Page 62 of Mob Bride

“If it’s not them for this, then it’s them for something else. That’s always the case.”

“Yeah, but this is what I’m building my investigation on. This is what my boss expects from me. It’s to dig into the Kutsenkos.”

“Can I ask you what evidence besides the spy in the Cartel leads you to think it’s the bratva who’s extending into Eastern Europe?”

“Much of the same things as you said. Their existing relationships in history, mostly. But we know there’s been more money changing hands over there. We’re working on the assumption it’s for the drugs.”

We pull up to my house, and I drive straight into my garage. When she reaches for the door, I put my hand on her thigh and press.

“No, Carrie, you never get out of a car without either a guard or me waiting for you. If we’re pulling into a garage with a driver, you wait until the door is at most an inch from the ground. If you’re alone, only then do you turn off the engine and get out. Even if you’re with me, you wait until I turn off the car before you open the door.”

“Oh, you mean in case you suddenly have to back out in a hurry or in case somebody tries to shoot under the door?”

“Or throw a grenade. There’re many things. You don’t get out of a car in a boxed-in space until you’re sure you’re alone.”

I watch her swallow as she nods. “I feel like that’s something so common-sense they should have taught us at the Academy. I’ve done that on instinct when I would check in with my handlers at the safe house.”

“It is, but we don’t want to give away all our secrets.”

That was the wrong thing to say. She assesses me, and her gaze bores into my soul.

“Shane, you guys are the ones, aren’t you?”

The question dangles in the air, and I’m not quick enough to respond because this is one of those times where I’ve already told her enough outright lies. Now I’m opting for the lie of omission because she needs to decide what she’ll do with that information. Even if I try to deny it, it’s too obvious to her we’re the ones responsible for the drugs expanding farther into Europe. Her shoulders hunch as she leans back into the seat. She tilts her head back with her eyes closed. I don’t press her for her thoughts, and after a moment, she shakes her head and reaches for the door again.

I let her get out, then lead her into my place. Her gaze sweeps over the entryway and into the living room and beyond to the kitchen. It’s a far larger home—a more family-oriented space—than you’d expect for a bachelor, but all of us believe our homes are our sanctuaries. It’s where we go to get away from the outside world and away from the men we have to be. I like my place being cozy. It has touches someone might stereotypically expect a woman to have. I like throw cushions and extra blankets, and I like a sofa that screams take a nap on me. She notices that as well as more of the decor.

I have family photos on the walls, which is something only my parents and aunts and uncles do. None of the other guys have put up photos in their bachelor pads. Mostly because of the chance someone could raid us, and that would just connect more and more people to us. I’ve been very selective about who’s in the background and where those photos were taken before I put them up on the wall. But it’s reassuring to me when I come home each day.

She walks over to a picture of a stunning redhead I’m standing with my arms around and laughing. She looks at me before turning back to the photo. It would almost look like the woman and I are a couple.

“Shane, have you been married before? Are you with somebody?”

Chapter Fourteen

Carrie

I think I’m going to be sick as I wait for an answer.

“No,cailín, that’s my cousin. That’s Dillan’s little sister.”

I speak in the present tense as though she’s still with us because the idea of using the past tense is too final. It’s too real that she’s never coming back. I’m not in denial, but I also don’t need to rip my heart apart.

“That’s Colleen? She was breathtaking, with a slightly darker shade of red hair but the same brilliant emerald eyes.”

“Yeah, see those dimples? I remember exactly when that photo was taken. She’d just convinced my parents I was the one who let our family dog run through the house and leave muddy prints all over the carpet, when in actual fact, she did it knowing full well my parents would blame me for it.”

“But the hug you’re giving her?—”

“I know how we look together if you don’t notice how similar our faces are. Dillan snapped that photo right before I picked her up, hoisted her over my shoulder, and hauled her out to the pool, where I dumped her in fully clothed.”

My mouth opens in a perfect circle of surprise. From the scorching look Shane gives me, it does things to him. I glance down at the bulge in his pants. It does things to his cock. My guess is he’s picturing my lips wrapped around it. This isn’t the right time to get even wetter than I already am. I’m a sloppy mess when I’m around Shane.

“Your whole family really is that close, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, we are by necessity, but we also are by choice. I genuinely like hanging out with my brothers and cousins. We’ve all been best friends since—well—as long as any of us can remember. Finn and Dillan have a unique friendship. I guess because they’re a few years older than the rest of us, and the two who were always on their own. Sean and I came as a package deal, so there’s never been one without the other. Seamus was two months premature, so for most of the year he and Cormac are the same age. They’ve been inseparable just like Sean and me because of it. That’s always meant Finn and Dillan are the ones who don’t have a second pea in a pod without each other. But even beyond that, we’re still all close.”

“That’s an interesting family dynamic.” I can imagine but not fully understand that since I’m an only child.

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