Page 37 of Devil in Her Details

“I broke his thumbs.”

He broke his . . . Blazes. No wonder. Calvington already possessed a nature that made him obsessed in the worst way. He’d absolutely do everything in his power to get his revenge on Dagger. But the fact that those men came to her shop meant he probably didn’t know who Dagger was either. “He believes I sent you.”

“He knows you sent me.”

Lilly pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to gather her wits and fit all the pieces together. “So he knows I sent you to deal with him. And you broke his thumbs? He believes I sent you to break his thumbs!”

“I dealt with him in a way I saw fit.”

Absolutely no remorse. “Yes, but—” She cut herself off. She hadn’t wanted to know, had she? She’d sent a panther after an alligator and thought it would be fine since the alligator had left its swamp and come onto land. Lamenting Dagger’s methods now seemed almost laughable in hindsight. She’d been the one who’d failed to consider the aftermath, and something told her that said aftermath had only just begun.

“But?” he prompted roughly. “You don’t approve?”

“My approval was part of the bargain,” she said quietly. “I asked for your help. You helped. I simply did not anticipate the manner in which you would give it. I believe I preferred my imagination to reality.”

His jaw clenched but he said nothing. He simply averted his gaze. “You’ll be meeting my brothers. Not sure who, yet. I have six. We’re all rough men.”

Lilly grimaced. She’d offended him. Perhaps even hurt him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he cut her off curtly. “But a course has been set, and we can only see it through now. If you want to return to your real home, I can make arrangements.”

Real home? A flash of insight hit her. “You know who I am.”

“Nothing is a secret in Brighton.”

“I’m beginning to see that.”

Silence fell between them, and Lilly had no clue how to bridge the distance. Or even if she wanted to close it. From the start, she’d been at a disadvantage. How much did she know about this man? Nothing compared to what he’d learned about her apparently, which she still didn’t know how to feel about. All of her doubts came rushing back.

“Why did you break his thumbs?” Lilly asked softly, mostly out of curiosity. It seemed an odd choice for a man who preferred a dagger as a weapon. Cutting off his thumbs would have been more Dagger-like. But then, if he knew about her, he must know that Calvington was a marquess. No cutting off marquesses’ thumbs. But why the thumbs in particular?

“Because he laid hands on you.”

Lilly gaped at him in shock. What? She had not expected that. He could only be referring to when Calvington had grabbed her. Had he been there? In the shadows? Watching? Her mind raced over her argument with the marquess, the bruises Dagger had caught sight of the next day, the tin of ointment . . .

She swiftly averted her gaze again.

Honestly, she didn’t know what to make of Dagger Fury. Not the first day she met him. Not at Peregrine’s when he wanted a kiss in exchange for his protection. And not now. She certainly didn’t know what to make of the small flutter in her pulse at his words. Nothing made sense, and everything came into question.

“Why did you approach me?” Lilly asked him. The more she thought of that day, the more suspicion arose. “Was it really because you needed a strap for your daggers?”

A beat of silence. “Yes and no.”

Her heart sank. “No? Then why approach me? Did you already know about my family?” She held her breath. Had she been caught up in another trap? “Were you, are you, plotting against me?”

“No, Lilly.” His answer came without hesitation, followed by dragging a hand through his hair. “Anyone who enters Peregrine’s comes under our suspicion. Everyone. Your friends led us to you. I was sent to confirm whether you were a threat to us or not.”

Of all the things Lilly imagined, this hadn’t even formed part of the equation. “Me? A threat to you?”

“We have enemies,” he said simply. “Enemies with ties to nobles.”

Lilly turned that over in her mind. It explained the watchfulness, the way he’d assessed her, and his determination to get the commission for his dagger belt. “I see. So you thought I might be one of them.” Lilly didn’t know if she should feel flattered or worried. “Why Peregrine’s?”

“It belonged to a brother who betrayed us.”

“Lord,” Lilly muttered. “I seem to have stepped into a gothic novel.” Her pulse steadied. “Do these sorts of things truly happen in reality? How terrifying. Still, I won’t return to London yet.”

“It would be for the best.”