Page 85 of Mob Knight

“Don’t you have regular guards for this kind of thing?”

“I do if I were by myself. Joey, your security detail will always be somebody from my family now. I can’t always be there, and it wouldn’t be good for us if I were always attached to you. After yesterday, I only trust the members of my family. There are only five other guys besides my dad and my uncles I trust to protect you to my standard.”

I gaze at him for a long time, and I’m sure he’s wondering what’s going through my head. The longer I stare at him saying nothing, the more anxious I sense he becomes. I’m quiet for so long Finn catches up with us.

“Good morning, Jocelyn.”

“Morning, Finn.”

I hope they can tell from my tone I’m not pissed. Just surprised. I don’t love this, but I don’t want either of them to think I don’t agree with it.

“Cormac, will I have a guard everywhere I go until?—”

I don’t finish that sentence, and I know he’s speculating what I was about to say. From his expression now, I know he assumes I mean until we break up. I have no intention of ending this with him. If I weren’t in this for the long haul, I never would’ve gone anywhere near him. I certainly wouldn’t have accepted a nickname so easily so soon, but I doubt he’s ready to hear that from me, so I’ll keep that thought to myself for now.

“How far do you want to run today, Joey?”

“Not too long. Can we do three miles? Would that be good? I know that’s probably shorter than you’re used to.”

“No, that’s perfect. Neither Finn nor I love running as much as some of the other guys, so that’s usually how far we go.”

I think my expression must say I don’t quite believe him. I don’t think he’s lying, but neither is he a hundred percent. I bet plenty of days three miles is all any of them have time for, but my guess is most of them put in a good six to ten. I assume some of it is slow and steady, and some is wind sprints. I hate thinking it, but they don’t know when they might have to get away from someone. They wouldn’t know ahead of time how far they’d need to run to do that.

We set off again at an even pace. It’s not quite a challenge for me, but it’s certainly faster than I normally would do. Neither Finn nor Cormac look uncomfortable, either. The thought that I could run from Finn flashes in my mind, but I don’t want to run from Cormac.

We do a long loop around Cormac’s neighborhood, since we agree we don’t love out-and-back runs. One, because it’s boring, but two, it reminds us of just how much farther we have to go before we get to the end. A few days ago, I shared I would rather swim, but I don’t have access to a pool. Turns out I do now because he has one, and he’ll turn the heater on for me.

He added it when he bought the place, so he could swim laps in summer when it feels too hot to run, and he doesn’t want to go to a gym to run on the treadmill. He told me all the men in his family are strong swimmers. My guess is it’s for the same reason they’re endurance runners. They never know when they might find themselves in a situation where running isn’t an option, but they still need to get away. Those are things I pray I never learn are true. I only want to hear he enjoys swimming; not that it’s a necessity. However, I suspect there’ve been a few occasions where it came in handy.

We’re almost back to his place. We only have two blocks left to go. We’re just stepping off the curb when a car comescareening around the corner with no turn signal, no warning. We have the right of way, not just because we’re pedestrians, but because the car has a red light, and we have the walk sign. Cormac barely pushes, and Finn barely pulls me out of the way. I’d stepped just ahead of Cormac, coming off the curb.

Cormac moves like he’s ready to pull his gun when I sense he recognizes the driver.

Fucking hell.

I’m sure I was the target—not Finn or Cormac—because there’s no way that woman would ever be foolish enough to target a member of one of the leading families in such a public place. I’m not only a target, but someone’s following me if the woman knew how to find me. There’s no denying that after the two men following me yesterday.

Cormac pulls me against his chest, and I feel his heart pounding. I don’t think it’s from having just been running. I can tell he’s looking over my head at Finn because his cousin’s eyebrows furrow before they rise almost to his hairline. He must have just realized who that driver was. I know Cormac thinks I can’t feel him shake his head because it’s subtle. Does he not want Finn to say anything or do anything right now? Does he want to make sure Finn doesn’t say something to scare all the living shit out of me?

I keep my embrace tight. I’m not ready to let go. But I have to tap him on the back. He eases his hold. I don’t let go, but I draw a deep breath. He was virtually suffocating me. I try not to let my mind run away from me with all the possibilities of how that woman could’ve hurt me, and what she’ll do next because I guarantee she won’t stop. Not if Cormac and Finn recognized her. It wasn’t Deirdre, so it wasn’t some crazy ex. At least, I don’t think so.

A mercenary?

That’s my guess because this might’ve been intimidation, but next time could be far worse. From how Cormac’s heart rate slows, I know he doesn’t want me to sense how upset this makes him.

“Are you all right,cailín?”

He must shoot Finn another look. Finn rolls his eyes but nods his head. This time, it must’ve been a warning glare.

“I’m all right, Cormac. Shaken, but not hurt. You guys protected me in time.”

When I tilt my head and finally look him in the eye, he knows I understand that wasn’t an accident. All I do is nod my head. Something flashes in Cormac’s eyes, and I think he feels even worse because I’m already resigned to being in danger this soon. I’d hoped we could’ve gone a little longer before anyone posed any serious risks, but clearly that’s not the case.

“Martha, what do you mean I’m being written up? For what?”

“Your behavior yesterday.”

“My behavior? What did Iallegedlydo?”

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