Chapter Six
Liam tookthe mug in front of him and brought it to his lips, controlling the movement to make sure he didn’t hurl it into the nearest wall in fury, especially considering he wasn’t in his own home.
When he woke up due to Chewy scratching the door and found Catriona had left, anger grabbed him by the throat, and there was no doubt it wouldn’t let him go until he shook some sense into the nun.
Chewy on his heels, he’d sprinted upstairs to find Deva on the phone with Aleksei. His brother had been in his gym when Catriona had decided to take a stroll to church.
He owed his brother one for following her in this weather, wearing only a hoodie and sweatpants, and from the expression on Aleksei’s face when they returned, it was clear he wouldn’t forget about it either.
When they finally crossed the threshold of the top apartment, Catriona smiled at him as if nothing was wrong and greeted Deva before offering to cook breakfast.
Deva poured a coffee for Aleksei and refilled Liam’s cup, leaving the two men alone, to give Catriona a hand. Liam cursed under his breath as his brother sipped his coffee, looking at the two women.
“I hear you. It was pure luck I heard her passing the gym. I thought you told her the danger she was in when she agreed to help us. You should’ve taken better care of her.”
Liam turned his anger and frustration on Aleksei. “Fuck you. You know the situation is more complicated than that. It was a battle to have her come here. She forced me into coming. According to her, if she was in danger, then so was I.”
The look Aleksei gave Liam said he wasn’t convinced. “You could’ve locked her in a room.”
“Yeah, I imagine that’s what you do with Deva and it works like a charm.”
It was the Russian’s turn to scowl. “Deva understands the reality we’re in. She was born and raised in darkness.” Aleksei looked at the two women and he softened. “Your woman came from the light. She doesn’t know better, which is why you need to make sure she understands the danger waiting to strike outside these walls.”
As Chewy barked and the women laughed, Liam knew that Aleksei was right. “She’s not my woman. She’s a nun, so have some respect.”
The grin that pulled at his brother’s mouth annoyed him on an entirely new level. “If you say so. My mother was devoted and orthodox. She firmly believed saints walked this earth. I suspect there’s a little bit of the divine in Catriona as well.”
Liam’s gaze went inevitably to Catriona and his heart squeezed. His brother was right, there was light in her smile, a definite kindness in her touch. Was that what he’d felt when he’d first seen her? The divine in her? No. His entire body leaned toward her even though he hadn’t known her for more than twenty-four hours. Anger deflated as he realized how stupid his reaction was. She may deny it, but Catriona was spoken for in the highest sense of the term. She came here to help, so he would have to find a way to survive his attraction and accept it until it was over.
* * *
Steadiness and calm truly restoredinside him, Liam left to take Chewy for a walk while Catriona installed herself at the kitchen table of their temporary apartment with all the paperwork they had gathered. Before he left, he made sure to tell Aleksei to keep an eye on her and promised he’d talk to Catriona when he returned. If the woman wanted to go to mass every fucking morning, he’d go with her. Wouldn’t hurt either as he needed a shitload of prayers to survive this ordeal with his father.
The cold, sharp wind was like a curse, and the contrast to the warm indoor temperature felt almost painful, but Liam didn’t mind. It was his city. Once inside, Chewy shook himself and pulled on his leash toward the stairs. Liam released him and the dog bolted up. Liam took a bit more time, his leg lancing with pain. Although hurting, he felt steadier now, but feared that as soon as he saw Catriona, his inner peace would be just a memory.
And how right he’d been. Chewy had pushed the cracked door open, and it was her smile as she greeted them that hit like a punch in his gut.
“I made coffee if you want some. You two must be chilly after your walk, but no coffee for this beautiful dog. I’ll buy some cookies for you instead when I get a chance.” The dog lapped at her face as she cooed at Chewy, and she giggled. Liam was a sucker for the sound but refused to focus on it. Partners. He’d treat her as his partner and suck it up.
As they settled, he poured himself a cup and went to the window. At times during his stroll, it was as if someone was on his heels. The feeling followed him several times, and as he couldn’t run with his knee, he made a few detours, but hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. Through the glass, he observed the snowy street and sidewalks, as well as surrounding buildings, and still, everything was calm and peaceful. Only, for the briefest moment, a flicker caught his eye on the corner of a building as if someone had hidden swiftly from sight. Unsure if he was seeing things and taking a mental note to ask Aleksei to keep an eye on any potential stalkers, he went to sit on the opposite side of the table as another matter has to be discussed. “Listen, we need to talk about something, about what happened this morning.”
Catriona cringed at his words. “If you’re referring to me going out without telling you first, no need. I understand now. Shortly after you left, Deva popped in and explained a few points, bringing me up to speed. I was foolish to believe that danger would only come to us at night or that I would be spared because I remain in the background. Most of my work has been on straightforward cases, and there wasn’t any danger. Thanks to Deva, I see now how dangerous it was, and why Aleksei was so angry with me, and why he followed me until I came back. Bad guys aren’t like in the movies, that’s something I’ll remember from now on. Please accept my apologies, Liam. I won’t do it again.”
Liam had expected and prepared for a much tougher fight to make her understand the situation. It was like preparing to ram through a closed door, and at the last second, find out it had been open all along. “I’m not forbidding you to go out. You just have to tell one of us what you’re planning. If you want to go to church in the morning, let me know and I’ll accompany you.”
She looked at him with her amber eyes before finally nodding. “Thank you. It’s not that it’s an obligation of any sort, but I feel that my mind is clearer after I sit there for a moment.”
“Well, if it helps you solve our case even faster, count me in as your church companion from now on.”
Her smile returned full force, and Liam felt almost compelled to toss the table between them aside and pull her against him. Instead, he turned to the task at hand. Work was all that mattered.
“How is the paperwork going? Can you make sense of any of it?”
For the first time since he’d met her, a deep frown marred her face, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she sighed.
“There’s so much data, what I have to do first is put everything in order. After that, I’ll be able to see clearer for sure. I also need bank statements. And for that, we need a warrant.”
“Yeah, I’m ahead on you on that. As soon as the case against Finch became official, I started the paperwork. So far the process has been incredibly slow.”
