Page 79 of Mob Knight

I’m just about to explain when I spot motion over Mr. O’Rourke’s shoulder. It’s Cormac, and he’s clearly on a mission.As much as I want to burst through the door and run to him, I know better than that. It’s the best way to make us all easy targets. So, I wait until he comes through the door. Then I’m in his arms. His parents step away, giving us a moment of privacy.

He twists us so his back is to everybody. Once again, shielding me like he always does, which is a good thing because the kiss we share is not anything anybody should watch. It’s a good thing he has a suit coat on that’s buttoned. Otherwise, the entire world would know just how hard he got in the space of two seconds. The moment he slides his hand up my skirt, he’ll know how wet he made me.

“Cailín, I’m so glad you’re okay. That terrified me.”

“You and me both. Daddy, thank you so much for coming for me and for sending your parents.”

“Of course, little one, I’ll always come for you.”

He winks at the double entendre, and it melts the last dregs of fear. I waggle my eyebrows at him, and he relaxes, happy to see I’m not panicked.

“We’re going to go to my parents’ house. My brother and cousins are going to meet us there.”

“All right.”

I know it’s not like I have a choice, so it wouldn’t matter if that wasn’t what I wanted. However, I’ll go anywhere Cormac goes right now, as long as we stay together.

When he slips his hand into mine and intertwines our fingers, once again, I feel like I can breathe. That same sense of relief I had when I was a little girl and my mom took my hand after getting separated from my parents is back, but it only lasts for a moment before it morphs into something different because it’s Cormac I’m with.

As I look up at him, he brushes the pad of his thumb over my cheek and gazes down at me. We’re not alone, so neither of us is going to say what we’re thinking, but I think it’s the same thing.I hope he understands from my expression. He mouths the word “later,” and now I’m sure he does.

I dip my chin before he kisses me again, this one just a soft brushing of our lips. We head outside with a swarm of guards around us. Billy and Malcolm are waiting near a car, and Mr. and Mrs. O’Rourke have their own bodyguards, plus men who came with Cormac. It feels like a small army. I’m certainly not going to complain. His parents get into an SUV while Cormac and I climb into a town car.

Any time we’ve ridden in one, the privacy glass is always up before we even get in. This time is no different. We’ve fucked in the backseat of them numerous times now, and he’s reassured me we’re hardly the only couple in his family to do that, and that’s part of the reason they keep the fleet so pristine.

That made my nose curl and made him chuckle.

Right now, I know just like every other time we ride together, I should sit in my seat with my belt on. Irrationally, I feel far safer being in Cormac’s arms, having him hold on to me as I sit on his lap, than I do being by myself, even just a few inches from him.

We don’t say anything, just embrace, and that’s what I need right now. I need a respite from this and the opportunity to let my mind rest and my emotions settle because I can only imagine the hell that’s about to break loose once Cormac decides what to do next.

Chapter Eighteen

Cormac

When we get to my parents’ house and walk in, we find my aunts already there. After a round of introductions, which included properly introducing Joey to my parents, my dad gives my mom a kiss rivaling the one I gave Joey when I got to her in the library, and my mom wasn’t even in any danger. He gives me a quick hug and offers Joey one, too.

Then he takes off for a meeting with my uncles that’s been on the calendar for weeks. My mom and aunts practically yank Joey from me, and within moments have her laughing hysterically at my expense. You will never find three women more devoted to their family than my mom and aunts, and part of that devotion includes teasing the men in our family ruthlessly and mercilessly.

Even my ears are aflame. I can feel heat radiating from my cheeks, my forehead, even my chin as I listen to them tell stories about me from when I was little. The kindest thing any of them have said about me so far is Aunt Siobhan calling me precocious.

Tears stream down Joey’s face as she listens to these stories, and I’d do anything to melt into the floor. It’s hardly the bestlight I’d like my girlfriend to see me in. But hearing her laughter and seeing her smile after I know how scared she was today is everything to me. So, if they want to have a hearty laugh at my expense, I can live with that.

By the time Seamus arrives with Finn and Shane, I’m ready to escape into my dad’s study. We wait there for Dillan and Sean to arrive. Then we close the door to the sound of the women clinking wine glasses together.

Lord, that’s all I need is my mom and aunts getting my girlfriend sloshed. I should have warned her they can drink all of us under the table. They’ve been imbibing Irish whiskey since they were old enough to hold their own sippy cups. It almost tempts me to go back and warn Joey, but I know she’s in excellent hands with them.

I turn my attention to my brother and cousins.

“I want to know who the feck did this to Joey. I want them at the station in the next thirty minutes.” I know that’s an unrealistic expectation, but my temper is about to get the better of me.

“I’m already working on it, Cor.”

I nod to Dillan, and I believe him, but that doesn’t make me any less impatient.

“If I have to scour the streets on my own to find these motherfeckers, I will. There’s no way this was some accident or some coincidence. They definitely targeted Joey.”

“We don’t doubt that, Cor. But the little you gave us in the texts isn’t enough to really get a solid picture of who we’re looking for.”

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