Page 57 of Shadow Of Sin

Maybe too damn perceptive.

I don’t answer. Because she’s right. That’s not the only reason.

“You also just backed my trap idea without a second thought,” she says.

“It was a good idea.”

“You backed it before you knew it was a good idea. You backed it because I said it.”

Shit. She’s right about that too.

“I’m still angry at you,” she says. “In case that’s unclear.”

“It’s very clear.”

“Good.” She picks up a sandwich from the counter, takes a bite, and lets out a low moan. “Wow. This is really good.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t tell Sal. He’ll lose his mind if he thinks I’ve enjoyed someone else’s cooking.”

I smile and the knot in my chest loosens. Not a lot. Just enough that I can breathe without thinking about breathing.

“Your brother’s scared of you,” she says.

“Which one?”

She cocks her head to the side and takes another bite before answering. “Actually, all of them. In different ways. Ronan’s scared of what you know. Lochlan’s scared of what you’ll do with it. Gavin’s not scared of anything, but he respects you, which I’m thinking for Gavin is the same thing. And Cillian...” She trails off, a smile lifting her lips.

“What about Cillian?”

“Cillian loves you. That’s different from the others. He actually just loves you.” She shrugs. “I can read a room really well.”

My throat does the thing where it tightens so much, I can barely squeeze out a breath.

“You can read a room,” I say. “But you can’t read me.”

“I’m working on it.” She puts the sandwich down, grabs a napkin, and dabs her mouth. “You’re harder than most.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Not hard like complicated. Hard like... you don’t give things away. Your face doesn’t move the way other people’s faces move. So I have to read you differently. Your hands. Your shoulders. That thing your thumb does.”

She points at my thumb, which is still tapping against the counter.

“You’re stuck on something right now,” she says.

“Yeah.”

“What?”

I look at her. Standing in my family’s kitchen, eating a sandwich, reading me like I’m a system she’s learning to crack. She knows who I am now. She knows what my family does. She watched me defy Ronan and back her play without hesitating.

She’s still angry. But she’s still here.

“You stayed,” I say.

“Yeah.”