Kieran looked sideways at Mistral. "Are you familiar with the Crown?"

"I'm going to assume that you're referring to the criminal organization and not the current reigning monarch of Britain." She paused for confirmation, eyes on the road that she was currently navigating, and Kieran nodded in answer. "In which case, I think that familiar is a relatively strong word to use. I know who they are and I know what they do, but not much else beyond that."

Kieran nodded once more. "There are few who do."

"And I'm also going to assume that you're one of those few," Mistral interjected dryly.

An expression that verged on bemusement colored Kieran's features as he blinked at her. "Of course."

Mistral hid her smile, keeping her gaze on the road ahead, and Kieran cocked his head to the side as he studied her. "That amuses you."

"I suppose that it does." Mistral angled her chin in acquiescence to his words, amusement still playing in the corners of her mouth.

"Why?" Kieran asked. "You know who you am, and you know what I do," he responded, repeating her words of earlier.

Smile growing, Mistral tilted her head, mirroring his actions. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that you were fishing for my opinion of you."

Kieran frowned distastefully, turning his attention back to the road. "I do not fish for anything, much less the opinion of my bodyguard."

At that, Mistral threw her head back and laughed. "I like you, Kieran Stone."

His eyes flicked to her, analytical surprise tinting their depths. "You might be in singular in that regard," Kieran replied, replacing the surprise with his custom neutrality.

"Oh, trust me; I'm not." Mistral, grinning brazenly, winked at him before returning the conversation to its former topic. "Before I diverted us on this lovely little tangent, I believe that you were about to divulge all of the Crown's dark, dirty secrets to me?"

Amusement darted across Kieran's features. "I was about to divulge all of the Crown's dark, dirty secrets to you. Certainly."

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A/N:

God, this chapter is short. But... it's Kieran. And I'm not saying that makes up for it, but... it kind of does. Right? At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this installment; be sure to vote if you did! Also, is it just me or is Kieran warming up to Mistral? How do we feel about that? I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, myself XD let me know in the comments, though! And, most importantly, have a wonderful day/night ^.^