Mob Bride (The O’Rourke Brotherhood #5)

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Shane

“Don’t come up, Cormac!”

What the fuck is my cousin doing here?

“Shane!”

I hear the voice growing closer. I pull out and roll off the bed. I get to the door just as Cormac reaches the top of the stairs. I stick my head out, and I know he understands what he interrupted the moment he sees half of my bare chest sticking out between the mostly closed door and the doorjamb.

“Shite!”

“Yeah. Thanks for?—”

“No. You need to hurry and get Carys dressed. Agents are on the way. They have a warrant for her and your place. Someone tipped them off.”

I glance back at Carrie, who’s sitting up and struggling to nudge the gag from her mouth.

“Hang on.”

I slam the door as I run to her side. I pull the gag out, then take off the blindfold, before releasing her wrists. I grab the button down from the end of the bed and shove it at her. It’s the first piece of clothing I could reach. I grab my boxer briefs and yank them on, followed by my trousers.

“Stay out of sight.”

She nods as she fumbles with the buttons. She abandons it and grabs the t-shirt and shorts. I step into the hallway before she finishes putting them on.

“What kind of agents?”

“DEA. Sean figured out Carys’s handlers names and hacked their email. He sent Paul over to the new safe house they set up. He got inside and dropped a bug. We don’t know who told them Carys is here, but they have a laundry list of accusations.”

“Like what?” Carys steps beside me in the hallway.

“The mildest are failure to follow supervisory instructions. It gets worse from there. Failure to secure or process evidence. Intentional, reckless, or negligent violation of rules governing searches and seizures. Improper association with convicted felon, confidential source, and/or persons connected with criminal activity. Intentional and improper discharge of a firearm. Lack of Candor, and falsification, misrepresentation, or concealment of information or facts in connection with an official government document or in any other official statement, oral or written.”

Carrie stares at Cormac, who stares at me.

“Carrie, Cor’s an attorney. He specializes in corporate law, but he went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. While our situation is unique, you’re not the first federal agent with ties to us. We’re all well-versed on the various codes of professional conduct for federal agencies.”

“You’ve memorized the DEA one?”

“No. They just plagiarize each other, so it makes it easy to remember.”

Most women drool when he shoots them the grin he’s giving Carrie. I know he’s not flirting with her. He can’t help his charm, but it has no effect on Carrie. She’s looking up at me, waiting for me to tell her what to do.

“How long do we have, Cor?”

He glances at his watch. “Ten minutes tops.”

“Get the diluted bleach and go over the TV remotes, the kitchen counters, the doorknobs up here, and run the dishwasher. I’m taking Carrie downstairs. Cailín , grab your clothes. I have a safe room in the basement. They won’t find you.”

I don’t realize what I called her aloud until Cormac clears his throat. I glance at him before looking at Carrie. Too late now. I can’t take it back, and frankly, I don’t give a shite my family knows what I call her. If Cormac knows, then it’s the same as everyone else knowing. We gossip worse than old women. If they hadn’t already figured out what she means to me, they will now.

I open the bedroom door and sweep my gaze over everything.

“Wipe down the top of the dresser, too.” I glare at Cormac when his lips twitch, ready to grin again. Instead, he nods.

He heads into the bathroom, knowing there’s bleach under the sink. Sometimes we need a disinfectant stronger than the ones that claim to eliminate odor and kill ninety-nine percent of germs. I cringe when I think about any bleach touching the top of the dresser. Not just because it’s an expensive piece of wood furniture, but it has sentimental value now. I plan for all my furniture to have sentimental value soon.

I don’t worry about any DNA left behind. All of us know how to wipe that clean. I take Carrie’s clothes and drape them over one arm while my free hand grabs hers. I practically drag her down the stairs.

“My shoes.”

They’re still in the living room where she kicked them off. She dashes to grab them before I lead her to the basement. I’m slower on these since they’re steeper. I steer her to the water heater. I know she’s confused, but I place my hand on the wall where the polystyrene insulation panels end, and there’s a soft puff of air. I push the panel, and the hidden door opens. I like the heat efficiency, but the ends of the two neighboring panel pieces hide the outline of the door.

