Page 218 of Forced Vows

Relief flickering in his eyes, Brogan's man nods. He needs to see that his former charge is safe. I get that.

I would have had him assigned to Róise's detail permanently after she moved in with me. However, she told me that her younger cousin is comfortable with the soldier and she didn't want to take Ollie away from Fiona.

But if there is one Irishman I would allow on my payroll, it's him.

Chapter 76: RÓISE

A sleek passenger helicopter is waiting for us on the roof of my uncle's warehouse, but Miceli wants me to change into dry clothes before we get on.

"It's a short flight," I argue, just wanting to get home. "Please. I'll even let you have a doctor look me over."

He's not impressed. "You know that's happening regardless."

"I want to go home."

Something flares in his eyes when I say that. "Whatever you want, vitù."

His life? Warmth spreads through me.

"Don't break out the Sicilian if you don't want our bodyguards to get a show on the helicopter," I tease, only half joking.

Miceli is to die for sexy when he starts speaking Italian, but when he uses the Sicilian dialect, I know his emotions are involved. And that's a bigger turn-on than any romance language could be, even uttered in that deep tone that goes straight to my ladybits.

"I would have to kill anyone who saw you in that state of passion," he says musingly, like he's considering it.

Laughing, I scoot around him and climb into the helicopter. The joy inside me is weird, considering what I just went through.

But I'm safe and I'm with Miceli. Two things to make me very happy.

Once we're buckled into side-by-side seats, he takes my hand and kisses the palm right above the shallow cuts. "I am sorry."

"What? Why are you apologizing?" Is he done with me?

Has he decided I really am too much trouble?

I cut my spiraling thoughts off. What is wrong with me?

Miceli cares about me and I'm beginning to believe he loves me. I mean, he called me his life. That's pretty big, no matter how I look at it.

I shake my head, dislodging the negative thoughts.

"I let you get kidnapped." He kisses my palm again. "But it will never happen again.

"It wasn't your fault. Gabriel Lion has to have someone on the inside of my uncle's organization."

Miceli nods. "The sonar would have picked up the three men and no alert was given. But I should have told you not to go to the boathouse. Your uncle should have an underwater patrol."

I want to say that's overkill. I'm pretty sure it is, regardless of what happened to me. "Maybe underwater robots?"

Like the kind they used to search for Nessie in Loch Ness. Sometimes, the Scots get it right. Not that I'll tell my moma that. The rivalry between Ireland and Scotland is alive and well in her heart, despite one of our forebearers being a Scottish immigrant in Ireland.

"I'll suggest it to him."

And by suggest, I'm pretty sure my fiancé means, argue until my uncle sees reason. Either that, or my days hanging out in the boathouse with my cousins are over.

"After what happened to me, he'll listen. It doesn't look good for a mob boss to have a family member kidnapped from under his nose. Besides, that could have been his grandson."

Uncle Brogan loves us all, but Fitz is important to him. The little boy is his heir and that's paramount to a man like Uncle Brogan.

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