“But why should you when I can carry you?” I smirk.
I let us into my place and walk straight into the kitchen. I set her down on one of the chairs at the island before leaning down for a quick kiss.
“Whatever is in that bag smells delicious,” Cleo says.
“I hope you like it,” I tell her as I grab what we need. “What do you want to drink?”
“Water is fine.”
I grab two glasses from the cabinet and fill them. Then I go about making up a plate of food for each of us.
When I set her plate of pasta in front of her, she smiles, taking a large bite.
“This is so good.” She moans.
“If you keep moaning like that, I’m not going to wait to have my dessert.”
Her cheeks redden, but she smiles at me.
“We have things to talk about first.”
“Yeah? Is that why you blew up my phone tonight?”
She frowns. “I wasn’t trying to annoy you.”
I drop my fork, grabbing her hand, running my finger along the back. “You could never annoy me. I was in a basement with shitty service. I apologize for missing your call. I’m glad you called Kenji though.”
She sighs. “You don’t have to apologize.” She bites her lip. “I found out a lot of information for you.”
“What do you mean?”
She sits up straight, turning, giving me her full attention. “I talked to Rosa who used to date Johnny. She’s pregnant and made it clear it’s not his. From the little bit I talked to her she seems like a good person and wants out of this life. I want to help her. She said Johnny Walsh is most likely staying with a cousin on Seventh Street under an old bowling alley.” She takes a drink of water, setting down her glass. “Then I overheard my father. He’s planning something big. Something against Killian and I need to warn him and Callum. Oh, and my father wants to use me against you. He said he was thinking about having me plant something on you since I’m close to you,” she says, talking quietly. “I also found out my father banished my mother from me and has kept her drugged up since I was thirteen because she can’t have any more children. She also mentioned a son, but I think she must have been confused. Anyways, my father never had his heir,” she says bitterly, breathing hard.
“Breathe, baby. It’s okay.”
I ignore that nagging part inside that wants to tell her about Callum. Her mother obviously also cared about him.
“Didn’t you hear me? He wants to use me against you,” she says with wide eyes.
I shake my head. “Is that the part that’s bothering you the most?”
She nods. “I mean, it all bothers me, but what if he actually asks me to go through with it. What are we going to do? If I don’t do it, he will punish me. Maybe even kill me. If I do, then you’re in danger.”
I cup her cheek, pulling her closer to me.
“Let me worry about that. How did you find all of this out?”
She gives me a sheepish look. “I was eavesdropping.”
I curse. “You need to be careful. I appreciate you wanting to help but don’t put yourself in danger to do so. I’m supposed to protect you and I can’t do that if you go off and put yourself in danger without even telling me.”
“Well, I wasn’t in danger when I spoke with Rosa. I couldn’t exactly give you a heads up about the eavesdropping, though. Romeo and Julian showed up unexpectedly. I made a split-second decision that I think really helped us out.”
“Us, huh?” I smirk.
“You said we are in this together. So yeah, us.” She smiles shyly.
I pull her to me, crashing my lips to hers.