“The only people with access are my immediate family. My parents, brothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles. No one else. You stay in here until either Cormac or I get you. Don’t open the door for anyone else, regardless of who they say they are. If they’re my family, they can open the door on their own. They’ll know I brought you down here.”

“You have a panic room?”

I stare at her in the dim light I flicked on as we headed down the stairs. A single fingerprint pad turns on the lights within the panic room. It illuminates a two-room space. To the unknowing eye, there’s an inviting living room and bedroom. Since someone hiding might need to be here for a while, it’s comfortable. A battery powers the lights, so there’re no electrical wires to track. Unfortunately, it means there’s no bathroom to avoid tracing the plumbing, but there is a camp toilet. Rustic but functional.

I withdraw my cell phone from my pocket and hand it to her.

“I’ve already programmed any number worth answering in here. You’ll have reception despite all the insulation down here. Only answer it if it’s a member of my family. Nobody in my family has the same name as any of our men, except for Sean. And he’s in my phone as Twin. You’ll know if it’s him. If something goes wrong and they take me, Cormac will call you or come to get you. Either way, you may be here for a little while. It won’t be very interesting since there’s no TV or computer down here. However, I have a few books that might keep you occupied. Cailín , I’m sorry, but you should be okay.”

“Shane, that’s the least of my worries. I doubt I can concentrate on anything I read right now. Just be careful. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for me.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. I could just as easily be their target. They could just as easily raid me, regardless of my relationship with you.”

“Maybe so, but it’s happening right now because of me. I’m so sorry.

“Do not blame yourself for any of this, Carys. You didn’t ask for any of this to happen.”

My tone is adamant, and I see her withdrawal when I use her full name. I didn’t realize I had. I just wanted to make her understand how serious I am that I don’t blame her for any of this.

“Carrie.” I cup her cheek and give her a soft, lingering kiss. “Nothing changes just because of this minor inconvenience.”

She nods.

“In the grand scheme of things in this world, having your house searched is hardly more than a brief blip on the radar. None of us keep incriminating things at our homes. We lock away the few things that could cause a snafu in places no one will find.”

I gesture around the room.

“I’m not overly concerned. They’ll be the ones who leave frustrated not me. There’re bound to be some reporters who show up, and they’ll see the agents leaving empty-handed. It’ll make the news sympathetic to us. Dillan’s wife will make sure of it.”

When her brow creases, I glance toward the door.

“One of these days, I’ll fill you in on all the women in this family. But Dillan’s wife is an investigative reporter for the major newspaper here in the city. She often works with me on our PR.”

I shoot her a pointed look again, and we leave it at that. Another kiss that threatens to delay me heats between us. But I’m pulling away all too soon, then explaining the code to lock the door.

After that, I’m bolting up the stairs to the kitchen where Cormac’s running the water. He’s just turning on the dishwasher as I walk in.

“I didn’t strip the guest bed, but I made it. I wasn’t sure if she’d been in your bedroom, so I took care of the surfaces in there, too.”

I shake my head. “No, she’s been in the living room, the kitchen, and that bedroom. But thanks. I appreciate you covering everything. Did you do the banister?”

“Yeah. I figured from how you pulled her down the hallway, she probably held on for dear life. I’ll do the basement banister right now.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll flush the paper towels.”

“Perfect.”

Normally, we prefer burning things than any other disposal. However, a pile of ash right now on my stove or in a trash bin would look rather suspicious.

Suspicious.

That’s laughable. It’s certainly an understatement.

Cormac hurries out of the kitchen, not bothering to dry his hands. He’s back just as I check my office for anything I might not have thought could be incriminating. My laptop remains in the safe, which is in another little nook in my home.

You’d never guess where to look if you didn’t know. I’m certain they’ll search for a safe, but they won’t find it. The half-bath toilet just went quiet as there’s a bang on the door, a garbled voice, and it bursts open. Neither Cormac nor I hurry to stand from where we ran to sit on the sofa in front of the TV that’s still on from before Carrie fell asleep.

“Shane O’Rourke, we have a warrant to search your premises.”

Now Cormac and I stand. We turn toward the swarm of agents in their khaki pants, polo shirts, and windbreakers. They’re interchangeable.

