Raw Redemption (Crossing the Line #4)(22)

Connor gave him a look rife with meaning. “Talk to you outside?”

Fuck. He’d known something was wrong. “Yeah.”

Ailish drew his attention by laying a hand on his forearm. “I—thank you. For trying to protect me.” She stared at the bed behind him. “I’ve gone my whole life without having a gun pointed at me, then it happens twice within the space of a week.”

He tilted her chin up with a finger. “It won’t happen again as long as I’m around, Ailish.”

“I don’t think that will be for long,” she murmured.

His brows drew together. “Why do you say that?”

Her eyes cleared, as if she’d broken free of a trance. “If Connor and Erin just wanted to talk, they could have called your cell.” She glanced at Erin, who was shuffling her boots in the doorway. “You’re here to take his place, aren’t you?”

“Guys.” Erin divided a look between Connor and Henrik. “Let’s keep her.”

God, I want to. Ailish’s intuition and his teammates’ lack of denial sent a prickle up the back of Henrik’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere without her.”

“You’ll want to hear me out first,” Connor said.

Henrik ground his teeth together and started toward the porch, but Ailish kept a hold of his elbow, drawing him up short. “Have your talk in front of me.”

Erin let out a low whistle in the doorway, turning Ailish’s cheeks pink. When she stepped close to him and dropped her voice, it took a massive strength of will not to back her into the bathroom and kick the door shut behind them. Just to have her to himself. “You can fix the…gap between us right now by not leaving me in the dark. I’ve been in the dark a long time and I-I resent it. Don’t make me resent you, too.”

“Ailish.” Henrik tipped his head forward and breathed. Shit. She didn’t know what she asked of him. This could repair the trust issue he’d created between them, or it could make an even bigger one. Depending on what Connor had to tell him, his involvement with her release from custody could come barking right into the open. With her safety at stake, he couldn’t risk her panicking, thinking he had a f*cking screw loose, and taking off. Or resenting him even more for taking away the decision she’d made for herself.

Hell, maybe he did have a screw loose, because half of him was tempted to reveal everything and let the chips fall where they may. Unacceptable when lives were at stake in Chicago the longer Caine O’Kelly was a free man.

“You ready, man?” Connor prompted from the door.

Henrik let his hand drop from Ailish’s hip. “I’m sorry.”

He strode away, but not before seeing the disappointment break out across her pretty features. Swallowing the guilt, he stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. “What’s up?”

“Oh, a few things.” Connor held up a finger. “One, Caine O’Kelly has been calling in all debts. Every one of his regulars from the south side to North Park has been paid a visit, O’Kelly looking to get what’s owed to him. Four bodies have turned up since yesterday morning, all with ties to the O’Kelly gambling ring.”

“The ones who couldn’t pay up.”

“Verdict is still out, but that’s the idea.” Connor shook his head. “This kind of behavior is unusual, even for O’Kelly.”

Henrik felt sick. “The increase in violence is connected to Ailish disappearing, isn’t it?”

Connor regarded him a moment, as if he didn’t want to deliver the remaining news. “It would stand to reason, considering he just issued a reward for knowledge of her whereabouts. A f*cking big one.”

“Jesus.” Henrik’s impulse was to reenter the cabin, gather Ailish up and find somewhere less exposed, somewhere not even his teammates could find them. But he’d just snapped what little bond he’d built between them in two, hadn’t he? “We need to move her soon. If he’s that desperate to find her, it’s only a matter of time.” When Connor said nothing, Henrik stared out over the courtyard. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Yeah. Enough that Derek didn’t think we should lay it all on you over the phone.” The ex-SEAL cleared his throat. “Look, Caine has approached two officers, separately, since Ailish split. Asking about his daughter, why no charges were filed. It’s likely Caine thinks she cut a deal with the police.”

Henrik closed his eyes and focused on breathing in and out. “So that reward he’s offering…it could very well be a bounty. On his own daughter.”

“Possibly.” For a moment, they remained silent until the ex-SEAL spoke up again. “When Caine approached those officers, he asked about you specifically, man.”

“Me?” Henrik’s mind landed on the only possible reason. “The department kept my involvement quiet, but not quiet enough to keep it from Caine. Maybe he already has a friend on the force.”

“Money talks louder than honor.”

“Yeah.” Henrik turned and braced his hands against the wooden railing. “Or maybe we’re wrong about Caine hunting Ailish. If he’s got a cop in his pocket, he could already know I destroyed the evidence against his daughter.” Henrik laughed without humor. “Maybe he wants to offer me a job.”