Chapter Five #4
He did not respond, jaw clamped firmly shut. She couldn’t quite tell if he was clenching his teeth or not through his otherwise stoic expression.
“You know Gideon wasn’t trying to question me about the incident? He was on his way to saying something reassuring.”
“Yes, I am aware. But I was also aware of your distress—” He looked away. “It served my purposes to extricate you quickly.”
Was he trying to hide his rescue with selfish gain?
Once again, it was easier to believe he had acted selfishly, rather than coming to her rescue because of some genuine concern for her.
But then, the Lady Archer had never claimed payment from her either.
Sera closed her mouth. Whatever warm butterflies had been attempting to invade her stomach squashed as reality warred with her understanding of the world.
The knot in her chest grew tighter. He went looking for her? Kieran had searched for her when he thought she was in danger? Sera’s fingers started to fidget.
“I thought there was time to deal with this issue,” Kieran continued, his posture a bit less rigid than before.
He was practically slouching, though it would have been hard to tell if she hadn’t spent the last few weeks with him.
His hand rested on his forehead as he narrowed his eyes at the window.
“This problem with Cole needs to be handled sooner, rather than later.”
“What do you propose? Want to rush into Demon Row and throttle him while he sleeps? I have the address and nothing would make me happier.”
His eyes were frosty. “This is not a time for jests, Sera. We need an actionable plan to rid you of this threat. Though,” he glanced over her shoulder, “it seems that Cole has not been informed of their failure.”
She touched her shoulder. “There’s no shadow?”
He nodded.
Sera bristled, a whole lot of negative emotions swirling inside her for too long. “And don’t think I missed your real meaning in ending this threat. You mean, rid yourself of me.”
“Yes, obviously,” he said, voice almost rising to exasperation.
His shoulders had moved with the words and his eyebrows shot up conveying emotion she guessed he hadn’t intended to show.
He paused until his face returned to neutral and continued, “I am only helping you because Hawthorne is my problem. I can’t imagine you enjoy being tethered to me, whatever your insipid games or banter.
I assume you, too, have a life awaiting your return. ”
She cast her eyes out the window. “Not really. Cole was my life. Or, rather, he controlled it. Not sure what I’ll do once I’m free of him. I guess what I always do, drift along until the next bad decision.”
Sera glanced back toward him, searching for another slip of emotion, but he wasn’t going to slip again so easily. Frustration mounted, bubbling in her chest where words simmered that she might not have said if she had any actual read on what he was thinking.
“Look, I know how it sounds. What does Sera have going for her? Nothing. No respectable skills. No hope of earning any sort of living outside of, I don’t know, whoring. Which, I’ve done and I’m not eager to go back. I’m no prude, but… I just don’t want that as my fall back.”
Still nothing. No reaction. He could be judging her.
Why had she mentioned that part of her past?
Stupid. No respectable politician would hear the word ‘whore’ and not start drawing conclusions about her character.
Sure, politicians might be willing to pay for their favors—happened all the time—but that didn’t mean they held any respect for those they paid.
He might decide he didn’t want a woman of her standard under his roof, too risky to his career if Unity found out he was harboring a former working girl in his guest room. She’d just severed her only chance—
“You are welcome to stay as long as you require,” he said, interrupting her rampaging thoughts.
Sera’s heart skipped a beat. “I… but you just said you want me gone.”
“I want to cease my obligation to keep you alive. As for providing a roof over your head, should you require one, I don’t see how those two things have to be mutually exclusive.”
“But…” She was having trouble following the conversation. She expected outrage. Judgment. Even if he was civil about her revelation, he’d probably want her to never speak of it again and keep it a secret. “What about what I just said? You can’t be okay with someone like me sharing your home.”
He took a deep breath and Sera shut her mouth.
Now he’d let her have it. Give her his real opinion of her. Disgust? Or maybe worse—interest in the exact range of her services. Sera steeled herself. When his eyes slid to her, she couldn’t detect anything beyond exhaustion. “It makes no difference to me what you do, or did, with your life.”
“Others will talk.”
“They already do.”