If people thought it’s difficult to discern one O’Rourke from another, we’ve got nothing on these suits. Well, they’re not in suits, but that’s how we think of feds. It’s one of the nicer names we have for them.

Cormac and I hold our hands out to our sides just a few inches from our hips to show we’re not reaching for any weapons. He had a weapon when he came in, but he doesn’t now. I spotted it in my safe along with several others I had scattered around the house. He rounded all of those up, too. I’ll thank him for his efficiency later, but these are skills drilled into us from a young age.

Once our parents believed we were old enough to handle firearms safely, they showed us where they hid all of them in our various family homes, and they showed us how to open the safes. I only remember two raids at my house, three at my grandfather’s, and four at Uncle Donovan’s. There were ones before I was born, but Finn was too young to remember anything. Clearly, nothing ever came of them since no one’s in prison.

“I’d like to see that warrant.” I’m commanding without sounding like a dick.

A second agent walks around the one in front who announced their arrival. He holds up the warrant. There’s not a chance in hell I’m approaching them. I’m not getting within arm’s reach of two dozen federal agents. I stick out my hand and wait. I know he’ll eventually come to me. He will figure he’s safe with just two of us. I count to three in my head before he takes the first step toward us.

Foolish man. None of them are safe with only two of us. Not having our own guns on us isn’t an impediment. We’ll take some of theirs. We might not get all of them before we go down in a blaze of glory, but we’d take some. I accept the papers he hands me. I skim them before handing them to Cormac.

“Mr. O’Rourke, you need to come with us.” That’s the smug arse first agent. Cormac speaks up, and so it really begins.

“Why should I go anywhere with you?”

The lead agent shoots Cormac an expression that tells both of us he’s not amused. Cormac cocks an eyebrow. I don’t need to look at my cousin to know that’s his reaction because it’s the same one I have. I see the disconcerted look on several people’s faces.

While Cormac and I aren’t identical, the familial relationship is clear. His hair is lighter than mine, and he and Seamus have the baby faces in the family. He’s also got twenty pounds on me. It’s lean muscle that hasn’t stopped me knocking him on his arse plenty of times.

However, our mannerisms are so similar it’s uncanny to most people. Even though Finn and the other guys aren’t my twin—only Sean is—we are such mirror images in absolutely everything, people merely stare. Unfortunately, these agents recover faster from the obvious similarities between Cormac and me.

“Shane O’Rourke, you will come with us.”

The agent tries again. Once more, Cormac speaks.

“And who are you?”

It’s clear this guy doesn’t appreciate Cormac meddling.

“I’m a DEA agent.”

“Then let us see your badge. Just because you have a nice jacket on doesn’t mean you’re who you claim.”

The chatty agent looks at the one still standing near us. Smart guy. He doesn’t want to get any closer. He nods to numbnuts, who’s now even closer than just arm’s reach. The guy’s slow but removes his badge and flips it open for us to see.

“Okay, that’s one of you. But how about the rest of you?”

Cormac and I watch as many of them reach into their pockets. Whichever pocket they withdraw the badge from tells me they don’t have a second weapon there. If we have to, that’s the side we strike on. One of many tips of the trade our family trained us to notice.

I see various badges flash before us. None open them long enough for us to tell any details.

“Mr. O’Rourke, I would not continue to waste our time.”

He gestures for the agents to move forward, many coming in with bankers boxes. They want to make a show of it by leaving with them filled to the brim with evidence they confiscate. Unless they want to take the few tchotchkes I have, they won’t find much of interest. When one of them goes for the family portraits on my wall, I stop him.

“Don’t touch without gloves on. I’ll lift them off the wall. You can see what’s behind them. You can see inside the frames. But I don’t want your sticky fingerprints all over my family photos.”

The guy looks like he intends to ignore me, but I clear my throat. That’s enough to make another agent whisper to him. He drops his arms and reaches into the pocket that didn’t have his badge and pulls out a pair of rubber gloves. That tells me it’s unlikely he’s carrying a second weapon in there since he wouldn’t want to fumble around the gloves to grab it.

It’s not that I expect federal agents to carry knives, but you never know. We always work on the assumption it’s possible. They won’t fit a second gun in their trouser pockets. However, we expect most of them have a second weapon strapped to their ankle. So far, they haven’t drawn them, but we’re as prepared as we can be.

