked up from Nairie’s neck, and my voicetook on a deadly calm. “That’s enough now, Shannon. Run along.”
She turned up her nose and walked out of the pub in a huff.
Nairie turned in my hold. “So that was Satan.”
I laughed and squeezed her tighter. “Indeed.”
“I’m assuming there was a point to all this?”
I nodded, but not wanting to be overheard, I paid my tab, and we made our way back home.
Nairie started a fire, sitting patiently at the hearth until I could join her with a couple mugs of tea. “I wanted somebody from Angus’s crew to see us together so we can put an end to this once and for all. It would only be a matter of time before he found out about us, and I wanted to do it on my terms.”
Nairie nodded, and I continued. “He’ll probably use you as leverage to get to me. Angus never got over the fact that I left him in the lurch when I was about to be initiated. Bringing me down or running me out of town would be a great display to his higher-ups, too.”
Nairie’s eyes widened. “Is that why you were packing heat tonight?”
I chuckled. “Packing heat?”
Nairie looked toward my side, where I had a gun holstered underneath my flannel.
“How did you know I was carrying?”
Nairie rolled her eyes.
I positioned myself behind her and wrapped my arms around her as we stared into the fire.
“So what now?” she said after a long moment of silence.
“Now we just have to be more vigilant. I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself, and I’ll handle the rest.”
Nairie scowled. “What do you mean by handle the rest?”
“Angus and I need to settle things. I lived with this on my own for as long as possible, but now that I have you, I’m not putting our life on hold one minute longer.”
“Are you going to kill him?”
