23. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
S omehow, I make it through shopping with Carys without having a heart attack about Lorcan investigating Malik. When we arrive at the house to get her suitcases, I half expect the brothers to be at the entrance, guns poised to execute me on the spot.
“You okay?” She yawns as she drags her suitcase down the hall. “I’m the one who slept with Finn last night. God, I was so drunk. Such a dumb thing to do. You’re acting like you’re the one who did something naughty.”
I purse my lips, wishing I could tell her the truth. She knows the undercover version of me better than anyone else. The inconsistencies in my stories would be glaring. “A lot going on in this house. You know?”
“Oh, I understand,” she agrees. “Are you and Lorcan…?”
“Maybe?”
She rubs my back. “You could do worse.”
“Are you and Finn together?”
“God, no. I can’t do that again. I’m too old for his bullshit now.”
“You don’t think he’s changed?”
“Oh, I’m sure he has. He’s probably gotten worse.” Carys winks at me as I swing open the front door. Antonio is beside the car, ready to drive her to the airport.
I tug her into a hug before she climbs into the back seat of the vehicle. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” She backs up and pats my cheek. “Any time. I mean that. You need some more female influence, I’ll brave it.”
“You’ll brave it?” My mind sticks on the legal ramifications.
“It would be so easy to be sucked into this again.” She makes an all-encompassing gesture with her arms. “Too easy.”
“Right.” I give her another hug to disguise my uneasiness.
“Get some sleep.” She slips into the car. “You’re acting weird today.”
If only sleep would solve my problems, I’d never get out of bed. “Hey, Carys.” I come out of my head long enough for things to click. “Did you ever see Finn fight in The Cage?”
Her eyes light up, and she sighs. “Oh, yes. That’s what started the whole mess between the two of us. Him fighting was only a secret from his father. Everyone else knew. Sweat. Muscles. So incredibly cocky. How could I not?”
“Do you remember anything about the structure? About who could fight when?”
She frowns and looks me up and down. “The O’Malleys don’t let women fight. Do you need money? Is he being a shit about paying you?”
I stifle a laugh. “That’s not it.”
She shuffles further into the car and waves me in. “Ride with me. We can chat about hot men who fight in a ring.”
I glance back at the house and catch Antonio watching me before I focus on Carys.
“I’ll text Lorcan and tell him I talked you into it. Antonio is here to protect you.”
She knows that’ll seal the deal. “I hardly need him to protect me.” I get in beside her, and Antonio appears in the driver’s seat as the door slams.
“Got that right. She’s a sharpshooter. Well, not quite, but still pretty impressive.” He grins at me in the rearview mirror.
We drive out of the complex and onto the road.
“So why the sudden interest in The Cage?” Her fingers fly across her phone.
“Not sudden. I’ve been to the O’Malley’s a few times. I saw their wall of dead heroes.” My voice is full of derision, but this information is why I agreed to tag along for the ride.
“Ah, yes.” She gestures to Antonio. “Do you understand how the whole thing works now? It’s been years.”
It’s years ago I’m interested in, but I can’t very well correct her. Doing that makes me appear suspicious or far too involved with Finn. Given she slept with him, it’s not a great idea to appear as though I’m going in for the kill.
“Different hot-shot fighter every night.” Antonio accelerates onto the highway headed for the airport.
I cock my head to the side. “Until the hot-shot fighter loses.”
“Basically. You live and die in the ring. When you’re fighting and winning, the O’Malley family treats you like a god.”
“Money?”
“Anything you want. Carys is right though. They don’t let women fight. Not that Lorcan or Finn would let you do it anyway.”
“I got news for them.” I focus on the scenery whizzing by the window.
He laughs. “There’s a big fight in a week or two. Huge promotion going on right now. A couple of the weekend big shots going head-to-head. It’s rare. The O’Malley family doesn’t like to double down on their best fighters. Maybe only once or twice a year.”
“You going?” I meet his gaze in the mirror.
“Me? Nah. I ain’t got that kinda cash lying around. I got kids.”
“And an ex-wife.”
Antonio frowns. “Yeah, her too.”
