Page 92 of Illusive
“That’s all I called to say, detective,” he said curtly. “Have a good evening.”
Ronan tapped the button to end the call. His head fell back, his eyes squeezing shut. “Maudit!”
“Hey.” Ireland grabbed his wrist. “You told them. That’s the important thing.”
He looked at her, and she could see the strain on his face. “What good does it do if they don’t follow up on it?”
“You don’t know that they won’t. But I’ll call Gideon and have him push, too. He might put his own people on it. Angus does a lot of investigative work.”
That was another layer of hurt for her, that her brother had once again dealt with the Graham problem without discussing it with her. Of course, Gideon hadn’t come by all day, either. Although Eva had explained it was because he’d taken a much-needed nap and then had a doctor’s appointment that was apparently very important for him to attend.
Pulling the stool further out, Ronan straddled it and held her gaze. “Has your brother ever discussed a personal security detail for you?”
It took her a beat to answer, her thoughts still swirling over Graham and his girlfriend. “I have a detail when I travel for work. Like if I’m filming or doing a photoshoot on location.”
“Why not every day?”
Ireland shrugged. “I’ve never needed a detail at home.”
He shot her a challenging look.
“I haven’t!” she stressed. “I’ve never received any weird threats or had a stalker or?—”
“I’m fairly certain Gail has been stalking you.”
“Okay, well, I didn’t know that.” Her shoulders sagged. “And I’m single, Ronan. Or I was. A couple of suits with earpieces hovering over me isn’t conducive to meeting new people and kinda shouts that I’ve got money. Plus, I can’t afford the kind of experts Gideon hires to cover him and Eva, so he’d be the one footing the bill. I don’t like that idea at all.”
Extending his hand to her, he waited until she linked her fingers with his to speak. “You don’t want a detail reporting your every move to your family.”
Her mouth twisted briefly. “I mean…there’s that, too.”
“Will you reconsider?” he asked quietly. “Or if you’re really opposed to your brother managing that for you, would you allow me to do so? Or let me arrange it through Vidal Records? I’ll have the agency guarantee to you that they won’t report your activities to anyone.”
Ireland’s grip on his hand went slack, but he held on. “Ronan…That’s…”
She was at a loss for words. Whether he handled it personally or through the company, Ronan would be footing the bill. There was a huge divide between thousands of dollars in elaboratefloral arrangements and around-the-clock security protection. A divide that wasn’t covered by how long they’d known each other.
“S'il vous plaît, cher.For my sanity.”
It reflected something momentous about how Ronan felt about her that he would even offer. And it revealed much more that she wasn’t at all rattled by it.
Ronan was serving dinner when Ireland pulled her phone out of her sling and read the screen.
“My brother’s coming over,” she warned him, moving her hand out of the way as he set her plate and a bowl of tossed salad in front of her.
“Which one?”
“The scary one.” She gave him a worried look.
“Bon,” he said easily. “I have some things to discuss with him.”
Ireland’s feet bounced restlessly on the footrest of her stool. He realized she’d only ever seen him and her eldest brother in a room together at the hospital when they hadn’t exchanged words.
Bending, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s fine,cher. I have no issue with your brother, and eventually, he’ll see that there’s no place safer for you than with me.”
She looked up at him with luminous eyes and frowned. “You’ve said that before.”
“And you know it’s true.”
