Chapter 27
Kane
As I watch Kori interact with my family, I’m struck by how naturally she fits among us.
She moves around the kitchen with Wren and Kat, laughing at something Rory says, while Declan is studying maps at the table.
The scene feels domestic in a way I’ve never experienced before—people I care about gathered in one place, planning not a heist or a business venture, but a rescue—a reunion.
“You’re staring again,” Kori says, appearing beside me with two mugs of tea.
I accept mine with a grateful smile. “Just thinking.”
“Dangerous pastime,” she teases, bumping her shoulder against mine. “Care to share?”
“Just that... this feels right,” I admit quietly. “All of us here. You here.”
A soft blush colors her cheeks, but she doesn’t look away. “It does, doesn’t it?”
We stand in comfortable silence, watching the others prepare for tomorrow’s journey. Declan has taken charge, as usual, assigning tasks with military precision. But there’s something different in his manner now—less dictatorial, more collaborative. He’s even talking to Kori more.
“He’s warming up to you,” I murmur, nodding toward Declan.
“Who, your brother?” Kori sips her tea. “I think he’s just realized I’m not going anywhere.”
Her casual certainty sends a warmth through me that has nothing to do with the hot tea in my hands. Before I can respond, Declan calls us all to the dining table.
“Let’s go over the plan once more,” he says, spreading out the hand-drawn map from the safety deposit box.
“We’ll take two cars. Kane, Kori, and I in one; Wren, Kat, and Rory in the other.
According to this map, Miners Village is here”—he points to a spot deep in the Wicklow Mountains —” We have to travel to Glendalough, then from there to the Glendalough Upper Lake car park.
” From there, it’s about a 54-minute walk along the Miner Walk.
Remote, but the scenery is stunning from what I can tell from Google Earth. ”
“Sounds like a perfect place to hide something,” Rory observes.
“Or a perfect place to trap us,” I counter, the possibility of it nagging at me all day.
Declan’s expression is grim. “That’s why we’re being cautious. We’ll approach separately. First car stops here,”— he points to the town of Glendalough and traces his finger along the road, “second car continues to the car park.”
“Who’s in which car?” Wren asks.
“We’ll take the lead,” Declan says. “You three follow twenty minutes behind. That way, if there is trouble, we have backup.”
I don’t love the idea of Kori being in the first car, potentially walking into danger, but before I can object, she speaks up.
“I should be in the second car,” she says firmly. “This is a family matter. Kane, Kat, and Declan should be together — I’d be in the way.”
“You wouldn’t—” I begin, but she cuts me off with a gentle squeeze of my arm.
“Yes, I would. This moment is for you guys. Not some random woman you met on a plane.”
“You’re hardly random,” I protest, but I see the logic in her argument.
Declan nods, accepting the change without argument. “Fine. Kori rides with Wren and Rory. Kat comes with us.”
The rest of the evening passes in preparation. We pack overnight bags, check routes, and charge phones. The atmosphere is tense but purposeful. By the time we turn in for the night, everything is ready for our early departure.
I find myself unable to sleep, wound up with anticipation and anxiety.
After an hour of staring at the ceiling in the small guest room I’ve been using, I give up and head downstairs.
To my surprise, the kitchen light is on.
Kori sits at the table, nursing a cup of tea and staring out at the moonlit sea.
“Can’t sleep either?” I ask, joining her at the table.
She shakes her head. “Too much on my mind.”
“Mark?”
“Partly,” she admits. “But mostly thinking about tomorrow. About you meeting your sister.”
I reach for her hand, grateful when she doesn’t pull away. “Nervous?”
“For you, yes.” Her eyes meet mine, serious in the dim light. “This is huge, Kane. Life-changing.”
“I know.” I trace patterns on her palm with my thumb, finding comfort in the simple contact. “I keep wondering what she’ll be like if she’ll hate me for having the life she didn’t have. If she’ll even want to know me.”
“She will,” Kori says with such certainty that I almost believe her.
“How can you be so sure?”
She smiles, a soft, sad thing. “Because even after everything, part of me still wants to know Lana. Still loves her, despite the betrayal. Blood is complicated like that.”
The mention of her sister reminds me that Kori is dealing with her own family drama, one that’s been overshadowed by mine over the past few days. “I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into all this when you came here to escape your own problems.”
“You haven’t dragged me anywhere,” she says firmly. “I’m here because I want to be.”
“Even with Mark showing up?”
She nods, her expression resolute. “Even with that. Maybe especially with that. Facing him was... clarifying.”
“And what did it clarify?” I ask, suddenly needing to know where I stand with this woman who’s become so important to me in such a short time.
Kori studies our joined hands for a moment before meeting my gaze. “That I’m ready to move forward. That I don’t want to go back to the life I had before.”
“And where does that forward path lead?”
She smiles. “I don’t know yet. But I’m excited to find out.”
It’s not the declaration I might have hoped for, but it’s honest. And after a lifetime of deception and half-truths from those closest to me, honesty feels like the most precious gift.
“Me too,” I tell her, meaning it completely.
“We'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day,” she says, stifling a yawn behind her hand.
She stands, gathers our cups, places them in the sink, and begins washing them.
I watch her from across the kitchen, the simple domesticity of the moment striking something deep within me.
Before I can overthink it, I move behind her, close enough that I can smell the faint vanilla of her shampoo.
My hands find her waist, and I feel her tense for just a second before relaxing back against me.
“You missed a spot,” I murmured against her ear, though the cups are perfectly clean.
Her breath catches. “Did I?” Her voice has that husky quality that makes my skin prickle with heat.
I turn her slowly to face me, our bodies pressed together against the counter. Her eyes are dark, pupils wide as they search mine. I brush a strand of hair from her face, letting my fingers trail along her cheek.
“Kane,” she whispers, my name sounding like a question and an answer all at once.
I lean in, my lips finding the sensitive spot just below her ear. She shivers, her hands gripping my shirt. When I pull back to look at her, her cheeks are flushed, lips parted.
“We should...” she starts, then stops, swallowing hard.
“Should what?” I ask, tracing the line of her collarbone with my thumb.
She takes a deep breath. “We should get some sleep.” Before disappointment can fully form, she adds, “Together. I want you to stay with me tonight.”
I raise an eyebrow, and she laughs softly.
“Just sleep,” she clarifies, her hands flat against my chest now. “I’m not... I… what we did earlier felt amazing, but I’m just not ready to take things further. I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t want you to be either.”
Relief and something warmer flooded through me. This isn’t about sex—it’s about trust. And that means more than any physical release could.
“I’d like that,” I tell her, pressing my forehead against hers. “Just being near you is enough.”
She smiles, and it reaches her eyes this time, crinkling the corners in a way that makes my chest ache. “Good. Because I’ve been told I snore.”
“I’m sure I can handle it.”
I take her hand and let her lead me toward her bedroom, thinking that for the first time in years, I might actually get a good night’s sleep.