Carys takes her eyes off her phone to glance at me. “I can get you a ticket. I’m sure Lorcan or Finn would take you.”
“I don’t know. We might be at war with the Zhangs.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Lorcan knows they came after you?”
“He knows someone did.” I’m still not convinced it was the Zhangs. Malik was so certain it wasn’t, and he’s good at his job. If there’d been an order after I left, he’d have heard something. A whisper. A word. An undercurrent that wasn’t right.
“You’re not so sure.” She tries to coax me to make eye contact. “Your instincts are usually good.”
“Keeping an open mind.”
“It was the Zhangs.” His faith is unwavering. “I told Lorcan it was the Zhangs.”
I focus on Carys. “You can get me a ticket?”
Her lips twist into an almost smile. “I can. You got a thing for hot, sweaty men beating the shit out of each other too? Wouldn’t have thought that’d be your thing.” She raises her phone. “Leave it with me.”
“It’s not the hot, sweaty men.” I’m lost in thought as I watch the blur of scenery out the window. I know myself well.
“Oh, no?”
“It’s the danger. A life balanced on the edge of a knife. One wrong move, and they’re done.”
She grins and points her phone at me. “Now that, I believe.”
From the front seat, Antonio chuckles.
I’m not home long when there’s a knock on my door. At the intercom, I press the button wondering which brother is visiting me.
“Yes?” Sometimes I wish they gave me a camera.
“Housekeeping.”
I frown. It is the day the house is cleaned, and the voice sounds familiar but out of place. For a moment, I stare at the door trying to decide if I should grab my gun. “Hold on.” Their father was killed in the house. Better safe than dead.
Unsnapping the gun from under the bed, I cross to the door and ease it back, the gun poised in my hand.
When the petite Asian woman looks up, there’s a smirk on her face. “I’m here to clean up your mess.”
“Oh, I’m generally pretty tidy.” Annoyance seeps into my voice.
“Not lately.” Dai Qing slips into the room when I step back.
Closing the door behind her, I press my back into the wood. The risk she’s taking right now sparks a touch of admiration in me. That’ll only stick if she doesn’t get me killed with this stunt.
“Do I need to sweep?” She’s not scanning the floor as she checks the corners of the room for cameras.
“It’s clean. I sweep it regularly.”
She drops the pail with a clatter. “At least you’re careful in that respect.”
“Well, you coming here doesn’t exactly help me out. How the hell did you get in here?” I hiss.
Dai Qing gives me a disgusted look. “Please. Petite Asian woman on a cleaning crew? No one batted an eye.”
“If Lorcan or Finn see you, they’ll ask or notice. I’m sure of it.”
“We’re covered up. No need to worry. As far as they know, I work for the company. I’ve even cleaned up some of their mess already. Might not be to the proper standards. What do I know? I have someone clean my own house for God’s sake.”
Annoyance flares in me, and I shove it back down. “Why are you here?”
“To clean up your mess. Seriously. Shooting people in a residential neighborhood? Do you know how many nosy people have cameras mounted outside their homes now? We got an alert when your face was picked up by a local police facial identification scan. We shut that shit down, but we shouldn’t have to, Kim.”
I stare at her, annoyed. “It couldn’t be helped. I didn’t kill them, just maimed them.”
“Nonetheless, they’re dead. You didn’t tell anyone.”
“I’ve been kinda busy. SOS. Malik. Carys was here. Finn and Lorcan are running circles around me with the games they’re playing.”
“You enjoy having men circle you.”
“Sure, I’m the kettle, but that makes you the—”
“Your best hope at getting out of this assignment alive. You should treat me that way. I’m not your enemy.”
“I can watch my own back. You worry about Malik. Don’t get him killed.”
“Why would that be happening?”
“Pretty sure we’re going to war with the Zhangs at some point.”
“Why?”
“Those dead guys? They were Zhang’s men.”
A smile blossoms on her face. “No, they weren’t.”
I freeze, and my gaze travels up and down her, speculating. “Finn?”
