Page 43 of The Cleaner

She has a lot of affection for her foster mam. I can hear it every time she talks about her. I had assumed when she saidMamaí, she meant her birth mam. Now I know that it's her foster mother. "I'm sorry about your ma," I say softly.

She lifts her head and gives me a wobbly smile. "Thanks. It was a long time ago now and she's in a better place. What about you? Is Callie your only sibling?"

I allow her to change the subject, knowing that talking about her biological mam is hard. She was thirteen when she died, and while I'd like to know what happened, especially with her asshole of a father, this isn't the time.

"Yeah, just Callie and I. Mam and Da had more than enough with the two of us. Not to mention, Mam had both Stephen and Freddie at the house more often than not. You met Freddie the night your friend was..." I trail off and she nods. "Then Emmanuel was there. It was a full house constantly."

She's watching me with rapt attention, her hands firmly pressed around the cup. "Really? What was it like? I never had that. Although, once I moved in with Orna, we met Tammy and Clodagh and we became inseparable."

"Tammy's Clodagh's foster mam, right?" I ask, remembering when I dropped her home that night. Also noting that her parents are dead.

"Yeah, it's easier to bond when you've both been through shit," she mumbles. "I think Orna wanted me to have someone I could talk to, but neither Clodagh nor I were ready. Instead, we got drunk, partied, and had fun," she says with a smile. "Poor Orna and Tammy... I swear, they aged about a decade in the span of six months."

I watch her. She's good at hiding what she's feeling and I fucking hate that. There's a lot that I don't know about her. I want to ask. I want to pry. But I know that’s not going to happen right now. If I push, I could end up sending her running. That’s not fucking happening. I’ve just got her. There’s no way I’m letting her go.

She’s watching me. She has so much sadness in her eyes that she's trying to mask, and I want nothing more than to erase it. I reach out and gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sounds like you and Clodagh gave them a run for their money," I say with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

She laughs softly. "Oh, we definitely did. But they never gave up on us. Orna and Tammy are saints, truly."

I can see the love and gratitude in her eyes when she talks about her foster mother. I want to know why her dad left, what the fuck happened, and why he would up and leave. He’s a bastard, that’s for sure. Ain’t no man worth shit if he runs from his kid. I know Lisa will tell me everything when she's ready.

"So, what time do you need to head out to see Orna and Devin?" I ask, wondering how much time we have.

She glances at her phone and I hear her sigh. "In a while. I need to go home and shower before I go to them." She lifts the coffee to her lips and takes a drink. "Thank you for an amazing night, Mav. I really had the best time."

I narrow my eyes. "Why does it sound like you're about to leave and never come back?"

She stares at me with big, wide eyes. "I don't know," she confesses softly. "I'm not used to this. I have no idea what to expect."

"Expect that I'm going to be around, that I'm going to be present. Today you're spending time with your family. Tomorrow night you're mine."

Tonight I have a job to do. This isn't for Jer, but for The Agency. I have a fucker who's trafficking women into the country and he's not going to leave. I'll make sure he doesn't get to take any more women. So tonight is off-limits. I don't want that shit around Lisa. I don't want any of my jobs to blow back on her. Not fucking ever.

"Okay," she says with a smile as she pushes her phone in my direction. "You never gave me your number," she tells me.

I quickly input my number and call my phone from hers. "Where do you want to meet tomorrow?" I ask.

She flashes me a grin. "My place. Your house is nice and all, but my house is home," she says softly with a shrug. "Anyway, I'd better get moving. I need to get dressed and get going."

I watch as she rushes toward my room. I'm smiling because she's crazy if she thinks I'm letting her get home by herself.

I follow her into the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe as she gathers her clothes from last night. She's still wearing my T-shirt, and I'm not in any hurry for her to take it off. She's adorably flustered, her cheeks flushing pink as she realises I'm watching her.

"I'll drive you home," I say, my tone leaving no room for argument.

She pauses, looking up at me with those big brown eyes. "You don't have to do that, Mav. I can grab a taxi."

I shake my head. "Not happening, babe. I'm taking you."

She bites her lip, considering, then nods. "Okay, thank you."

She hesitates, clearly unsure about changing in front of me. It's adorable how shy she still is, even after last night. But I don’t move. I watch as she gets dressed, and I can't help but admire her body. The curves, the softness—all mine now. I've never been possessive before, but with Lisa, everything feels different. Once she's ready, we head out to my car.

The drive to Lisa's place is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. I keep stealing glances at her, admiring her profile as she looks out the window. She catches me once and gives me a shy smile that makes my heart skip a beat. Fuck, I'm in deep already. I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

As we pull up to her building, I put the car in park but don't turn it off. Lisa turns to me, her hand on the door handle.

---