Page 76 of Mayhem

“You put Garrett through a windshield.”

“He also survived.”

Ronan’s mouth started to curve, and I felt the familiar pull low in my stomach before he even moved closer. “You’re describing restraint like it’s a medical condition.”

“It feels like one.” I let my gaze drift toward Nichlas for a moment before coming back to Ronan. “Echo might finally fix it.”

That got more of his attention.

I had been thinking about it since Hunter changed the deal. Nichlas was the priority because he was the name Echo had carried longest, but he was not necessarily the only one. Hunter had already said there could be others behind what happened to her, people tied to the searches, the Quorum expansion, whatever had happened after the ledger changed hands. Echo herself had a head full of old favors, old debts, names connected to names the rest of us still could not read without her.

“There are more people,” I said, keeping my voice conversational while Nichlas listened from across the table. “Hunter already thinks there are. People tied to whoever kept looking for her, maybe people attached to the old operation, and who knows what she remembers once she starts pulling at those threads. That could keep us busy for a while.”

Ronan glanced toward Nichlas, then back at me. “You’re already planning murders for people we haven’t identified.”

“I’m planning possibilities.” I shifted closer until my knee touched his beneath the table. “There is a difference.”

Nichlas stared between us with growing disbelief. “You’re talking about this like she’s bringing you presents.”

I looked at him then, because apparently he still thought he belonged inside the conversation. “No. I’m bringing her one.”

His face tightened. The fear had been steadily building since the clinic, but something about hearing Ronan and me discuss Echo like she had opened a door instead of created a problem seemed to disturb him more than the cameras did.

“You have no idea what she’s capable of,” he said. “You think you do because she hurt me and you liked watching the aftermath. That isn’t the same as knowing her.”

Ronan’s hand settled against my thigh beneath the table, warm and familiar. He did not need to look at me for me to know he had heard the same mistake Nichlas kept making. “You’re assuming what she’s capable of is the part that concerns us.”

Nichlas frowned. “It should.”

“It doesn’t.” Ronan’s thumb moved slowly along the inside of my leg while his attention stayed on Nichlas. “You keep trying to explain Echo as a threat because that’s the only version of her that matters to you. Malakai knows she’s dangerous. Hunter knows. I know. None of us required you to explain that.”

That shut Nichlas up long enough for me to enjoy Ronan’s hand.

I caught his wrist beneath the table and held it there, more because I wanted the contact than because I intended to stop him. Ronan’s gaze came to mine immediately. We had been together too long for either of us to miss what was happening, and the anticipation of Echo arriving had been riding under my skin since morning.

“She might be good for us,” I said quietly.

Ronan studied me for a few seconds before answering. “For you, definitely. Hunter has spent years giving you approved outlets so you don’t create expensive ones.”

“You participate in those approved outlets.”

“I’m supportive.”

“You’re controlling.”

His thumb pressed harder into my thigh. “You like that.”

I did. Enough that my attention drifted to his mouth before I could be bothered pretending otherwise.

The thing about Ronan was that he never needed much encouragement once he decided he wanted something. He could sit beside me looking almost bored while knowing exactly what he was doing with one hand beneath the table, how long he could keep me waiting before I started getting impatient.

Nichlas shifted his chair farther away.

Neither of us cared.

Ronan leaned closer, his voice dropping enough that the conversation became ours even with somebody else still sitting there. “Maybe Echo does change things. Hunter already crossed one line for her yesterday. You’ve been following her around for weeks. I’m not particularly interested in pretending I don’t want to see what happens when she stops holding herself inside everybody else’s rules.”

That was enough to pull a grin out of me. “Maybe we finally get our hands dirty again.”