Page 78 of Mob Knight

My family had men with us too, but they were too far away for me to get to them. I was too short even then for them to see me in the crowd. I remember weaving among the people and running down side streets to double back until I could get to where I knew we were headed. By the time I got there, two of my dad’s security guards were already in place outside the building.

I bolted straight to them. It was Paco, my dad’s most trusted security guard, who caught me when I almost tripped up the steps in my rush to get to them. They radioed my dad, and my parents came to get me surrounded by all their bodyguards. My mom wouldn’t let go of me for the next three hours even when we sat together safely in our hotel room.

After that, my father insisted I learn to defend myself. Over the years, there were times I got hurt while practicing, so I learned to come up with excuses for my teachers. Admitting I needed to learn to protect myself from would-be kidnappers would’ve brought far more attention than my periodic bruises and two cases of nursemaid’s elbow.

I’m waiting here in the bathroom for Cormac to come and get me, then hold my hand just like my mom did. I refuse to panic until there’s a reason to panic, but I’m pretty fucking close. This has unnerved the hell out of me because I can’t tell who the guys were. The second one I spotted was just as unremarkable as the first.

I freeze when there’s a knock on the door, then I pull my knife from my pocket and flick it open. I don’t make a sound until there’s another knock. I creep a bit closer to the door.

“Jocelyn, this is Kieran O’Rourke. I’m Cormac’s dad.”

“Prátaí.” Potato.

“Cabáiste.” Cabbage.

The two words are the code Cormac taught me. If I say anything different or I get any other response, it means it’s not safe to open the door. I unlock it, keeping the knife down at my side until I can peek through the small opening. I put it behind me and flick it closed, keeping it in my palm. It’s small enough to hide easily when I open the door all the way and step out.

“Are you all right, Jocelyn?”

“Yes, Mr. O’Rourke. Thank you.”

This man looks like he could be Cormac and Seamus’s older brother rather than their father. Their hair is almost the same shade of strawberry blond, but slightly darker. The man has the most piercing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. They’re just as impressive as Cormac’s, even if they don’t match in color.

A woman moves behind him, and I shift my attention to her. She’s positively stunning. Her russet hair falls in thick wavesaround her shoulders, and the exact hue of emerald-colored eyes as Cormac’s stare back at me. While his build, posture, and hair remind me of his dad, that intensity in his gaze definitely comes from his mom. I realize that what I thought was a penetrating stare a moment ago when I looked up at his dad makes the man look like a pussycat compared to the woman in front of me.

“Did they get near you? Did they touch you? Did they say anything to you?”

She rapid fires the questions, and all I can do is shake my head. Immediately, her entire posture relaxes, and she offers me the most maternal smile I’ve ever seen. I almost burst into tears when she opens her arms just slightly, and Cormac’s dad steps out of the way. I fall into her embrace, and she engulfs me in a hug. She’s a virtual stranger to me, yet this is almost as comforting as my mom hugging me.

From everything Cormac’s told me about his family, I feel like I already know his parents, but I’m definitely a stranger to them.

“Jocelyn, Cormac’s almost here. He’ll come straight inside, but I want to move you to another part of the library now that we’ve arrived. I don’t know where these men are or if they saw you come in here.”

I turn my head to look at Cormac’s dad as he speaks, but I don’t leave his mom’s embrace until she gives me a quick squeeze and a pat on my back. I step away only to have her wrap her arm around my waist, and Cormac’s dad’s arm goes around my shoulders. Not only is it a show of solidarity, but I realize they’re now functioning as my bodyguards. His mom is just as attentive as his dad, and it dawns on me just how deeply entrenched she’s been in the mob.

If her father was once the boss, and so was her brother, and now her nephew is too, this is a woman who’s seen some shit.

We head over to one of the study rooms that has a glass wall but solid door. When we get inside, Mr. O’Rourke positions himself to shield both his wife and me through the glass windows. Three guys materialize from the stacks and stand in front of the glass wall as well.

That doesn’t look suspicious or intimidating at all.

It’s not like they’re relaxed and shooting the shit. It’s clear they’re bodyguards.

“Jocelyn, Cormac told Kieran there was nothing distinguishable about either man. Is that what’s so memorable about them?”

Mrs. O’Rourke’s voice is quiet, but there’s no ignoring the woman when she speaks to you. It’s straight up no nonsense.

“Yes. There’s nothing that made me think they belong to a particular syndicate. I never heard either of them speak, so I couldn’t tell you if there was an accent. None of their facial features made me think of a particular stereotype. Do you think it’s possible they’re men someone hired to frighten me?”

“That’s entirely possible. I don’t know.” Her honesty is jarring and completely the opposite of how reassuring her hug was.

“The guy who was in front of me as he got off the train pulled out his phone as if to ignore me when he finally stepped around me. He only glanced at it. He didn’t answer it or anything. If he and the other guy spoke as they followed me, I was too far away to hear anything.”

Mr. O’Rourke twists to look back at us. “Could you describe anything about their clothing?”

I nod. It’s probably going to freak them out just how detailed I can be.

“Yes, I can.”

---