Page 12 of Mob Knight

Yeah. Let’s blame it on traffic. Dillan and I both know that’s bullshit, but he backs off.

“Sean’ll let you know what comes of the Bangladesh deal. Banged up ribs or not, maybe a night at your club will do you some good.”

I respond with a noncommittal grunt. Tying a woman up, spanking her, then fucking her into next week is usually the best solution to a fucked-up day. Even though things are over with Deirdre, I can still go to my club. Our contract included a monogamy clause, which I’m certain she broke now that I know Makayla broke that clause with Seamus. I had women I’d scene with before Deirdre, and we sometimes went together and included another woman. So, I’m not without options, and I don’t need to fuck some random woman either.

But it holds no appeal. My dick doesn’t even twitch at the idea. I’m too fucking tired.

“Nah. I’m going home, soaking in the bath, and going to bed early. I’m wiped.”

“Talk to you tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

If we were the only family that was affectionate and demonstrative, then people would call us weak. But all Four Families—the Mancinellis, the Kutsenkos, the Diazes, and us—are all the same. No one hides our devotion to our family, and no one doubts we’ll each put our family ahead of absolutely everything in this life and the next. We’re stronger for it, which is a pain in the arse because it means the balance of power is constantly shifting. No one family is on top, or at least not for long.

It takes me another thirty minutes before I pull into my garage in Boerum Hills in Brooklyn. I nodded to my security detail parked around my block as I drove by. I live in a quiet area, and I like it that way. Only Finn got a place in the city—SoHo—and that was only to make life easier since he owns several restaurants, bars, and nightclubs mostly in Manhattan.

The rest of us preferred not to be in Manhattan like the other bachelors our ages. We prefer hiding in plain sight as opposed to the flashy penthouses. The other families think we can’t afford them. We can afford them twenty times over because we don’t waste our money on stupid shite like that. We like our privacy, and there’s no such thing in Manhattan.

Once I’m in my place, I make a beeline to the kitchen. My latest batch of kombucha is ready, so I pour myself a glass. It tastes like straight up arse, but I swear it’s why I’m the only one in my family who never gets colds. Like never. The moment I feel a tickle, I kill it with this vinegar-flavored shite. I was feelingunder the weather this morning, and now I feel like arse. I beg my tastebuds for forgiveness and down the brew.

My phone vibrates in my pocket as I walk away from the dishwasher and head to my bedroom.

MP

Meredith Prichard. My chest tightens. Is this about Joey?

“Hello.”

“Good evening, Cor.”

Fuck. She’s pissed I gave her number out.

“What’s up?”

“I spoke to a delightful young woman about an hour ago. Imagine my surprise.”

“Is Jocelyn all right?”

“Her elbow wasn’t as bad as she suspected. She tweaked it but didn’t dislocate it. She also has a mildly sprained wrist. She felt a migraine coming on from a bump on her head.”

“What? She said nothing about hitting her head.” That pisses me off.

“With the fuss you made about her elbow, she said she didn’t trust you not to drag her to the ER and demand an MRI on the spot. I made a house call and checked her out. No signs of a concussion, but I gave her the protocol and instructions to follow up with her doctor in the morning.”

“Does she know you’re telling me all of this?”

Doctor-patient confidentiality is a little murky in our world.

“Yes. She assumed I’d call you to tell you she’d called me. She said I could share all of that.”

“Anything else? Anything more serious?”

I don’t want to admit how anxious I am. I’m in my room, stripping off my ruined suit. I examine my ribs in the mirror as I listen to Meredith. They need wrapping, but I don’t need a doctor to do that. I have plenty of experience doing it for myself.

“No. Cormac, why did you send her to me?”

“She didn’t want to go to the ER.”

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