“Bingo!” Dai Qing makes a firing motion with her finger. “Yeah, looks like he hired them. I wonder why?” She taps the same finger to her lips in mock uncertainty.
“Because it’ll fire up Lorcan.” I shake my head. “I can’t diffuse this without revealing I know what happened. There’s no way I could know what you’re telling me.”
“You and I might not see eye to eye a lot of the time. But you’re better than that, Kimi. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” She glances around the bedroom and picks up her bucket. “You can clean your own damn room.”
“You risked blowing my cover to give me shit about bureau paperwork?” I roll my eyes.
“No, I came to see if you needed out. I wasn’t sure what was happening with your mother. Malik said it was too complicated for you to meet me right now. So…” She throws out the hand that isn’t clutching the bucket. “I came to you.”
My heart softens at Malik’s thoughtfulness. Even when he’s not looking after me, he’s still watching out for me. “Nothing has changed with my mom. She’s still on the slow descent to checking out.”
She crosses the room and places her hand on the door. “You need out, send an SOS or call the number. I won’t come here if I don’t have to.” She sighs. “I’m off to clean one of the other gazillion rooms in your wing of the house.”
“Dai Qing?”
She half turns to me before opening the door.
“Does the bureau have a file on me? On my family?”
Frowning, she faces the door for a beat before focusing on me again. “Of course. Files on everyone. They check everything before you’re hired.”
“I want to see it.”
Dai Qing laughs. “Don’t we all. Not possible.”
“Then I want to see what the bureau knows about my brother.”
With a deep breath, she looks me full in the face. “You don’t want to be sucked down this hole, okay? Vengeance, whatever you want to call it, it’s not going to bring him back. It won’t make you feel better. What you feel isn’t fixed by knowing.”
“What do you know?”
She sighs. “You’re asking the wrong questions. What happened to him wasn’t because of The Cage, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. If you have information, I want to know.” I point my finger.
A brisk knock on my door stops me short.
Her voice a harsh whisper as she says, “Leave it. Nothing good comes from you knowing these things right now, okay?”
“That’s bullshit,” I whisper back.
“Kimmy, I can hear you whispering in there. Who you got with you?” Finn’s voice calls from outside my door.
Dai Qing glances up at me, her face draining of color. His reputation must precede him. Nobody wants to be on the wrong end of ruthless.
With a sweeping motion, I gesture to my bathroom with her cleaning supplies. The bucket in her hand, she scurries to the en suite. Sucking in a breath, I relax my shoulders and open the door.
“One of the cleaners.” I school my tone to boredom. “She thinks I’m messy.”
Finn peers into my room. With a glance over my shoulder, I confirm she’s visible in the mirror tidying up my things.
“I’ll have her fired.” He’s loud enough for Dai Qing to hear.
I stifle a smile. We may not get along, but her reaction to his statement would be similar to mine. Blind rage and defiance. The bucket clatters to the floor.
He tries to enter my room, and I place a hand on his chest. “Don’t worry about it. I think she’s a temp, anyway.”
He frowns. “We don’t allow temps.” He hones in on Dai Qing, his eyes narrowing. “You a temp?”
She looks up, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “No, sir. Every Sunday, I come here. I clean.”
Her accent is so thick, I have to strain to understand her. “Maybe I misunderstood.” I shrug. “We’re usually out on Sundays.” My heart thunders in my chest, and for the millionth time, I’m glad he can’t hear it. How often can I raise Finn’s suspicion without pointing the finger at myself?
His icy stare scrapes over her one more time. “She seems vaguely familiar.”
“Did you want something?” I keep focused on Finn as though Dai Qing doesn’t matter. I’m sure she’s laughing on the inside at how well she blends into the Asian cleaning company they have working for them.
“Lorcan came to see me.” He smirks at me. “Wanna watch us plan a war?”
It seems like I was right about the impending conflict with the Zhangs. This will be as good a chance as any to see how their brains work. “If there’s a war, I want a weapon and a say in how it’s used.”
“I thought you’d feel that way.” He nods toward the hall. “Come with me.”
With a last glance to Dai Qing, I close the door. She’s safe. Now, it’s Malik I need to protect.