guarantees were two very different things.
Mack entered the room, his expression going tight as he caught Lyse’s words. That look… Mack was as worried about Siobhan’s safety as Fionn was. Maybe more. When Fionn looked at Lyse, thought about her being the target of a crime boss with nearly unlimited resources, his heart did that squeezing thing that took his breath.
“My commander is willing to take Siobhan and Lyse in,” Mack said, arms crossed over his chest. “I’ll be dropping them off, then Deacon and I will follow you north. I have a friend in a nearby town that we’ll stay the night with, stay off the radar until time for the meet. My captain agreed to contact the local authorities to come in and help at the right time.” Mack rubbed a hand down his face. “I didn’t let him know they’d be cleaning up a mess.”
Mack hadn’t liked keeping his boss out of the loop. And unfortunately, the other guest Fionn had reached out to would make sure of the mess part. It was Fionn’s job to make certain Ferrina was no longer a problem after this. Ever.
Definitely a mess to clean up.
He hadn’t realized the clicking of the keyboard had stopped until Lyse spoke. “I’m not going with Siobhan.”
That jerked his head around. “What?”
“Lyse—”
Deacon’s protest was echoed by Mack, but Lyse zeroed in on Fionn, ignoring the other two. Intensity shone from her eyes, burning into him, slamming his mouth shut when he normally would’ve shot down the idea as ridiculous. Deacon and Mack were stumbling over each other in their objections, but Lyse didn’t answer. She didn’t look away, and he found he couldn’t either.
“Gentlemen,” he finally said, cutting them off, “could you be waiting in the hall?”
The words broke the moment, and Lyse’s gaze dropped to the hands twisting together in her lap.
He waited for the door to close behind Deacon, who gave him an unreadable look through the narrowing space, then clicked it shut. Fionn took a deep, calming breath.
It didn’t help.
“Fionn.” Lyse looked up again, and he could see her fear, her need to help. Sometimes he wondered if Lyse hadn’t come to love his mam almost as much as he and Mack did. “I’m going with you. Think about it—you can’t search the entire house and grounds on your own. The acreage alone… You need the extra set of eyes. And you need me to monitor Ferrina’s response. His movements. Send the second message. Keep up communications with the team. I can do all of that from anywhere on the estate. We’ll know where the gold is, where you need to meet by then. I’ll stay far away from any fighting.”
Damn right she would.
She stood, easing closer as if he was a wild animal she needed to tame. “I can help you.”
He stood for a few minutes, arms crossed over his chest, thumb stroking the rough stubble on his chin over and over. Thinking. Weighing the odds. She was right, in a way. If things went as they expected, there would be time to move Lyse well before the meet up. But when do things ever go as expected?
And yet he found he was wantin’ her with him. Something deep inside ached at the thought of leaving her behind. Was that what he’d have to do when this was all over, leave her behind? His original intent had been to bring her back to the States for prosecution, but now… He stared into the deep, pleading well of her hazel eyes. Now he knew what it was to hold her, to have her beneath him. He knew what it was to share his very breath with her.
And he knew that, when the time came, when this was all over, he would be letting her go. His heart couldn’t take the thought of anything else.
His heart. That’s what she was.
He opened his arms. Lyse flew into them, her impact rocking him on his heels even as he pulled her close to the warmth of his body. She was so slight against him, yet too strong for him to break, in bed or out of it. She was unique. His.
He clenched his jaw, determined to keep the feelings inside, to keep focus on the mission. One thing he did know, though—if this ended tomorrow, as they all hoped it would, then tonight was his last night with Lyse. The last night before he let her disappear. Now that the moment was here, it settled