I watch the agent lift off the picture frame, look behind it, and shake it. The glass rattles a little, but nothing alarming. He does the same thing for each of them, satisfied there’s nothing hidden behind them.

The agent who started all of this withdraws handcuffs and approaches Cormac and me.

“Mr. O’Rourke, you have the right to remain silent.”

Cormac steps in front of me.

“You still haven’t told us on what grounds you’re here. My client isn’t leaving this house without you showing a warrant for his arrest. The one you handed my client only states you have authority to search the premises. It says nothing about arresting my client.”

Cormac was mistaken, or they didn’t show us, but neither he nor I saw anything about arresting Carrie.

“Your client?”

I want to knock the patronizing expression off this fuckwad’s face.

“Yes, my client. I’m certain you’re aware I’m admitted to the state bars of New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Nevada, among others.”

Cormac, Dillan, and Seamus are all attorneys. They’re all licensed to practice in the states where we do the most business. Dillan didn’t get to practice for very long because he stepped into his role as mob boss about five years ago. He has other responsibilities to manage.

While Cormac handles our corporate ventures, Seamus handles our criminal. Depending on what they try to charge me with, Cormac will either continue to represent me, or he’ll hand me off to Seamus.

“You cannot be Mr. O’Rourke’s attorney. You have a conflict of interest.”

“Yes, I can. There’s nothing that prevents me from representing him in a situation like this where you have no warrant to arrest him. I’m free to give legal counsel to him as an attorney admitted to the state bar.”

Cormac crosses his arms, and his suit coat strains across his back and over his biceps. I swear the man has them tailored extra tight just for moments like this. I know most of us do. It’s an impressive sight for sure, especially when I join him and do the same thing. Granted, I don’t have my suit coat on right now.

I took that and my tie off and left it in my office when I made the call. It would look odd if I wore it now since I’m sure they staked out the house, at least for a little while before they came in. They know I’ve been here, so why would I wear my suit coat in my home if I’ve been here for several hours?

“So?” The agent’s face flushes with frustration.

Cormac cocks an eyebrow again. He won’t give an inch. “So what?”

“Who are you?”

“Cormac O’Rourke, Esquire.”

He tacks that on, matching the patronizing tone the agent’s had since he entered my home. Attorneys might have Esq. at the end of their name when it’s something formal, but they never introduce themselves with that title.

I smirk, and I don’t care who sees it. It’s distracting them from looking for Carrie. None of them have headed to the basement, even though several went upstairs. A female agent comes back and speaks to the first guy.

“Steve, we need him to unlock his office. It’s biometric.”

“Get the enforcer.”

I don’t agree with Steve’s call to use a battering ram on my office door. I shake my head.

“You’re going to repair the damages you do to my home.”

All they’re going to accomplish with that is scuffing up the door. No matter how strong the agent is, my office has a reinforced door just like the one to the panic room. They are not getting through with an enforcer. They could have a medieval battering ram, and they still wouldn’t get through.

I know I must comply, otherwise it’ll justify grounds for arrest. So, I walk over with the female officer. I recognized her voice from Carrie’s earlier phone calls.

This is Angela.

Her two handlers are leading this. I certainly know where their loyalties lie. It makes me wonder if they’re actually the leak. Do they have something going on with another syndicate that’s making them toss Carrie under the bus first? I’m a suspicious man by nature, and this is a suspicious situation.

I unlock the office door and push it open, stepping aside to let the agents enter first. This way nobody can claim I tried to hide anything. Cormac has his phone out. I know he’s been recording the audio since they came in. Now, he holds it up to video them searching my office.

“Mr. O’Rourke put that away.”

“No, I have the right to record what’s going on in my cousin’s private property. If you conduct the search properly, then there’s no reason for you to worry about me recording what happens.”

“That’s not how it’s going to work, Mr. O’Rourke. You have known ties to organized crime. I won’t have my agents’ faces recorded for you to pass along to your enforcers.”

“Enforcers? I’m not sure what you mean by that. What on earth could I enforce? I’m not a cop or a fed.”

Cormac’s tone sounds genuinely perplexed to anyone who doesn’t know him and who he is. He’s one of our two head enforcers. Seamus is the other one, partly because of their size, but also because as they grew bigger, they knew pretending like they had the shortest fuse kept other kids from teasing them about being bigger than their classmates.

