Page 48 of Mob Princess

“I hate that I’m leaving soon. I don’t want our time together to be over. And I’m worried about you.”

“Our time together isn’t over, nounours. Just today is. If Seamus and Cormac are anything like you, then I’ll be safer than all the gold relics hidden beneath the Vatican. No one will know where I am unless I want them to. I’m confident your cousins will keep me safe. If not for my sake, then for yours. I’ll see what mood Ewan is in, and if he’s going to be shitty, then I’ll go to a hotel.”

“Promise me you’ll go to Montreal or come back here if it’s dangerous. Dangerous by what I would deem it, not what you’re willing to put up with.”

She grins at me. “I’d be running away with a paper cut if I went by your standard. You can’t surround me in bubble wrap. Ewan’s moods aren’t new to me.”

“But being involved with a rival is.” At least, I assume it is.

She hands me the soap and stands still, letting the water rinse her off. “No, I haven’t been involved with any of my family’s rivals. Not on either side.”

She read my fear. It was something I purposely hid—tried to hide—from her. She could tell. It’s eerie how fast that was. Only Shane can do that. My cousins take a minute or two.

We finish, and I push open the shower door, handing her a towel. She wraps it around her hair as I pass her another one. I dry off before wrapping one around my waist. I open the bathroom door and hear someone knocking. No one’s yelling, so it probably isn’t Justin. Lina’s gaze dashes to my towel, then out toward the suite’s living room. I grin as I step into the bedroom as though I plan to answer the door as I am. She reaches for me, but I sidestep. I grab my boxer briefs and put them on, then my pants. She watches as she combs her hair.

“My gun’s on the bedside table. Stay in here with the door closed until I come for you.”

“But you won’t have a gun.”

I pull a knife from each pocket. “I’ll check the peephole before I open the door.”

She nods as I walk out. I hurry across the sitting area, a knife in my right hand. I check to see who’s there. It’s Cormac and Seamus.

“Prátaí.” Potato.

Cormac responds. “Cabáiste.” Cabbage.

Anything besides those two words means it’s not safe to open the door. I unlock it and step aside as I pull on the handle. My cousins are built like gladiators. We’re all big in my family. Every man stands at least a couple inches over six feet. All of us are in the two-twenty to two-thirty range, except for them. Their heavy arses are nearly two-fifty. Believe me. I know. I’ve carried both of their dead weight. We all have single digit body fat because we work out and stay active.

Three brothers married three sisters and along came our generation. Their dad is the biggest, but my dad and Dillan’s are close behind. Seamus and Cormac just came out behemoths—and Seamus was two months early.

“Lina’s in the bedroom getting ready. Let me finish, then we’ll explain.”

“She knows you’re leaving?” Cormac’s looking over my shoulder toward the shut bedroom door.

“Yeah. But I didn’t say where or why.”

They nod. I head back to the bedroom and find Lina in a pair of jeans and cute shirt. She hands me my suit coat, shirt, and tie. I button up the shirt but stuff my tie in my pants pocket. I holster the gun at my lower back then slip on my suit coat.

“We don’t have to explain your family history, but we need to let them know enough for them to protect you.”

“I’m going to have to tell them at some point.”

“Nothing you don’t want to. Unless you want to tell the story twice, we should wait until we’re with Shane, Finn, and Dillan, too.”

She nods, and I’m certain nothing about that sounds appealing. She steps into a pair of flats and walks to where I’m standing beside the door. I open it and let her go past. I slide my hand into hers as we approach my cousins. Neither looks surprised. They’ve met women I’ve hooked up with in the past. There’s a girl from high school we’re all intimately acquainted with. But they haven’t seen me hold a woman’s hand since freshman year of college. The last time I had a girlfriend. The last time I thought I could have some semblance of a normal life.

I know them as well as I know myself. They aren’t hiding their shock. They expected this. We’ve been through this with Dillan and Finn already. They know she’s special to me, which means she’s who I want for good. They know I wouldn’t bring anyone around our family if I didn’t think it was for the long haul. It’s too dangerous for all of us. For the woman, if she gets caught in the middle and for us if she narcs.

“Lina, this is Seamus and Cormac.” I point to each cousin. “This is Nikki.”

My switching names doesn’t faze them either. She glances up at me, confused. I’m not sharing a state secret, but I want my explanation to stay intimate. “The men in my family tend to pick names for their partners only they share with each other. Lina is mine.”

She gazes up at me. “What’s your middle name?”

“Dermot.”

We both laugh. Neither of us wants to use that. Sean is too short to turn into anything else.

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