Maybe. Okay, probably not. In fact no, I wouldn’t have. The first ten years of my life ensured that the last person I’d listen to was a Sidhe.

‘Fine,’ I snapped. ‘I’ll do what you want. Release Taylor from his debt though and let Speck and Brochan go.’

‘That will happen when you’ve done what we require.’

My eyes flashed. ‘You don’t trust me.’

‘You’re a thief, Integrity. Why would I trust you?’

‘It’s not just my name. I’ve got more integrity in my little finger than the Sidhe will ever have. No matter who my father was.’

He shrugged. ‘We’ll have to agree to distrust each other then. We’ll go to the Clan lands, you’ll help us with the Foinse, then you can go back to your oh-so-wonderful criminal existence.’

I hated him. I really, really hated him. I stood up and, as he moved his head to watch me, his hair fell across his eyes. Damn it. I also still lusted after him. Awkward.

‘First,’ I said, as calmly as I could, ‘I need a shower and a change of clothes. Second, I need to tell Taylor what is going on. Once I have achieved both those things, I will come and meet you.’

‘I’m not letting you out of my sight.’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘you are. I will present myself at the Sidhe court this evening. Until then, you’ll have to wait.’

And, with that, I stalked out.

Chapter Nine

Taylor couldn’t stop shaking his head. ‘All this time? They’ve been watching you all this time? How could we not have known?’

‘I doubt they’ve been staking me out twenty-four hours a day. They probably just check on me from time to time.’

‘But this is ridiculous! I’m a professional, Tegs. I should know when someone is watching me.’

I walked over to him and held his head in my hands. ‘Stop jiggling your head around like that. It’s making me nauseous.’

‘Sorry. But to keep tabs like that… Do you think they were watching during the Scone job?’

I bit my lip. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. Whether they were watching or not, they didn’t do anything to stop us. They’ve always chosen to take a hands-off approach.’ I frowned. ‘Until now, of course.’

‘Do you think they’ll leave you alone? After you help them reach this Fonzie thing?’

‘Foinse,’ I corrected him absently. ‘And right now, I doubt it. I do this for them and then in a couple of years’ time there’ll be something else, then something else, then something else. I’ll never be free.’ I met his eyes. ‘I’m sorry. It turns out that all this mess is my fault.’

‘If I’d not gambled…’