Page 91 of Mob Bride

I want to knock the patronizing expression off this fuckwad’s face.

“Yes, my client. I’m certain you’re aware I’m admitted to the state bars of New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Nevada, among others.”

Cormac, Dillan, and Seamus are all attorneys. They’re all licensed to practice in the states where we do the most business. Dillan didn’t get to practice for very long because he stepped into his role as mob boss about five years ago. He has other responsibilities to manage.

While Cormac handles our corporate ventures, Seamus handles our criminal. Depending on what they try to charge me with, Cormac will either continue to represent me, or he’ll hand me off to Seamus.

“You cannot be Mr. O’Rourke’s attorney. You have a conflict of interest.”

“Yes, I can. There’s nothing that prevents me from representing him in a situation like this where you have no warrant to arrest him. I’m free to give legal counsel to him as an attorney admitted to the state bar.”

Cormac crosses his arms, and his suit coat strains across his back and over his biceps. I swear the man has them tailored extra tight just for moments like this. I know most of us do. It’s an impressive sight for sure, especially when I join him and do the same thing. Granted, I don’t have my suit coat on right now.

I took that and my tie off and left it in my office when I made the call. It would look odd if I wore it now since I’m sure they staked out the house, at least for a little while before they came in. They know I’ve been here, so why would I wear my suit coat in my home if I’ve been here for several hours?

“So?” The agent’s face flushes with frustration.

Cormac cocks an eyebrow again. He won’t give an inch. “So what?”

“Who are you?”

“Cormac O’Rourke, Esquire.”

He tacks that on, matching the patronizing tone the agent’s had since he entered my home. Attorneys might have Esq. at the end of their name when it’s something formal, but they never introduce themselves with that title.

I smirk, and I don’t care who sees it. It’s distracting them from looking for Carrie. None of them have headed to the basement, even though several went upstairs. A female agent comes back and speaks to the first guy.

“Steve, we need him to unlock his office. It’s biometric.”

“Get the enforcer.”

I don’t agree with Steve’s call to use a battering ram on my office door. I shake my head.

“You’re going to repair the damages you do to my home.”

All they’re going to accomplish with that is scuffing up the door. No matter how strong the agent is, my office has a reinforced door just like the one to the panic room. They are not getting through with an enforcer. They could have a medieval battering ram, and they still wouldn’t get through.

I know I must comply, otherwise it’ll justify grounds for arrest. So, I walk over with the female officer. I recognized her voice from Carrie’s earlier phone calls.

This is Angela.

Her two handlers are leading this. I certainly know where their loyalties lie. It makes me wonder if they’re actually the leak. Do they have something going on with another syndicate that’s making them toss Carrie under the bus first? I’m a suspicious man by nature, and this is a suspicious situation.

I unlock the office door and push it open, stepping aside to let the agents enter first. This way nobody can claim I tried to hide anything. Cormac has his phone out. I know he’s been recording the audio since they came in. Now, he holds it up to video them searching my office.

“Mr. O’Rourke put that away.”

“No, I have the right to record what’s going on in my cousin’s private property. If you conduct the search properly, then there’s no reason for you to worry about me recording what happens.”

“That’s not how it’s going to work, Mr. O’Rourke. You have known ties to organized crime. I won’t have my agents’ faces recorded for you to pass along to your enforcers.”

“Enforcers? I’m not sure what you mean by that. What on earth could I enforce? I’m not a cop or a fed.”

Cormac’s tone sounds genuinely perplexed to anyone who doesn’t know him and who he is. He’s one of our two head enforcers. Seamus is the other one, partly because of their size, but also because as they grew bigger, they knew pretending likethey had the shortest fuse kept other kids from teasing them about being bigger than their classmates.

Despite Seamus being two months premature, he’s built like a mountain, just like Cormac. Steve—now I know the lead agent’s name—looks unimpressed with Cormac’s act. Again, none of this matters as long as it distracts them from looking harder for Carrie.

My ears are peeled to hear whether anybody opens the basement door. So far, no one has, but inevitably, someone will. I make myself as accommodating as I can while they turn everything over. They don’t find the safe—which doesn’t surprise me—because they don’t know what to look for. If they did, they would have found it. But I counted on them not having a clue I hid it in the fireplace.

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