glanced back to see Kat and Lucius standing toe-to-toe. Neither one looked mad, but they weren’t happy, either. Should he intervene? No, probably not. Kat seemed to be holding her own, and Lucius had already told him to take a hike. Maybe that’s just what he should do. If Kat could hold off a bevy of armed mercs with nothing but guts and a gun, she could handle one bearded giant.
* * *
Kat wasn’t surprised when Conlan walked away after catching the keys that his oversize friend had tossed him. She hadn’t been able to overhear everything the two men had said in the noisy helicopter, but she’d heard enough. Obviously Lucius knew exactly what had happened three years ago and what her actions had cost Conlan.
No one who counted himself among Conlan’s close friends was likely to forgive her for that debacle anytime soon. She’d hear Lucius out but offer no excuses, no apologies. Conlan might not believe her, but she’d made the only decision she could at the time. She didn’t expect him to forgive her. After all, she’d never forgiven herself.
Lucius glowered down at her, crowding her space. “So you’re the one.”
She stood her ground and glared right back at him. “Yes, I guess I am.”
He jerked his thumb in Conlan’s direction. “He tells me that whoever is hunting you threatened your nieces.”
The memory made her shudder. “Yes, they did, and then they showed up at the O’Day estate and demanded Rafferty turn the three of us over to them. Conlan ran the mercenaries off, but they’ll be back. The only reason Conlan’s helping me this time is to protect Rose and Maggie.”
Lucius snorted. “Lady, he might think that, and you might think that. But ask yourself this—if Conlan was so hot on protecting your nieces, why is he here with you and not back at Rafferty’s place standing guard over them?”
Where was Lucius going with this? Of course that was Conlan’s intent. He’d told her so.
When she didn’t immediately respond, Lucius shook his head and looked disgusted. “You’re as blind as he is. He could’ve brought the girls out with you or, better yet, instead of you. One call to Ambrose, and the big honcho of chancellors would’ve met him outside of Rafferty’s place instead of me. There are a lot of different ways Conlan could’ve handled the situation, but he chose this one.”
Then he leaned in close, finally forcing her to back up a step and then a second one. “There’s only one reason I didn’t shove you out of my helo over that lake we passed a ways back...and that’s because I’m seeing a spark of life in Conlan that’s been missing for a long time.”
He glanced back toward the barn. “So listen carefully, lady. Conlan is my friend, and I have damn few of them. Your shenanigans almost killed him three years ago. Screw with that man again, and I’ll be coming after you myself. Understood?”
She appreciated Lucius’s loyalty to his friend. For that reason, she didn’t tell him to back off. Instead, she executed a sloppy salute. “Understood, sir.”
Lucius finally smiled, his teeth gleaming whitely against his black beard. “Good. Maybe you’ll do after all.”
Then he stared past her to where Conlan stood waiting by the barn. “Now go get your life straightened out, so Conlan can do the same with his.”
Then the big man lumbered back over to his helo and took off. When he was gone, she started across the field toward Conlan, still trying to make sense of what Lucius had been trying to tell her. When she couldn’t, she decided she didn’t really need to know why Conlan was with her. It only mattered that he was.
* * *
Conlan breathed a sigh of relief when his friend finally left. There had been a minute there when he’d feared he was going to have to intercede, but then Lucius backed up a step and smiled at Kat. She must have said something that pleased the man.
He watched Kat carefully as she made her way across the field toward the barn. She paused for a few seconds to hold her face up to the sun, soaking up its warmth as the breeze toyed with her hair. He was hit with the impulse to join her, to hold her in his arms to ward off the chill of fear that gave her that haunted look.
He’d been debating whether they should venture into New Eire right away or if it would be