“They’ll think you’re employing me for sex if my past is discovered.”
He tilted his head. “And? You’ve thrown yourself at me enough that the nature of our relationship would be called into question regardless.”
“But they’ll say you pay me for it.”
“I’ve endured worse gossip.”
“But I’m a human.”
“I was under the impression this city was renamed ‘Unity’ specifically to cultivate harmony between races.” He shrugged. "Are we not supposed to be 'a united people of the realm?'"
Her lips pursed. “But it’s not done, though, is it? A human has never married a fae.”
“I don’t recall proposing.”
She huffed dramatically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. When she side-eyed him, there was the barest flicker of movement at the corner of his mouth.
She'd almost think he was fighting a smile.
Then, just as imperceptibly, his brow furrowed like the 'almost smile' was wholeheartedly unwelcome.
It was probably the biggest mood swing he'd ever experienced.
The thought had her grinning despite her exasperation.
"So… this is more kindness, then?” she asked, her tone wavering between annoyed and entertained. Were they sharing a moment? This was the Kieran North version of laughing together, both of them fighting not to smile.
“Hardly. It’s not cruelty, there is a difference. I’d like to think I have a little more honor than tossing a woman to the streets, no matter her circumstances.”
“And what about you?” She stiffened. She hadn’t intended to voice the question.
What did his opinion matter? It didn’t. He wouldn’t throw her out, problem over.
But the question had been nagging in the back of her head since she had slipped.
She swallowed and doubled down, or the question was going to drive her insane. “What is your opinion of me now?”
He studied her, eyes calm and steady. She shifted, looking anywhere but his face as she chewed on her lip.
“I think you undervalue your abilities with an egregious lack of self-worth. And you are far more dangerous than I previously estimated.”
Sera’s heart was aflutter, her stomach flipping in giddy waves. Heat bloomed in her cheeks and she was no longer fidgeting but entirely caught in the gray of his eyes. Even as he looked away, she felt each breath, hard and fast as her pulse.
“We should decide how to proceed with Cole,” he said, burying his words as her mind attempted to sort out his meaning. She was… dangerous? “I think, for expediency, we should go over his head.”
“Over his… but that means Wraith.” Sera let out a breathy laugh, her mind was still rattled and the sudden change in topic was not expected.
“No one talks to Thaddeus Wraith. Not without some pretty lofty connections. I’ve only met him once and to say he looks as scary as the stories is… an understatement.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
She balked. “How in the world is a rich politician going to arrange a meeting with the Crime Lord of Demon Row? You know his reputation. Connections, pockets, and no wish to play nice with the highbrow. They say he butchered an entire street because one guy disagreed with him. Not wronged him or killed someone he loved, just… didn’t agree. He’s a monster.”
She had to stop any plan that involved Kieran seeking out Wraith. She was already racking up debt to him left and right. Whatever fallout he incurred from pushing his luck with Wraith would be impossible to repay.
“Well,” North gave her a small shrug, “I stopped fearing monsters when I was ten. And it is our only choice.”
“This isn’t the some imagined horror under your bed! This is an actual crime boss.”
His hand fell on her knee, like he was attempting to soothe her rising tone and it drew both their eyes as the carriage fell silent.
He withdrew his hand, but it was too late.
Sera slowly brought her gaze up his body, anxious of what she would find when she reached his eyes.
Need? Lust? Did he want her as badly as she wanted him?
Her eyes stopped on his face and… his expression was unmasked, unmistakable horror.
Kieran sensed the slip of his control. He was quite beyond salvaging the moment.
Agony was no doubt visible on his face. This woman had put him through a whirlwind of emotions in just a few hours.
The pleasing distraction of her Game was shadowed by the stress of not knowing if he would reach her in time.
When an elderly woman had pointed down the alley and said a young lady had been chased down it, he expected to find a corpse.
Yet, Sera was unscathed. The relief had been as overwhelming as the fear. He did not normally swing to such intensities.
Sera was dangerous. Not only because of his unintended attraction to her—which was a hindrance, even if a manageable one—but because her continued proximity put him at risk of his greatest fear.