“There’s word that he’s been hanging around Declan.”
Reagan was careful, very careful to keep her expression blank. When Liam had barged his way into her life, he hadn’t thought of who she or her family was, only that she could be his shiny new play thing he wanted to possess.
What he didn’t know was that their families, her and Declan’s, had known each other for years, even before coming over to America. Their mothers had been the best of friends for a long time, at least until Conor found out what the patriarch of the Flanagan family did for a living. But once he had, Conor severed ties with them, demanding that none of them even mention the Flanagan name again.
Her mother had meekly agreed to his demands, and since Reagan had been only a girl, she’d had no choice in the matter.
But her brothers…
They and Declan had been close, too close for Conor to rip them apart.
It was ultimately their loyalty to Declan that made Conor disown them.
Jimmy was another story entirely. Since he was only three years older than her, to their brothers, he had been too young to hang around them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try and follow them around every chance he got. Their mother may have been passive when it came to many things, but she had been unwilling to give Jimmy up.
So yeah, there was a strong possibility that Jimmy was hanging around Declan—especially if the rumors of him being back were true—and with the way Jimmy had been talking yesterday, he obviously had a reason for going to him of all people.
And that reason worried her.
But Reagan loved her brother, and she wasn’t going to give him up. “I don’t see how that’s possible. He’s been at the pub every night.” Sometimes for only an hour, but that was semantics.
“And you wouldn’t lie to me.”
“No.”
She could tell he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t argue the point. “Tell that brother of yours to steer clear of the Flanagans. We wouldn’t want him to become collateral damage.”
Reagan bristled. “Are you threatening my brother?”
“Merely making a point, love.”
He curled a hand around the back of her neck and squeezed, making her wince. Maybe she had been foolish in believing that he was any better than his brother. She was seeing that now.
“Stay out of trouble.”
He pressed his lips hard against her forehead before letting her go, walking out of the office without a look back. Shortly after he’d gone and the door chimed signaling his exit, the conversations started back up.
Reagan only had a moment to herself before Shan came barging in.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.” But she didn’t believe that herself, not entirely.
“What did he want?”
“It was nothing.”
“Are you—”
Reagan cut her off. “I’m sure. Is Niklaus…is he still out there?”
Frowning, Shan shook her head. “He left almost immediately after you came back here.”
She should have been glad, but she couldn’t deny the disappointment that slowly wormed through her. Even so, she said, “Good.” She pushed off her desk, grabbing her phone from her back pocket to send a quick text to her brother to call her as soon as he got the chance. As she was pocketing it, she ran over everything that had happened with Niklaus and remembered something. “What did you mean when you said he came by the diner asking about me?”
“He did. I had forgotten all about it until I saw him today—meant to tell you but I forgot.”
“What happened? When was this?”
“Maybe a year and a half ago? A little longer? And not much did happen. He came in, sat at a table with another guy. I took their order, he asked if you were working, and that was that. He didn’t stay too much longer after that. Which, let’s be honest, if he was looking for you then, that obviously means he’s popped up now for you.”
Reagan didn’t even want to contemplate that.
“But the real question is, what are you going to do about Liam? I’ve seen the way both of them look at you, and it’s only to one that you give the same look back.”
“I care nothing about Niklaus, Shan.”
Rolling her eyes, Shan swung the door open. “Of course not, but Liam won’t care that you don’t care about him, he’ll only care that he cares about you. And even if it’s not Liam that goes after him, his brother might just to prove a point.”
Yeah, that was what she was afraid of.
Shan headed back to the bar after that, leaving Reagan to her thoughts. Now, not only did she have to worry about her brother, she had to worry about Niklaus too. She almost hoped he wasn’t staying for long, just handling whatever business he came for then went back to wherever it was he came from.
Because she didn’t think he would be safe if Liam saw in her what Shan did.
Chapter Twenty