Page 86 of Broken Blood Ties

The piece of skin I’m ripping off my lip stings against the sharp wind, but I don’t stop gnawing. While everything in me screams to press him about this, I shut my mouth, continuing to jog next to Kieran as he navigates the Beacon Hill streets to the house.

When it comes into view, I’m shocked by the guards openly pacing inside the gate. There are definitely more here than I remember before. “Is everything okay?”

Kieran looks at me, then follows where my gaze lingers on the man in the guard booth. Half expecting him to ignore me, I don’t hold my breath for an answer, but his mouth opens, and he leans into me. I savor his warmth.

“Between the Cosa Nostra coming to town, and the Yakuza increasing in strength, it’s best to be prepared.”

“The Yakuza?”

He nods.

I never pretended to be interested in my father’s business growing up. I was more concerned with what party I was going to next or my next photoshoot, but I’m not a novice when it comes to the workings of these organizations. The Yakuza increasing their numbers, and the Irish’s response of more manpower can only mean this wasn’t a negotiated recruitment situation. The Japanese are growing against the Mob’s wishes.

The dark night surrounding us, previously illuminated by the quaint lampposts, now scatters with the floodlights of Kieran’s home. The gates automatically open when we approach, and Kieran’s palm burns through my coat in the dip of my back as he ushers me forward to the guard’s shed.

Screens filled with full-colored video, each capturing a different angle of the house and surrounding grounds fill the walls of the guard shed. There’s enough room for one to sit, and while the door is open, I notice the biometric locks on the side of it. Pretty sure they don’t normally keep this door open.

“Boss.” A man with jet-black hair and a tapered fade approaches us. His blue eyes pin me with a sour look, but I stretch my mouth into a smile anyway.

“Licon. This is Summer. She has full access to the house and grounds 24/7. If she’s to leave, she takes a guard. No questions asked.”

“Oh, that’s not really nes—hey!”

I’m cut off when Kieran grabs my elbow and pulls me away toward the brownstone. Even as he yanks me forward, I whip my head over my shoulder to catch Licon’s dumfounded stare after us.

“Not one to bring many girls home I take it.”

“Why? Disappointed I might be saving the honor for someone special?”

It’s too easy with him. “Awe, is that your way of telling me I’m special.”

“No, it’s me way of saying I’m holding out for someone worth the effort. Ye just happen to be me problem right now.”

I blink, studying the hard lines of his face that don’t crack. He’s serious? Has he been waiting for someone to fill the void in his life, be a partner? The look on the guard’s face tells me there most likely haven’t been girlfriends needing daily escorts around often, and his comments …

The banter I was expecting from him seems to hold a portion of the truth, and my skin suddenly itches with the idea I’ve monopolized the next three months of this man’s life. He’s going to tell the world we’re engaged all so I can escape my fate with my father. I wish I could take back those words.

“Were you seeing someone?” I’m unable to deal with the idea but I need to know.

He stops before the back door I’m fairly certain leads into the kitchen and looks at me. “Aye, I was seeing someone.”

I cringe, hating the way he seems to search my face and the way the tingles tickle at the nape of my neck. I can’t be upset; I was only his daughter’s teacher. Sure, he helped me when I needed it most and I kissed him but that doesn’t take away he was seeing someone. And it sounds like he doesn’t bother with anyone unless he’s interested. I swallow the pain in the back of my throat.

Working hard, I plaster a fake grin on my face, trying to convey my nonchalance. “Lucky her.”

Kieran pauses, hand on the doorknob, and his intense eyes flick down my person, lighting a flame in me. Lowering his voice an octave, he says, “No. Lucky me.”

He twists the knob, allowing the door to bang open, and strolls into the kitchen. I dart in after him, pulling the door shut quietly. I doubt he wants to wake the whole house to explain this situation at almost 9:00 p.m.

But before I can ask if I should take my shoes off, my gaze clashes with Allie standing in a robe over the stove dunking tea bags in some weird contraption.

“Oh, Miss Summer. I wasn’t expecting you. Would you like some tea?”

Kieran moves out of my way, giving me a better view of the middle-aged woman. Her hair is pulled up in a top-knot bun with a velvet scrunchy. Tired lines stem from her pursed mouth, and I wonder if this woman gets many days off.

“Summer will be staying with us. Please make up one of the guest rooms.” He slides a barstool out from the island and leans in its place. His arms span over the marble, and I stand there fixated.

She blinks at him. “Okay. I’ll do that right now. I didn’t know you were staying with us.” She moves to the fridge, and she seems as surprised as Licon was.