Despite Seamus being two months premature, he’s built like a mountain, just like Cormac. Steve—now I know the lead agent’s name—looks unimpressed with Cormac’s act. Again, none of this matters as long as it distracts them from looking harder for Carrie.

My ears are peeled to hear whether anybody opens the basement door. So far, no one has, but inevitably, someone will. I make myself as accommodating as I can while they turn everything over. They don’t find the safe—which doesn’t surprise me—because they don’t know what to look for. If they did, they would have found it. But I counted on them not having a clue I hid it in the fireplace.

Eventually, the agents who were upstairs make their way back down. Their boxes remain clearly empty. One of them shakes her head. Now I hear the basement door. My stomach knots, but I show no outward reaction when footsteps on the wooden stairs reach me.

“You’re still under arrest, Mr. O’Rourke.”

Cormac turns with his camera still on and faces Steve again. “And you still haven’t told my client what the charges are. Are you going to arrest him without probable cause? There’s no evidence here that justifies an arrest, and you haven’t provided a warrant for him. So, what are your grounds for this, other than to intimidate my client?”

“Intimidate?”

Steve scoffs, but then he remembers why Cormac’s holding up his phone. There’s nothing he can say, short of trying to distract us as much as Cormac and I have been trying to distract them.

“We’d like Mr. O’Rourke to come in for some questioning.”

Cormac doesn’t drop a beat. “My cousin can give you the link to his calendar, and you can book an appointment.”

“Book an appointment?”

Steve’s voice rises with each syllable until he’s practically yelling the last one. Perfect. Let him get upset. Let him show his arse even more.

“Yes, you have no grounds to detain my client, so you’re not arresting him. You said you’d like to ask him some questions. I don’t believe my cousin would like to answer any. Therefore, you can schedule an appointment, just like anybody else who’d like to have a meeting with him.”

“You are unreal.”

“Am I though? Because right now, I sound very much alive with my freedom of speech intact, recording all of this.”

Cormac’s tone remains innocent, like he and Seamus did when we were kids, and somehow always stayed out of trouble when our parents busted the rest of us. He makes his point loud and clear.

“If you have nothing else to do here now that you’ve searched the entire premises, and—I heard the agents come in and out from the backyard and the garage—you can leave.”

Cormac and I wait, and it takes a moment before Steve orders his agents out of the house. Cormac lowers his camera, but I know he still has it angled toward the door.

“Mr. O’Rourke, this isn’t nearly over. You will do what we want, and we will get what we want.”

Cormac holds his phone up again.

“That’s a very interesting thought to share. I’ll be sure that’s included when we file a harassment and wrongful detention suit. Thank you for letting us know your plans.”

Now Cormac grins, since he’ll easily spin that last comment into a perceived threat against us and an admission to premeditated evidence tampering.

Steve snaps his mouth shut and cuts in front of two other agents to leave my house. Angela’s the last one out. I gesture for Cormac to put his phone away. I know he’s not turning off the recording, but he puts his phone out of sight.

“You’re doing her no favors. We will find her.”

“Who is her?”

I play ignorant, since nobody has mentioned her name yet. With no warrant, they’d hoped to find her hiding, and that would be probable cause to them.

“Mr. O'Rourke, you know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“But I don’t. There are billions of people in this world whose pronoun is her. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Carys Pritchard.”

“Oh, okay. I’m not sure how I can help. But I’m certain whatever you’re looking for is very serious. Well, good luck with that.”

“You might get away with patronizing Steve, but you won’t with me. I’m trying to help, so calm down.”

“You don’t think I’m calm, agent?” I sound just as innocent as Cormac.

“I know you have her somewhere. You aren’t doing her any favors by hiding her. If you’re keeping her against her will, then there’ll be no coming back from kidnapping a federal agent.”

“I’ll bear that in mind. Good day.”

She heads out and closes the door behind her. I turn around and sigh. My house is a disaster. Everything’s pulled apart. They pulled the cushions off the sofa and yanked the stuffing out of them. There’s fireplace soot on the living room floor.

