I’m chuckling before she finishes her sentence.
“Ah, no.”
She’s still pleading her case when I dial my cousin Megan.
“Hello?”
“Need a favor, Megan.”
We were born the same year, me and Megan. She’s as close to me as a sister.
“Of course,” she says. “What do you need?”
“Some clothes. Girl clothes.”
“Girl’s?”
I clear my throat. “Ah, woman’s.”
Megan laughs out loud. “You’re a hot ticket, Nolan. You bring a girl home so fast she lost her knickers on the way?”
“Ah, no, she’s got the knickers.”
Sheena watches me with wide eyes. She can likely hear Megan’s laugh all the way over there.
“Right, then. About what size is she?”
I mute the call, get the details from Sheena, and tell Megan.
“Okay, I’m at Aileen’s right now. Sounds like some of her clothing would fit her, no?”
“Maybe,” I say, frowning. “Bring me a variety, will you?”
“Aye.”
“Who’s Megan?” she asks when I hang up my phone.
“None of your damn business,” I tell her. Doesn’t she know enough about us?
But I recognize that jealous look she’s giving me. Does she think what I did about Tiernan?
Are we that fucked up?
She’s my prisoner, my enemy. I’ve punished her and haven’t even begun extracting the truth. Why the hell do I care who’s connected to her? Why does she?
“Cousin,” I tell her.
“Right.”
She looks away and bites her lip. “Look, Nolan. It matters to me that my brother doesn’t know who you are. If he does, it’ll scare him.”
I snort. “Am I that terrifying?”
She looks back at me. “Yes. You are.”
I shrug. “I won’t go in with a gun drawn or anything, if that’s what you’re afraid of. But you’ll do well to remember I shouldn’t even be bringing you there. That you’re captive here, and what happens outside this room doesn’t matter.”
I wonder if I’m making a mistake.
Maybe going to her siblings will tell me something about her I need to know. Suppose this is what I tell myself to justify what I’m doing.
A knock sounds at the door.
“That’ll be Megan. Stay here.”
She rolls her eyes heavenward. “Like there’s any fucking place for me to go?”
Megan can wait. I step over to Sheena, tangle my fingers in her hair, and hold her gaze. “That’s ten, doll. Care to up the count?”
She swallows when I place my hand on her neck. Warning. I can feel her pulse quickening under my palm.
“The count?” she repeats.
“How many smacks you’ll get over my knee tonight when we return to why you’re here.”
“Is that all you like to do?” she asks. She’s trying to unsettle me or distract me, I’m not sure which, but I won’t have it. We weren’t planning on leaving, and I won’t tell my brother I haven’t gotten answers.
“You’ll see about that,” I say with a rueful smile. I flex my hand on her neck. “Now sit on the bed and behave yourself.”
“Fine,” she whispers with a nod. I push her to sitting and hold her eyes as I walk to the door. I need a good, long night with her before I find out anything at all, I know it, and even then I’ll have to employ a variety of methods. But I won’t get far if she’s distracted with thoughts of home.
I open the door to find not only Megan, but Caitlin and Aileen. Megan is grinning, Aileen eying me cautiously, and Caitlin looks a bit sheepish. I shut the door behind me and step into the hall.
“What the fuck is this?” I hiss. “I don’t need a goddamn posse.” I glare at Megan. She’s responsible for this. The brown-haired, jolly cousin of ours doesn’t know enough to leave well enough alone.
Aileen, her long blonde hair woven into a braid, is shorter than Megan, but just as bold. She places her hands on her hips and faces me.
“Nolan, if you’ve brought a woman here, we ought to meet her.”
I turn my glare to her, but it doesn’t intimidate her. She’s married to Cormac, the biggest and most fierce of all, and he’s wrapped around her little finger.
“Is that right?” I ask her. “Every time I bring home a lass for a quick fuck we should put the kettle on? Hmm?”
She rolls her eyes and Caitlin speaks up. Taller than Aileen and thinner, she’s willowy and fairy-like, Keenan’s wife and the first that married into our clan in our generation.
“Now, Nolan. We know she isn’t here for a quick f—” she blushes furiously. I’ve never heard her utter a curse word. Even slang is usually beneath her. “For that,” she amends. “She’s here for a greater purpose, and you know it.”
Megan tugs a lock of Caitlin’s black hair. “You’re adorable, you know that?”
“And at what point in time did your husbands tell you our greater purpose was any of your goddamn business?”
Aileen rolls her eyes heavenward, but Megan grins at me. “Husbands? Did you forget who I am, cousin?” I haven’t. Megan and I have sworn off marriage, and it’s one thing that draws us together as friends.