Chapter Three: Kieran

Laina was doing remarkably well, all things considered. I think her father and Tessa both assumed she’d be traumatized after what she’d gone through, but she wasn’t. There was a lot she said she didn’t remember, but she still had that fire in her eyes, that defiant spark that told anyone asking her stupid questions that she was done with them.

My sister wasn’t very happy, of course. I think she thought she’d start a brand-new life with Vance, have a new family, etcetera. She didn’t want to show her unhappiness, though, so anytime she visited with Laina in the hospital, she kept a smile on her face.

I didn’t have to pretend to smile. Laina was funny, and she was tough. I was glad the last two years didn’t break her. I did wonder what was going on in her head, though, what she thought about it all.

The doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital for a week because of her injuries. Her face had gotten cut up—minor cuts. Her shoulder had been dislocated and, of course, you couldn’t forget about the two fingers she was now missing. They were still bandaged up, but from what I understood, the cut had been clean. It sounded like a knife had cut through both fingers at once, right above where the lower bone attached to the knuckle.

So she had nubs, just no fingers there anymore. I’d told her I would hold back on making jokes about it, and I would. For now. I could be gentlemanly when I wanted to be.

Vance didn’t tell Laina until he brought her home. We were all there. Me, Tessa, Vance; all of us shadowing her from afar to make sure she was okay. We let her check out her room—which had remained untouched, mostly—and then it was time to sit her down and tell her what her father had planned.

And when he told her, oh, her eyes widened. She sat on the couch in the living room on the first floor, while Tessa and Vance stood opposite her. I leaned against a nearby wall, my arms crossed. I had a gun neatly tucked away beneath my shirt. Being the mayor, winning over the incumbent in a not-so-tiny landslide had earned Vance some enemies, ones who didn’t agree with him on some policies.

Had to always pack in a city like this. You couldn’t be too careful.

But, anyway, back to the present.

“What?” Laina blinked, her voice a tad shrill. “You’re joking. Please say you’re joking.”

Vance stood strong in the face of his daughter, to his credit. If I was in his shoes, I’d be half-tempted to bend to her will, to do whatever she wanted. “I’m not joking. This is a serious matter, honey. Someone broke into this house and kidnapped you. I don’t ever want you to be alone in this house again. It’s why I’ve decided to move Kieran in with us. Anytime you’re here, anytime you’re out and about, he’ll be with you. He’ll keep you safe.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard ,” she declared.

“That man is still out there,” Tessa said, glancing at me. “My brother has kept us both safe for years now. He’s good at what he does. This is not a matter that’s up for debate, Laina. Whether you like it or not, he’ll be watching over you.”

Laina got to her feet. “This is stupid. I don’t need a bodyguard.” She said not a single word more as she stormed out of the room and headed into the hall, probably to the stairs, where she’d then go to her room and lock herself away.

Vance started to go after her, but I held up a hand. “Let me.”

He didn’t look convinced that I should be the one to go after her, but my sister said, “Let him go. If he’s the one who’s going to watch over her, he needs to learn how to handle her.” Her explanation made sense, and that was the only reason Vance gave me a nod.

I went after her, finding myself in front of her room, her closed door. I rapped my knuckles on the door, and immediately I heard, “Go away.”

I did the opposite of that, though. I pushed inside her room, finding her sitting on the edge of her bed. Leaning my back against the door, I shut it behind me the moment she glanced my way, frowning.

Meandering over to her side, I was slow in sitting near her, though I left a good foot in between us. “Come on,” I said, “I’m not that bad, am I?” I’d never terrorized her. I was never cruel to her. She had no reason to hate me.

Her blond brows lifted. “Do you really want the answer to that?”

“Okay, fair enough. Still, I think having me watch you isn’t as bad as you think.”

Laina’s injury-free hand reached up to her face, picking at the scab where one of her superficial cuts had been. “And why is that?”

I reacted before I knew what I was doing. My hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and pulling it away from her face, stopping her from picking at the scab. “Don’t,” I told her. “You don’t want to scar that pretty face of yours.”

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

Her blue eyes bore into me, as if trying to peel back my layers. It took her a while to say, “If I want to scar my face, I think it’s my prerogative.” Then her gaze dropped to my hand, which still gripped her wrist.

Ah, right. I let it go and stood, taking a few steps away from her. Keeping some distance between us was probably for the best. She was still so young. She might’ve been nineteen, but she was my niece now. She was family. Really, she’d been family the whole time my sister had been seeing Vance.

“Here it is, plain and simple,” I spoke as I turned around, meeting her stare once more. “You’re the mayor’s only daughter, who miraculously escaped her two-year imprisonment. Your kidnapper is still out there. Everyone knows it. Therefore, everyone knows to get to Vance, all they have to do is get to you.”

Laina appeared confused at that, her eyebrows furrowing and her mouth frowning even deeper. “Are you saying more people are going to come after me now?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You’re not in the same position you were two years ago. Everything is different now. This city is different now. Things have been going well for your father and everyone he’s aligned himself with, but there are always people looking to take a bigger piece of the pie. Trust me, you want me to have your back.”

“If you have my back, who’s going to have my dad’s back? Aren’t you supposed to protect him?”

“He’s got other men. You’re his weak spot right now, Laina. You .”

She looked down at her lap, at the bandage on her left hand, and then those defiant eyes were back on me. “I’m not the same girl I was. I won’t sit around in this house, waiting for the next photo op. I don’t want to talk to the reporters or the police or anyone. I just want to live my life how I want to live it. Not how my dad wants me to, not how Tessa wants me to… and not how you want me to.” She jutted out her chin, as if waiting for me to argue with her.

“After what you’ve been through, I think you earned the right to live your life however you want to,” I told her.

Laina’s eyes widened at that, the shock evident on her face.

“Oh,” I said, tilting my head as I studied her. “Did you want me to argue with you, for old time’s sake?” I couldn’t help but smile at that. If there was one thing Laina loved to do, it was argue with me, but maybe that had changed. Two years was a long time, after all.

It took her a while to say, “No.”

“Great. Oh, wait. One more thing. If you could call me Uncle Kieran—”

She pointed to the door. “Get out.”

Tossing my hands up in surrender, I went for the door, leaving her alone. The moment I stepped out into the hall, I found myself grinning. I shouldn’t be thinking this, but I couldn’t fight the thoughts that raced through my head right then.

This was going to be fun.