I want to run straight to Carrie, but I can’t. There’s too strong a possibility they might come back and pretend like they thought of something at the last minute, when they’re trying to catch us with anything we might have hidden. Instead, Cormac and I put my living room back to rights.

“At least they were polite and unzipped the cushions rather than cutting through them.” I hold the cover while Cormac shoves the stuffing back in.

“That’s what I expected. We’ll see whether they did that to the mattresses upstairs.”

“Do you think they really believe I hide anything under them? That’s a bit cliché, even for us.”

“Who knows what they’d think if they had the chutzpah to come and search your place?”

“You know Judge Hartman loves to dole out search warrants for our families with only the shakiest of reasons.”

One of these days—maybe—he’ll get lucky. But so far, every warrant he’s signed for the Four Families has come up with nothing. He’s been on the bench longer than Cormac and I have been alive.

“True.”

Judge Herman Hartman has a hard-on for busting the Four Families. But the limp dick needs the little blue pill to keep it up. He wants to make his career by tearing us apart. He merely looks foolish every time he tries.

“I’m going to call Sean and see what else he may have discovered. Then I’m going to take Carrie over there since Nikki’s out of town.”

My sister-in-law is Canadian, and she went back to Montreal to visit her mother and grandparents. Her grandfather, who heads up the Montreal mob, broke his leg in a fight two weeks ago. I will give the old codger credit. He’s still pretty scrappy, but those bones are more brittle than they used to be. Since Cormac and I are the only ones who aren’t married, and the feds saw Cormac here, Sean’s the right person to go to since his wife won’t be there. I won’t bring this shite to anyone’s door when their wives might be home. I certainly won’t do it to my other brother since his wife’s pregnant.

Cormac gives me his phone since Carrie has mine, but before I can pull up my twin’s contact, I see his name flash on the screen with an incoming call.

“Hey.”

“Hey, were you just about to call me?” That twin thing; he just knew.

“Yeah.”

“I figured but didn’t think you’d use your own phone. How’d it go? I sent Cor as soon as I found out.”

“As to be expected. My place’s a mess, but they found nothing.”

“Good. You should bring Carys to my place.”

“I just told Cor that’s what I’m going to do, but I’m going to wait a bit to make sure they don’t barge in again with some excuse.”

“Good idea. Have you gotten Carys out of the panic room yet?”

“No, for the same reason I’m not ready for us to leave here.”

“Good, because I want to let you know something happened, and you can decide how to tell her.”

“What the feck happened?”

“NYPD tried to arrest Meredith and Rhys for harboring Carys.”

“Harboring? They make it sound like she’s a convicted felon or something.”

“I know. Her parents came over here after they called Dillan.”

“All right. What condition are they in?”

“They’re fine. Shaken up, but nothing worse than that. They didn’t arrest them or anything, but NYPD definitely tried to intimidate them.”

“I’ll be over in a couple of hours.”

“A couple hours? I don’t think they can wait that long to see their daughter.”

“I understand, but I don’t feel it’s safe to take Carrie anywhere any sooner than that. As much as I don’t want to cause Meredith and Rhys any extra worries, safety is more important to me. With our jammers, I’ll have her call your number, and they can talk. She can reassure them she’s still fine and safe here, then we’ll come over later.”

“That’s fair.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“Nothing for sure, but there’s been more chatter at the safe house. They have some other people there who’re still keeping an eye on Bartlomiej. It’s going to be impossible for us to snag him and get him to the station for you.”

“Fine. That annoys me, but it doesn’t surprise me. I couldn’t get there anytime soon, anyway. But when you can grab him, do. I don’t care how long he has to wait for me.”

“We know. Shane, the feds’ll push this issue for as long as they can. You know you both can’t hide forever. The moment you leave your house during the day, they’ll see you, and they’ll pick you up. It’ll make Carys a virtual prisoner in your home because I know you won’t agree to her staying anywhere else.”

“She can stay somewhere else, but only if I’m with her.”

“Same difference. You need to give this some thought.”

I know what he means. He’s talking about this relationship and whether it’s worth protecting. I believe it is, but I don’t know how she feels about me. Hell, I’m uncertain how I feel about her. Obviously, I care a great deal, and I want to see a future with her, but there’s still so much we don’t know about each other. It’s too soon to be sure, so I’m not declaring feelings I may not have. Regardless, I’ll keep her safe.

