Page 6 of The Endless Want

I meet his gaze. “So move.”

Neither of us moves. The air feels charged, the kind of static that comes before a storm.

Finally, he exhales, presses the handle into my hand, and walks away without another word.

I stay there until the umbrella leaks through and the papers in my hand start to curl. The sea’s rough, churning gray and white like the inside of my head. I tell myself it’s good he left—that distance is safer—but part of me wants to chase him down the pier and scream that I never betrayed him, that I did what I had to.

Instead, I go back to my car and sit until the shaking stops.

Then, I head to the warehouse. Things have to keep moving.

There, I find Mackenzie, defying her brothers’ wishes as usual, not to have a part in these things. “You look like you fought the weather and lost,” she says.

“Thank you for the concern.”

“Seriously, Ailish, you okay? Something is up. I can see it.”

“Declan showed up.”

“That explains it.” She hops onto a crate, swinging her legs. “So? Was it angry sparks or the slow burn kind?”

I glare. “We talked about security.”

“Right. And then your eyes met across the foggy dock, and the soundtrack swelled⁠—”

“Mackenzie.”

“Fine, fine.” She throws up her hands. “But you’re not fooling anyone. The whole crew’s been betting on when you two either kill each other or make out.”

“Wonderful. Maybe they can start a pool.”

“They already did.”

I roll my eyes but can’t help smiling. That’s the thing about Mackenzie—she makes the world less heavy for five minutes at a time.

She hops down, dusting her hands. “Seriously, though, Ailish, be careful. The Russians are pushing again, and if Declan’s head isn’t straight, he’s liable to drag you into the crossfire.”

“I can handle Declan.”

“Not what I meant.”

I raise a brow. “Then what did you mean?”

She studies me for a moment, all joking gone. “You think you’re handling him, but he’s handling you. That man knows how to get under your skin. Just… don’t let him stay there.”

I start to protest, but Liam walks in then—sharp suit, sharper eyes—and the room straightens like someone pulled a string. Mackenzie gives me a look that says conversation to be continued and slips away.

Liam’s presence changes the air.

He doesn’t have to say a word; the room just… aligns. Every man within ten feet finds something urgent to do with a clipboard.

He gives me a quick nod. “How’s the dock situation?”

“Under control,” I say. “Declan already made some adjustments to the schematics. Smart ones.”

A flicker of approval crosses his face before he hides it behind his usual composure. “Good. I’m glad you two can still work together.”

Work together. The phrase feels foreign, like using the wrong tense of a word that used to mean something else.