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“It’ll be okay because it has to be. It’s not that Iwon’tlet you go, it’s that Ican’t.Letting Abruzzo take you…” his arms contract around me, “Itisn’t an option anymore.Do you understand me?”
I blink away another tear. “I-I think so.”
“You aremine, Little Miss Lottie Lewis. And Abruzzo isn’t going to take what’s mine.”
I watch the vein in his temple tick, tick, tick. His jaw working, nostrils flaring. A rush of warmth floods my body.Mine. His.I melt a little deeper into his hard chest.
“Okay,” I find myself saying. “All right.”
He studies my features, then brushes his lips against my forehead.
“Maybe you’re not an angel. Maybe you’re a butterfly.Mybutterfly,” he murmurs into my damp skin. “You belong in my Garden, not in another man’s cage.”
Cillian
When the Bentley comes to a stop in the driveway and Lorcan gets out, I groan.
“You didn’t tell me you were babysitting today,” I grunt, nodding to the baby carrier strapped to his chest.
Lorcan whips off his aviators and flashes me a grin. Then he dips into the backseat and retrieves a sleepy Valentina. “I thought she’d love to see your garden.”
“Love to rip it apart, more like.”
“Ah, I’m sure you can spare a few daffodils, kid.”
When Valentina opens her eyes, they settle on me. It takes her a few confused moments to focus, then she flashes me a toothy grin.
“See,” Lorcan says, holding her out to me. “You love that she’s here.”
Only then do I realize I’m grinning back. “Fine,” I grumble, trying to rearrange my features back to annoyed mode. I balance her on my hip and ruffle her red curls when Lorcan isn’t looking. “I guess we can find somewhere to dump her.”
As we step into the entrance of the Garden, Lorcan lets out a low whistle. “Jesus, kid. You’ve really done a lot with the place. No wonder you never come over to tend my rose garden anymore.”
“I’ll give you a few gardening lessons, then you can tend to it yourself.”
He flashes me a grin. “I have a habit of killing things.”
We put Valentina on the small grass verge outside of the office, where colorful snapdragons grow. As soon as I set her down, she gurgles in delight, clawing at the petals and yanking out fistfuls of the surrounding grass. Inside the office, Lorcan stands by the glass, watching her like a hawk. “She’s having a great time,” he smiles, waving at her. “I’ll bring her here more often.”
Even I can’t help but smirk as I look at her. She really is in her element. “I guess I could get her a little bucket and spade or something,” I shrug. Lorcan raises an eyebrow at me, eyes brimming with smugness. So I add, “Well one Quinn should learn how to garden, at least.”
We sink into the armchairs by the glass, watching Valentina play. “Right,” Lorcan says, straightening his cufflinks. “Run me through the plan.”
“I called Abruzzo last night, said I’d found who he wanted me to find. We’ve arranged to meet in one of the abandoned factories off of King’s Highway to make the exchange.”
Lorcan raises an eyebrow. “Quinn territory?”
“Of course. Only he’s too green to realize it. I told him I’ve got a busy schedule, so he’d have to meet me halfway between Boston and Philly. He bought it with no questions. He trusts me.”
“You think he’ll come alone?”
I consider this. “No, but with very few men, and not excessively armed. To him, I’m on his side. He’s got no reason to suspect otherwise.”
Lorcan nods, eyes never leaving Valentina. “So then we’ll surround the—” suddenly, he lunges forward, rap, tap-tapping on the glass. “Hey! Don’t eat that!” I turn just in time to see Valentina bringing a fistful of dirt to her mouth. She widens her eyes at her father, giggles, then drops it back to the ground. “Sorry, kid. Where was I?”
“You’ll surround the factory.”
“Ah, yes. My henchmen will surround the factory, then strike just before you make the exchange.” He leans back in the armchair, stroking his beard as he thinks. “I’m not sure if I want him dead or not. He might be more use to us alive—”
