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"I tried once, but she didn’t answer," Rowento call Aengus?"

I thu it "Not yet Hopefully the gardai do so useful" They should have been there by now I’m halfway tempted to jump in the car and drive down the street, only for all I know these guys are waiting for a green MINI to show up Aengus has borrowed it enough tiardai round the corner and they take off, they’ll just be back later, in a different car Knowing Aengus, he’ll caot blood on his hands" I shouldn’t have to spell it out "We’re protecting hiht away If he doesn’t knohere the threat’s co to be two bodies outside our house" I shake my head "Ma would collapse with that news"

He opens his h the door with a silver briefcase in her hand

"You weren’t kidding"

She sets it down on the coffee table, dialing the lock co it open "Do I look like a kidder?"

"No, you don’t," I ht splinter with too wide a s this, here?" Rowen reaches for the tattoo gun but she swats his hand away before he actually , I’ll do you after I do him" I don’t know if she meant it to sound like it does but there’s usually only one way that Roill take soht

I roll my eyes At least my little brother’s easily distracted from more serious problems with her around "Thanks for the offer, but don’t you need to make a transfer of the sketch?" That’s what they did for my other one

"All I need is this" She jabs Rowen’s chest with her finger, right over the stag on his pub shirt

"Freehand?"

"Yup And I’ll do it better than any transfer" Deadpan She’s not even being arrogant She believes it "What’s wrong Scared?"

"No Worried Is this all clean and hygienic and stuff?"

"More than you probably are," I think I hear under her breath, but I can’t be sure I keep my mouth shut and down the rest ofroo table laed needles

"Seriously, why do you have all this stuff when you work in a shop?"

"Because I like to be prepared So?" She kicks out the chair with her socked foot "What else do you have to do while you’re pretending not to be hiding frolance

"Fuck it" I crawl out ofthe back of my T-shirt, I slide it over my head and toss it to the side

Her eyes skate over the phoenix and then raise toabout it "You sit here You?" She snaps her finger at Rowen and then points at the chair beside her "Here"

"I wouldn’t be too de of him if I were you," I warn "He likes it when birds boss hi I can’t stand about Ireland," she ht side ofcalled a ‘bird’ "

"What’s wrong with being called a bird?"

"Do you think I have feathers?"

"I know you don’t have feathers" Rowen peers up at her face as she leans into his chest to study the stag on his T-shirt "Though it’s hard to tell either ith that big tent covering you"

She ignores his co in her shirt--and punches a few buttons into her phone Music puht