Page 96 of Lawless Sinners

I should move mine away or get up and go to the bar, but something in me refuses.

Eilish looks between us. “You both hate each other because of family, right? But I know something about the two of you.”

My spine locks, and a prickle of unease climbs over my scalp.

Fionn’s gaze stays on me beneath the brim of his cap.

“You both like Metallica,” Eilish announces.

The breath leaves me in a sigh. “Jesus Christ.”

“What?” she says. “It’s common ground.”

“We aren’t gonna bond over music, Eilish.”

“Why not?”

I sigh and look over at Fionn. “What’s your favorite? ‘Seek & Destroy’? ‘Creeping Death’? Something that matches your personality?”

Eilish laughs into her drink.

Fionn’s mouth quirks. “You’ve clearly given this some thought.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wouldn’t pair ya with any of my favorite songs.”

“I think you just did.”

“Well then, I’d bet ya fifty euros you play ‘Master of Puppets’ when you’re brooding in the mirror.”

Fionn leans back. “You think I brood?”

“Yeah, and you probably make the mirror apologize after, too.”

A low laugh leaves him, and mine follows too quickly, too unwillingly, because the deep texture of it gets under my ribs before I can harden against it.

Eilish lowers her drink. “That right there is you two getting along.”

I clear my throat and reach for my rum. “Hardly.”

Fionn’s mouth still holds the edge of a smile. “No. That was slander.”

“More like a character analysis.”

“From a woman who probably listens to Metallica as therapy.”

“Turning their tunes up full blast is better than therapy.”

He shrugs. “And it doesn’t expect you to offload bullshit and improve after.”

When I stare over at him, his cheek dimples with the slightest smirk, and I feel the thrill of it in my core.

Eilish points between us. “You did it again. There’s a friendship happening here.”

“Don’t force it, Eilish,” I bite out.

Her eyes narrow. “It’s a good thing.”

“No, it’s not,” I say. “Ma would literally shoot him in the face if she knew we were in the same company. This was a terrible idea.”