Page 96 of Mob Bride

“Shh. Carrie, calm down.”

“Calm down? You know that is not the right thing to say right now.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but let me explain. They’re totally fine. The police tried to intimidate them, but I’ve met your mom. I know her well enough to know the only people who left that conversation intimidated were those police officers. I know of your dad, so I’m certain they didn’t look to him for reassurance.”

“That’s true.”

“You get your spunk from your mom.”

“I may have heard that once or twice before.”

“When we go over there, you’re going to have to explain everything to them.”

“I know. I thought about it while I was down here. I hate it, but I can’t keep this from them any longer.”

“We also need to think about what this means for us.”

She goes rigid.

“Carrie, I’m not saying we’re breaking up or anything like that. I’m not sure how you see me, but this won’t drive us apart.”

“I don’t know what to call what’s going on between us, either. We’ve never been on a date, but you definitely don’t feel like a fuck buddy.”

“I will never be your fuck buddy. That implies we walk away after we’re done. That won’t happen.”

“Good. Otherwise, I might have to chain you to my bed.”

“You can try, but you’d have to be quicker than me. I intend to keep you naked and in my bed for a month once we get this straightened out.”

“Promise, Daddy.”

“Bet your bottom dollar, little girl.”

I squeeze her arse while we grin at one another, then give each other a quick smacking kiss. It only takes me a moment to fix the chair and wipe down the surfaces she points to. Can’t be too careful. We head back upstairs, and Cormac greets her. I can tell he’s relieved she isn’t upset. It’s not like he runs from crying females, but he and Seamus are the two shy ones in the family.

I know he would feel badly if he saw her upset. He’d feel like he invaded her privacy more than he did barging in on us earlier. Thank God, we all have ears like dogs, and I heard him coming up the stairs. Granted, he certainly was loud enough to wake the dead. That reminds me.

“Cor, tell the others no more coming in anymore without a text or a call.”

“We already knew that. You didn’t answer your phone. I figured you might not have had it near you. It’s the only reason I let myself in.”

Carrie’s face goes beet red, and I shrug. I don’t know if she’s embarrassed because of what Cormac interrupted today or the implication the open-door policy at my place ended because the guys might walk in on something in the future. Before we all started to pair off, we came and went from each other’s homes without knocking.

Now that there’re so many couples, we make sure we call or text before we even get to the driveway. Then we let them know when we’re coming in the door. Sean and I had anunfortunate incident walking in on Finn and his wife. Neither he nor I saw anything happening, but Ally was less covered up than they would have wanted. I don’t want Carrie in another compromising situation like when Cormac arrived.

The three of us finish cleaning up my house. Carrie’d changed while she was in the panic room. I tossed the stuff she borrowed into the washing machine and started a load with just those items. My mom wouldn’t approve of wasting water and electricity for two items. I know she’d understand, but I still have a guilty conscience. Before we leave, I take Carrie into the living room, so I can explain what’s going to happen.

“Cormac and I will help you hide behind some storage bins we’ll stack in his trunk. As soon as we’re far enough away to convince me no one’s going to pull him over and search his vehicle, you can climb into the backseat, so you’re not squashed anymore. We won’t stop until we get to Sean’s house. I don’t doubt somebody’ll follow us, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll pull us over somewhere they know they don’t control the scene. A swarm of agents on the side of the road would draw too much attention, and they know sending only a couple wouldn’t be good for those agents’ health.”

Chapter Twenty

Carrie

Hearing someone’ll follow us after my colleagues just ransacked my boyfriend’s—my lover’s—my fuck buddy’s—no, he was adamant we’re not that—but I still don’t know what to consider him—house is hardly reassuring.

“We’ll be fine, Carrie. We’ll pull straight into Sean’s garage. All of us have multiple garage door openers just for this reason. That and none of us enjoy being wet and cold in winter. It’s how Cormac pulled straight into mine. He has a garage door opener for here.”

His family is ever practical, if nothing else.

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