“I’ll talk to Carrie about all of this.”

“I know. Just tossing it out there.”

“I appreciate it, little brother.”

I’m three minutes older. I’m certain he grabbed hold of my ankle and tried to get past me. Supposedly, he’s the patient one. But he always likes to get places first.

“You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later.”

“ Is breá liom tú .” I love you.

We speak at the same time. All three sets of parents insist we say that to each other any time we hang up the phone or leave each other in person. We don’t do it every single time, but we try to do it at least once a day for all of us. Nothing says fragility of life like being a mobster.

Cormac and I spend the next twenty minutes straightening up the living room and the kitchen. I want the place to look as normal as possible when Carrie comes upstairs. She’ll already be freaked out. I don’t want her to see the disaster the moment she comes upstairs.

“I’m going to go down and get her.”

“Okay. I’ll stay up here in the kitchen. I’ll make us all a cup of tea.

“Be sure to add a strong tipple of whiskey to them.”

We’re that Irish. A cup of tea can solve everything. And our whiskey is uisce beatha. Water of life.

I head to the safe room and open the door.

“Carrie.” I’m met with the leg of a chair raised over her shoulder like a bat. “What the feck did you do to my chair?”

It’s not so much an accusation as the thought tumbling out of my mouth in surprise. I glance over at the armchair and notice the screwdriver on the floor next to it.

“You didn’t think I would stay down here without some kind of weapon, did you? I believe this place is impenetrable, and I know no one could coerce anyone in your family into revealing me. But I still needed to feel like I was prepared for the worst-case scenario. This was the best I could do. If I could disable the person long enough to shut myself back in, I would.”

“You wouldn’t have tried to run?

“To what? More agents upstairs? No. That wouldn’t have done me any good. I just wanted to incapacitate them long enough to shut myself back in here.”

“That’s a good idea. Even though I rather liked that chair.”

“Not enough to have it somewhere you could sit on it every day.”

“True. At least you used a screwdriver to take it off.”

“Did you think I was going to go all Conan the Barbarian and just rip it off?”

We’re bantering a bit because I can tell she’s still terrified but is trying to keep it together. If this helps keep her calm, then I’ll crack jokes all damn day.

“I always thought She-Hulk was kind of hot.”

“Is green your favorite color?”

“It would be if it was on you.”

“What is your favorite color?”

“Sky blue. You?”

“Same actually.”

I step closer, and she drops the chair leg to the floor. I wrap her in my arms, and we simply hold each other. She rests her head against my chest, and I can breathe easier now. She’s where she belongs.

“Daddy, I know you look calm because you had to, but I hear your heart racing. I hate knowing I’m the reason for that, but?—”

“Carrie, I told you, you’re not to blame. This wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe the situation isn’t, but the raid happened today because they were looking for me, and that’s what’s making your heart race. Even though I know that, it’s still reassuring to have my ear to your chest and hear it. It’s so steady, even if it’s faster than normal. It’s soothing to me.”

“Then you can keep your head there as long as you like. Whatever makes you feel safe, little one.”

“That’s simply being with you. I admit I’m surprised you’re the one who opened the door. I expected it to be Cormac, and I didn’t think it would be so soon after I heard it go quiet.”

“It’s been nearly an hour since they left.”

“I know, but I was certain you’d wait in case they tried to trip you up and come back again.”

“Yeah, Cormac and I straightened up the place while we waited. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. They know my place isn’t a stash house, so they were a little gentler while being so thorough.”

Her eyebrows shoot up.

“They didn’t rip anything apart—” I pointedly look at the chair leg and playfully frown— “Though they got into everything. They hoped to fill the bankers boxes they brought with them, but they left entirely empty-handed. Nothing was in those boxes. They were so arrogant they didn’t bring lids in with them. They thought there’d be enough stuff to fill them to overflowing. I’m certain they intended to take photos and release them. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was at least one reporter waiting out there.

“And if there was, they only got photos of those empty boxes which’ll paint you as the persecuted victim in all of this.”

“Exactly. Blessing in disguise actually, and it’ll chap the other families’ arses if I’m made to look innocent of anything.”

