I turn to walk away, but she stops me. “Can I take her to the shops today, Cormac?”
No.
I don’t want to let her out of my sight, not when whoever’s responsible for hurting her’s still at large.
I shake my head. “Not today.”
Mam purses her lips. “Ya can’t keep her under lock and key and expect her to be happy, you know.”
Happy. Goddamn it.
I didn’t ask her advice, and I’m not in the mood to take it. I shake my head. “True, but I’m also not letting her out into the wild with people out there who still want to hurt her.”
What I don’t tell her is that a part of me fears if I let her go, she won’t come back. She isn’t happy here, and I know it.
“Cormac, she’s come from Irish mafia and married Irish mafia. There will always be a time when someone wants to hurt her.”
I stare at her for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Does she feel that way, even now? That her life is always endangered? I’d be a fool to say she doesn’t speak truth.
“No shops without me,” I insist.
Mam frowns. “Then come with us.”
I groan. “To the shops?”
“Aye.”
“Could use a new bag that goes with yer outfit, brother.” I turn to see Boner, bouncing on the balls of his feet, prepared to duck my blow. I fake one with my left, and when he ducks, I get him with my right. He doubles over and howls with laughter, even as he gasps. I smack the side of his head before he dodges another smack and races off to the dining room.
Mam rolls her eyes and doesn’t even wince.
“Right, then, I’ll see she’s ready to go and we’ll head out after breakfast,” she says.
“Mam,” I say with a groan. “I’ve got business to attend to.”
Her voice is laced with steel when she responds to me. “And part of that business you’ve got to attend to is seeing to the needs of your wife, son. Now what’ll it be? You can come with us or double the guard.” She smiles pleasantly.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re meddlin’?” I mutter.
Keenan comes around the corner, baby Seamus tucked up to his chest. “Wait ’til you’ve got a baby.”
“Go on with you,” she says, flushing, but I can tell with the smile she hides that she’s pleased. It’s the highest of compliments to tell her she’s meddling.
“Go,” Keenan says. “We’ll discuss what we need to at breakfast, and you’ll have the day ahead of you.”
Mam beams.
He leans in and says in my ear. “And she’s right. There’s something to be said for bein’ sure you’ve tended to the needs of your wife.”
“By going to the feckin’ shops?” I groan.
Keenan nods with chagrin. “Tell me about it.”
“Alright, then.”
With a smile, mam trots upstairs to see to Aileen.
I head to the dining room and find most of the inner circle of the Clan waiting. Tully and Sullivan, Lachlan, Nolan, and Boner. Even Carson and Brady, Clan bookkeeper and detective, sit at round tables, drinking steaming cups of tea and eating scones, eggs, and bacon.
“Full house here, today,” I say to Keenan.
“Aye. Haven’t had a proper meeting in a while.”
I take my place beside Keenan at the table. Nolan hands me a full plate of food, and one of our waitstaff fetches me tea.
“What is it, lads?” I ask Tully. “You mentioned the club.”
“Aye,” Tully says. “I’ve been looking to see if Blaine would show his damn face again.”
I grunt in response. Fucking Blaine.
“And?”
“And he showed up last night with a woman.” I frown into my tea.
“Oh?”
“A redheaded woman,” Tully says, looking with interest toward Nolan, who suddenly sits up straighter.
“Did you see her face?” he asks.
“No. She was masked.”
“Sheena?”
“Don’t know, but she was with her mate.” We all know who he’s talking about, the one who snuck Sheena onto our property.
Nolan can’t mask his fury. Nostrils flaring, eyes blazing, he glares at Tully as if he’s responsible. “What the fuck was she doing with that prick?”
Tully shakes his head. “No idea, mate. But Blaine had his way with the pair of them, right there where anyone could see.”
Nolan looks as if he wants to whip his cup of tea across the room.
“Anything else?” Keenan asks. He stands at the head of the table, rocking the baby, who’s fussing and squirming in his arms.
“The girl passed us and said something about the paper,” Lachlan says.
I look at him sharply. “Since when do you frequent the club?”
His eyes darken and he purses his lips. “Ages ago,” he snaps. “Why?”
I think of him as my younger brother, too young for the shenanigans at the Craic.
“He’s of age, Cormac,” Nolan says with a note of pride in his voice. “Needs a bit of a mentor.”
“And you fancy yourself his sensei, do you?”
“Aye,” Nolan says with a grin.