Celt. (Den of Mercenaries #2)(61)

Amber didn’t doubt that was also true. “Did they know where it was?”

“My employer didn’t have a location, only had a name for who he thought was involved.”

“And that was Elliot?”

“Gabriel Monte.”

“I don’t understand …”

Digging his hands into his pockets, he explained. “Monte owns a shipping company, one that’s used for imports and exports for men that hire people like me. He was exchanging calls with your boss who happened to own a gallery—it was easy enough putting two and two together.”

“But if you knew they were working together, what have you been doing all this time?”

“Besides the calls, there wasn’t any other link.”

“That was why you came by the gallery that first time,” Amber said on a hunch.

Kyrnon nodded. “It was.”

“Like, uh—what’s the word—recon?”

His eyes softened as he smiled slightly, like he found her question cute. “Aye, recon.”

“But you weren’t there long, were you? You left with me.”

His gaze shifted to the right as his fingers came up to rub over his beard—a habit of his, she’d noticed, when he was avoiding something. “True enough.”

“What aren’t you saying?”

“In the grand scheme of things, lovie, it’s not important.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Am—”

“Kyrnon, tell me.”

“The first plan was to break in, but I had you, so …”

“You could use me to get access to whatever you needed,” she supplied quietly, swallowing back the sudden lump in her throat. “So all this time, you were with me—”

One second he was across the room, the next he was grabbing hold of her leg before she could protest, dragging her down until he was standing between her legs and she could feel the tension throughout him.

“You were never a part of the job—get it out of your head. You were in my bed because I wanted you there, no other reason.”

She desperately wanted to believe him—she wanted to believe that it had all been real between them. “But, you just said—”

“I want you, Amber. Never doubt that.” He lifted a strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “But I will say, I needed you in the end. It was actually because of you that I even found it.”

“How?”

“The painting was only in the building whenever you were. Otherwise, they moved it.”

“And that was why you were asking me about it the other night … but it was sold, wasn’t it? Is that what you were trying to get out of Elliot?”

“I already took the painting—which is part of the problem.”

Her brows knitted together. “When did you—is that where you snuck off to?”

He’d been gone longer than she had expected after going to secure the painting he bought. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, but now, it made more sense.

“And no one was the wiser.”

“And now? Why did you hurt Elliot?”

“They sold your replica as the real thing.”

“Oh no.” Amber worried her lip between her teeth as she considered what that meant. “Now, whoever bought it is upset.”

“And f*cking pissed off about it. Monte is already dead—found his body early this morning.” He caught her wrists before she could pull away from him. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

Horror filled her at what he was saying. “The buyer killed someone over this.”

Kyrnon nodded again. “Undoubtedly, they’re looking for your boss next. And if they are, they might be looking for you too. This was why I needed to have a meeting with him.”

“That’s what you consider a meeting?” Amber asked before she could help herself.

He squeezed her side, his lips twitching. “I needed the name of the buyer. If I find them before they find you, all’s grand.”

“But why would they come after me? I didn’t know anything about it.”

“I know that, but they don’t.”

“Did you get it? The name of the buyer?” Amber asked quietly, a little afraid of what his answer might be.

“Not a name, but at least a place to start.”

She didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Will that be enough?”

He sighed as he drew her to his feet, holding her close. “You have my word that I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Though she knew she still didn’t know everything about him and what he did, she did trust that he would do anything to protect her—he’d shown her that.

Already, she felt herself softening towards him. “Is your name really Kyrnon?”

His hand slipped beneath the fall of her hair, his fingers massaging the tense muscles in the nape of her neck. “I may have omitted a few things, but everything I told you was true. Had I known how close you were with this lot, I would have told you from the start.”

Burying her face in his chest, she let the heat of him soothe away her worries, finding comfort in his embrace. After some time, he finally relaxed fully.