What did he say after all this time?
“What— How—” Siobhan looked from him to Lyse, stuttering. Having the same problem as him, apparently.
“I’ll explain, Mam.” He reached over and turned the lock on the door, then ushered her into the living room with a hand at her back. Lyse moved ahead of them without prompting.
“Whatever are you doing here, Fionn?” Keeping her hand on his arm, she gazed between him and Lyse. “How do you two know each other?”
And it finally registered—his mam knew Lyse. They knew each other. Lyse hadn’t merely been watching Siobhan; she’d inserted herself into his mam’s life.
Something cold washed over him. Cold and lethal. In that moment Lyse’s eyes met his, a myriad of emotions playing across her face: fear, pleading, resignation. She didn’t want him telling the truth. She wanted him to lie like she had, to let her go on fooling his mam like she’d fooled everyone at Global First.
No fecking way. His mam deserved the truth. And Lyse deserved the consequences.
“Do you know who she is, Mam?”
Siobhan gave him the smile that was so like his own. “Of course. Lyse Camden.”
He shook his head, refusing to look Lyse’s way. “No, not Lyse Camden. Lyse Sheppard. She’s a computer hacker who used to be working at Global First. The woman who almost got me killed two months ago. And she’s been watching you.”
Chapter Seven
Siobhan would never look at her the same.
She’d known the second she’d looked into Fionn’s eyes that he would tell his mother who she was. That didn’t mean she hadn’t hoped. But no matter how much she protested that her friendship with Siobhan had been by chance, had been genuine, Fionn would never believe her. And neither would his mother now. Who would believe a woman with Lyse’s past over their own son?
Siobhan was staring at Fionn, a deep vee between her brows. “What—”
A loud knock on the front door cut off her question. Fionn immediately went into warrior mode, one hand reaching for the small of his back. Lyse caught the move from the corner of her eye and startled. It used to be common for her coworkers to be armed. After so many weeks in Ireland, guns were a forgotten accessory. An illegal one too.
Trust Fionn to know where to get one.
Siobhan started toward the door.
“No, Mam,” Fionn warned, rushing forward to hold her back. “Let me be checking first.”
Siobhan wasn’t a woman to be bossed around, but neither was she as stubborn as her son—she let him go first. When Fionn eased the curtain on the window aside and peered out, a frown appeared on his face. He dropped the curtain back into place. “A man in a garda uniform?”
The softest, sweetest smile curved Siobhan’s lips, one anyone who knew her would recognize. “Mack.” This time she moved toward the door with determination, ignoring Fionn’s hissed warning. Seconds later she was allowing Mack Ivers into the house.
The man was tall and muscular, much like Fionn, with thick black hair graying at the temples and blue eyes that held a seriousness tonight that Lyse hadn’t seen before. The navy coat and slacks of his garda uniform only emphasized his height and the training so evident in the way he moved. A few years older than Siobhan, he’d been a cop most of his life; Lyse knew because she’d run a background check on him not long after she arrived and realized his involvement with Siobhan. There wasn’t much that could be hidden from her, at least not on a computer—Siobhan was proof of that.
Mack was a good guy. He was also Siobhan’s lover. This should be interesting.
“Evenin’, acushla,” Mack said as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Lyse noticed he turned the lock before taking Siobhan in his arms. Their lips met, Mack’s broad palms flattening on Siobhan’s back to bring her closer. Lyse averted her eyes. The way they touched was always so intimate, making her feel as if she was intruding, a voyeur on their private moments. Seeing them together made her ache for what could have been. Except that was an illusion, wasn’t it? There was no “could have been,” not with Fionn or any other man. She was alone.
“Who is this, Mam?”
Fionn’s sharp question broke the moment between Siobhan and Mack. The older man narrowed his eyes on Fionn, reminding Lyse of an alpha wolf staring down a rude pup. Given the stubborn look in Fionn’s eyes, he wasn’t in the mood to back down.
Siobhan blushed, seeming to realize that her son had just watched her kiss her lover. Leading him by the hand into the living area, she said, “Mack, this is Fionn, my son.” She glanced between the two men. “Fionn, this is Mack Ivers. He’s my…” Her blush deepened.
Wanting to intervene before Mack and Fionn got into a pissing contest, Lyse supplied, “He’s her boyfriend.”
Mack’s gaze found hers across the room, and he gave her a little smile. That was the only kind of smile he gave to anyone but Siobhan, and something inside Lyse basked in his approval. He’d been nothing but kind to her the last couple of months. That would change soon enough, she knew. Fionn was determined to see everything in a bad light, to ruin what she’d built here. Why was she still fighting him? Was it better to just give in, let the dream of a normal life die?
“Did you check him out?” Fionn asked her.
He already knew the answer. She’d done what she needed to, to keep Siobhan safe. She wouldn’t apologize for it, even if she wished it wasn’t out here in the open. “He’s clean.”
Mack frowned. “What are you talking about, Lyse?”
Siobhan led him to the couch and settled herself on the wide arm, Mack standing tall beside her. His arm came around her waist, urging her close. Safe.
Lyse rubbed at the ache in her chest. “I—”
“Lyse’s specialty is hacking,” Fionn threw out.
