Page 9 of Iron Princess
“If byheyou mean the hit man who took the job to kill my brother, even though he knows him? Yes. Yes, he did. Can you please tell me what the hell is going on, and what I’m supposed to do now?”
“Hold on. Lachlan wants the phone.”
Of course he does, the bossy bastard,I think, because I wouldn’t dare say that out loud.
“Temperance.” His deep voice sounds more relaxed than normal, which seems completely at odds with the situation at hand.
“There’s a hit man in my living room,” I blurt out.
“Good. Do what he says.”
“Are you joking? Because I’m really, really hoping you’re joking.”
All I hear is silence at the other end of the call.
“Okay, so that’s a hardnoto joking. Got it.” I try to inject some humor into my voice.
“Your brother is in a bad situation. This bad situation could spill over onto you. My wife doesn’t want anything to happen to you, so I made a call and now you’re safe.”
I swallow and try to find some words to string together in a coherent sentence at his pronouncement. “What about Rafe?”
Another beat of silence. Then, “Saxon’s the best. If anyone can help Rafe, it’s him.”
Saxon. He has a name. I picture the man in the living room, but it doesn’t fit him.
“You good?” Mount asks.
Good? Is he serious?
I answer honestly. “I don’t know what I am right now.”
“You’re cut from the same cloth as my wife. You’ll rise to the occasion.”
The call ends before I can respond.
“Well, fuck,” I say to the empty room.
“Pack your bag. We’re moving out.”
I screech and whirl around to see my stranger—Saxon—standing inside the open door to my bedroom. I didn’t even hear the damn thing open.
“Don’t ever do that again!”
“No promises.”
I narrow my gaze on him. “How do you move so quietly, anyway?”
He shoots me a crooked grin. “Part of the job description.”
6
Kane
She’s tempting as hell, and I can’t stop watching her as she works through the information I’ve dropped in her lap. Temperance is either going to comply ... or make another move to try to kill me. Jury’s still out, despite Mount’s orders.
These days, I only work for the unofficial king of New Orleans when it’s unavoidable, or if it’s a job I’d take regardless who’s offering it. Mount and I primarily trade in favors lately, which he’d prefer we didn’t. But I learned—and learned quickly—that a favor from Mount is worth more than money.
He’s at the top of the short list of people alive who know who I am and what I do. A list I’m surprisingly content with adding Temperance Ransom to as well.