She only nods to that. “Are we staying here?”

“No, we’ll go to Sean’s in just a little. Cormac pulled into my garage, knowing we’d have to use his car to leave later. I’m afraid you’ll have to hide in the back of his SUV to make sure you stay out of sight. He brought that car on purpose. Nobody’s going to force you into a trunk.”

“Maybe not in your family.”

The expression I shoot her now tells her I know that wasn’t part of our banter. I don’t like the idea of Jacek getting to her, and I know that’s exactly who she was thinking of.

“Why are we going to Sean’s rather than somebody else’s?”

“A couple of reasons. Sean’s wife is out of the country right now, so his place is the safest to take you to. Also, since they saw Cormac here with me today, his place is out of the question since there’s a strong chance they’ll try to search there next, assuming he’ll hide stuff for me. The other reason is your parents are there. The police tried to question them.”

“What?”

“Shh. Carrie, calm down.”

“Calm down? You know that is not the right thing to say right now.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but let me explain. They’re totally fine. The police tried to intimidate them, but I’ve met your mom. I know her well enough to know the only people who left that conversation intimidated were those police officers. I know of your dad, so I’m certain they didn’t look to him for reassurance.”

“That’s true.”

“You get your spunk from your mom.”

“I may have heard that once or twice before.”

“When we go over there, you’re going to have to explain everything to them.”

“I know. I thought about it while I was down here. I hate it, but I can’t keep this from them any longer.”

“We also need to think about what this means for us.”

She goes rigid.

“Carrie, I’m not saying we’re breaking up or anything like that. I’m not sure how you see me, but this won’t drive us apart.”

“I don’t know what to call what’s going on between us, either. We’ve never been on a date, but you definitely don’t feel like a fuck buddy.”

“I will never be your fuck buddy. That implies we walk away after we’re done. That won’t happen.”

“Good. Otherwise, I might have to chain you to my bed.”

“You can try, but you’d have to be quicker than me. I intend to keep you naked and in my bed for a month once we get this straightened out.”

“Promise, Daddy.”

“Bet your bottom dollar, little girl.”

I squeeze her arse while we grin at one another, then give each other a quick smacking kiss. It only takes me a moment to fix the chair and wipe down the surfaces she points to. Can’t be too careful. We head back upstairs, and Cormac greets her. I can tell he’s relieved she isn’t upset. It’s not like he runs from crying females, but he and Seamus are the two shy ones in the family.

I know he would feel badly if he saw her upset. He’d feel like he invaded her privacy more than he did barging in on us earlier. Thank God, we all have ears like dogs, and I heard him coming up the stairs. Granted, he certainly was loud enough to wake the dead. That reminds me.

“Cor, tell the others no more coming in anymore without a text or a call.”

“We already knew that. You didn’t answer your phone. I figured you might not have had it near you. It’s the only reason I let myself in.”

Carrie’s face goes beet red, and I shrug. I don’t know if she’s embarrassed because of what Cormac interrupted today or the implication the open-door policy at my place ended because the guys might walk in on something in the future. Before we all started to pair off, we came and went from each other’s homes without knocking.

Now that there’re so many couples, we make sure we call or text before we even get to the driveway. Then we let them know when we’re coming in the door. Sean and I had an unfortunate incident walking in on Finn and his wife. Neither he nor I saw anything happening, but Ally was less covered up than they would have wanted. I don’t want Carrie in another compromising situation like when Cormac arrived.

The three of us finish cleaning up my house. Carrie’d changed while she was in the panic room. I tossed the stuff she borrowed into the washing machine and started a load with just those items. My mom wouldn’t approve of wasting water and electricity for two items. I know she’d understand, but I still have a guilty conscience. Before we leave, I take Carrie into the living room, so I can explain what’s going to happen.

“Cormac and I will help you hide behind some storage bins we’ll stack in his trunk. As soon as we’re far enough away to convince me no one’s going to pull him over and search his vehicle, you can climb into the backseat, so you’re not squashed anymore. We won’t stop until we get to Sean’s house. I don’t doubt somebody’ll follow us, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll pull us over somewhere they know they don’t control the scene. A swarm of agents on the side of the road would draw too much attention, and they know sending only a couple wouldn’t be good for those agents’ health.”