“She’s a bounty.”
The words cracked between them like lightning. Spencer felt something ugly twist low in his chest. Because that right there was the problem. Mark only saw the job, and Spencer had started seeing Edith, and that distinction was becoming dangerous.
Mark scrubbed a hand through his hair roughly. “Do you have any idea what this payout means?” he demanded. “We’re done after this. Finished. No more hunting. No more running. We finally get a life.”
Spencer looked away briefly. Once again, his gaze taking him to the sea. “I know.”
“Then why are you acting like this?” Mark questioned.
Because she looked at him like he might save her, the thought arrived uninvited. Spencer crushed it instantly because that was the way that madness lay.
Instead, he said carefully, “Something about this feels wrong.”
Mark laughed harshly. “Everything feels wrong to you lately.”
Spencer didn’t answer, because maybe his brother wasn’t entirely wrong. Krakens Hole had gotten under his skin far tooquickly. The town, the proximity to the sea and her, especially her.
Mark leaned forward again, voice lower now. “You’re getting attached.”
Spencer’s gaze snapped back to him immediately. “No… I’m not.”
“Spencer…”
“No.”
Mark studied him for a long moment. Then groaned loudly, dragging both hands down his face.
“Oh Gods,” he muttered. “It’s worse than I thought.”
Spencer scowled. “Nothing happened.”
“That is not reassuring.”
Before Spencer could respond and tell his brother to shut his mouth, a new voice slipped smoothly into the conversation.
“Interesting.”
Both twins turned instantly.
A male stood beside their table as if he’d always belonged there. Tall, long dark coat, and a relaxed posture, gold eyes gleaming unnaturally bright in the dim light of the pub.
Spencer’s eyed the stranger, his instincts telling him to be wary…
The stranger smiled faintly. “My apologies,” he said pleasantly. “It’s difficult not to overhear when someone starts shouting about ruined bounty jobs.”
Mark’s posture stiffened instantly. “Who the hell are you?”
The male pulled out the empty chair beside them without invitation and sat down smoothly.
“An interested party,” he replied. The stranger’s gaze settled on Spencer specifically, amusement flickering briefly across his face. “You found her quickly,” he observed.
Silence dropped like a stone, and Mark’s head turned slowly toward Spencer. “We don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The gold-eyed male smiled wider. “Oh,” he said softly. “I think you do.” The stranger leaned back casually in his chair. “But perhaps,” he continued smoothly, “the more important question is whether your brother intends to keep the bounty once he catches her.”
This conversation wasn’t private anymore, and whatever game this stranger was playing, they had just become pieces on the board.
24
