Page 90 of Broken Blood Ties

“Boss.” He nods. I return the gesture, and move past him to key in, then I shut myself inside for the remainder of the morning.

I’m so buried in my work I miss the rapping on my door before it’s too late.

The door flies open, and I startle, the signature on my purchase order squiggling down and into a bleeding dot.

“What the hell?” I growl.

“Sorry, Boss. You weren’t answering the door when I knocked. Tried three times.” Cormac’s eyes are wide as he scans the office. I’m not sure what he thinks he’s going to find but leave it to him to hunt a threat even though I’m sitting in one piece in front of him.

“What is it?”

“Marco is here.”

“This early?” I glance down at my watch, shocked four hours have passed. “Give me five then send him in.”

Expecting Cormac to spin and walk out, I turn back to my messed-up work. When the door doesn’t click, I raise my head. “Why ye still in me office?”

“Marriage into the Cosa Nostra? This doesn’t look good. Does Luka know?”

Reaching my hands up, I loosen my tie, regretting the fact I’m wearing a suit. It’s suffocating in here all of a sudden.

“It’s not marriage. It’s an engagement.”

“Same difference. Ye aren’t going to actually marry her, are ya?”

I flip over the top contract and move to the next one. There are certain questions I allow Cormac to ask, along with many answers. This, however, is not one of them.

“Bleeding hell, Kieran. It was one thing when she was just ye daughter’s preschool teacher, but Cosa Nostra? This has so many political ramifications. How do you think Riku is going to take this? He’ll view it as a move against them considering he’s made himself clear with where the Yakuza stand.”

He’s right, and yet, I don’t care.

“And don’t even get me started on how Marco is going to take this. That girl was his in, his way back with the Nostra.”

I sign my name with ease over the next contract, not bothering to meet Cormac’s beady eyes. “It’ll be fine, Cormac. Go pour yerself a glass of Redbreast.”

He scoffs at my suggestion, since he’s never one to drink whiskey. He’d rather have a beer.

But while I say it’ll be fine, I can’t help the tightened grip on my ballpoint pen and the double Ls on my last name have become increasingly loopy.

I’ve been out of the ring too long. That’s it. I need a fight. Need to drown in the euphoria of a win or gobble up the feel of bruised skin under my fist.

“Make sure Joe knows I’ll be in the ring Saturday night.”

“Ye sure about that? What? With all your fiancé duties ye have now.”

Becauseof all my “fiancé duties” … “Aye.”

Cormac snorts, and I chuck my pen down to glare at him and his insolence. He raises both hands, palms forward. “Aye, Boss.”

Then he saunters out. In almost no time, the booming voice of Marco swearing in muttered Italian filters down the hallway. When he bursts into my office, the first thing out of his mouth is, “Engaged? You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”

Chapter28

Summer

Iwake to the rev of an engine. My eyelids pop open, neither one at the same time, as I fight the streams of sunlight blinding me from behind the sheer curtains.

Bah, I’m tired. I blink away the haze, and with another roar of the engine outside, I shove off the covers and fall out of bed to scramble to the window, in time to see Kieran’s Audi squeal out of the driveway.