Page 84 of Mob Knight

I’m hedging, and I’m certain he knows it. He observes me, and I know he’s giving me the chance to come clean. I offer him nothing, and I keep my expression neutral. I want to give nothing away. But maybe not being more expressive tells him more than my silence.

“Cormac, my family’s wealthy. It’s inevitable they’ve had contact with the cartels. Enrique’s fishing.”

I’m certain of the last part. The first part isn’t untrue either.

“What does your father do?”

“He’s the CEO of an investment firm.” My parents trained me to say that as soon as I was old enough to understand that question.

“And your mom?”

“She owns an art gallery.”

“Did you and your brother move here at the same time?”

I shake my head. “I came a couple years before him. He came for work, then his MBA. He’s in his last year at Columbia. I left Mexico and went straight into grad school here. He took a few years off between undergrad and grad school.”

My heart’s racing even though I keep my breathing steady. I need to change the topic fast.

“What does your mom do?”

“She’s an orthodontist.”

That surprises me. I don’t know why, but it does.

“No wonder everyone’s teeth are perfect in your family.”

It’s true. They could all be on a toothpaste or teeth whitening commercial.

“Yeah, well, we all had braces around the same time, so I don’t think anyone ate a potato chip in our family for three years. It wasn’t worth facing her with a broken bracket.”

“Is—is?—”

“Yes, my dad and uncles are in, but they’re as retired as one can be. With six sons among them, the three of them stepped back once all of us were in our positions.”

He only offers that, so I don’t ask. It’s one thing for me to know his family is mob. It’s another to poke around.

This is the first time we’ve been at a loss for what to say next. We’ve talked about our families before, but we’ve studiously stayed away from his dad’s occupation, so he hasn’t asked me about my parents’. Because I didn’t think I should ask about his dad, I didn’t ask about his mom either.

“What would you like to do today, little one?”

My heart slows now that we’re moving on. “I don’t know. It’s a nice day out. Do you want to go for a run?”

“Sure.”

I’ve started keeping some clothes here since I come over at least twice a week, and I spend most of the weekend here. I have a toothbrush, a bottle of perfume, and a contact case and saline in his bathroom. He has my favorite kind of cereal on top of his fridge and my preferred flavors of Greek yogurt inside. I’ve kept a toothbrush at a few guys’ places, but I’ve never arrived one day and found foods I like in their fridge. It makes me think Cormac wants something long term, but we still haven’t defined our relationship beyond we’re dating exclusively and are sexually monogamous.

We change and head out. The sun’s bright and warm with a light breeze. It’s perfect. I know it has to be hot for Cormac since he’s wearing a sweatshirt. I know he has his gun holstered at his lower back. I don’t know how that’s comfortable. Maybe he’s just so used to it he doesn’t think about it.

When we get to the end of the first block, we have to stop for the light. I glance back and recognize Finn jogging toward us.

“Cor, Finn’s coming.”

“I know. I texted him while you were in the bathroom. He’s joining us on the run. I don’t feel comfortable not having guards with us even though we’re in my neighborhood. I want to make sure we’re extra cautious.”

“And you need your cousin to do that?”

“Absolutely.”

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