Beautifully Cruel (Beautifully Cruel #1)(84)

I’d know him anywhere.

And that is not him.

My knees give out. Shaking badly, I sink onto the edge of the bed and stare at this familiar-looking stranger, remembering the night I woke up and overheard Liam in his office talking on the phone.

“Who were you talking to?”

“My brother.”

Not-Liam lifts his brows. “What, no hug?”

I whisper, “He didn’t tell me you were identical twins.”

Liam’s brother purses his lips in disappointment. “Because if we’re going to be family, lassie, I expect you to greet me with a hug.”

I close my eyes for a moment, willing myself not to topple off the edge of the bed onto the floor.

He says sternly, “Don’t go having a mental breakdown on me now, Tru. I need you clear-headed for a while longer. You can pass out from shock on the plane.”

I open my eyes and stare at him. He looks very tall and imposing, all business, but I can tell he’s trying to press a smile from his full lips. He’s enjoying himself.

“Plane?”

He walks over to me, crouches down on one knee, and takes my chin in one of his big, rough hands. He’s so large that even kneeling he’s eye to eye with me.

His dark eyes alight and his Irish brogue as warm as brown sugar, he says, “I’ve got a question for you, lass.”

My brain isn’t working. Neither is my mouth. All I can make are weak grunting noises. “Uh…uh-huh?”

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?”

I close my eyes again. The room has started spinning.

He releases my chin and stands. The next thing I feel is a light tap on the bridge of my nose. When I open my eyes again, he’s gazing down at me, holding out the white envelope he just tapped me with.

He says, “The ticket and passport are both under the name Ruby Diamond. Mrs. Ruby Diamond to be exact.” He pauses. “For the record, I had no idea my brother was so lacking in imagination when it comes to fake identities. I would’ve named you Persnickity McFinicky or something fun like that.”

I take the envelope from him, pressing it over the center of my chest, right above my throbbing heart. Very faintly, I say, “Ruby Diamond was Dolly Parton’s character’s name in Unlikely Angel, a 1996 made-for-TV Christmas movie.”

“Ah. An inside joke. How sweet.”

I get the sense he wants to roll his eyes, but he only says, “Now, up you go. The flight leaves in half an hour from the private terminal at the airport. I’ve already called you a cab.”

As if on cue, a car honks its horn downstairs.

“How did you know I was coming here? I only just left work.”

“I know everything.” When I stare at him blankly, he smiles. “I’m a spy. It’s part of the job description.”

He’s a spy.

A SPY?

WHAT IN GOD’S NAME IS HAPPENING?

He takes me gently by the elbow and helps me up. He brushes a lock of hair off my forehead, tucks it behind my ear, and says, “You don’t need to pack a bag. Liam’s taken care of everything. Just get your pretty arse on the plane and go.”

I’m so confused, my eyes are crossing. I blurt the only thing that comes to mind. “I’m going to be an attorney. Here. In Boston. I’ll be sitting for the bar in a few weeks.”

It’s ridiculous, but I think I get a pass. It’s not every day your imprisoned mobster lover’s spy twin brother you’ve never met shows up with your new identity.

“Or maybe you’ll be an attorney in Argentina, lass.”

All the breath leaves my body. Wide-eyed, I look down at the envelope in my hands. “Argentina?”

“Who knows? These things have a way of working out. Anyway, I’m off. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you.” His voice turns stern. “Of course, I don’t have to tell you not to mention to anyone where you’re going or that you’ve seen me.”

“Of course.” There. I almost sounded sane that time.

He ambles over to the bedroom door. He turns the knob and opens it. Before he walks out, I say, “Wait!”

He pauses, glancing at me over his shoulder.

I have a million questions to ask, but my brain is a pretzel. All I come up with is, “What’s your name?”

He smiles. It’s a dangerous smile, a secretive one, a wild and hungry one that would look right at home on a wolf.

“I’m Killian. I’ll be seeing you again soon. Safe travels, Tru.”

With a deep sense of shock, I realize that this time, his voice had no trace of an Irish accent.

With a wink, he’s gone.

Outside my bedroom window, the car horn blares again. My taxi’s waiting.

Like a flip has been thrown, I go from being frozen to moving at a million miles per hour. I don’t bother to change out of my work uniform. I just run into the closet, rip a sweater off a hanger, and pull it on as I dash into the living room, clutching the envelope like my life depends on it.

I think it actually might.

Ellie’s still on the sofa with her magazine. Without looking up, she says, “That’s right, girlfriend. You go get that fine man and drag his ass back here. Nobody walks out on Truvy Sullivan, badass bitch extraordinaire.”

I grab her and give her a quick, tight hug. “Love you, Elliebellie.”