Page 9 of Brutal Heir

Serena erases the space between us, her scrutinizing gaze raking over me, and I suddenly feel like I’m back on my grandfather’s farm in Belfast, nothing more than one of his prized sheep. When she’s completed her inspection, she whirls toward Isabella. “Oh, my gawd, she’d be so perfect for Ale, right?”

CHAPTER 4

POSSIBLE MOB

Rory

A horn blasts as I dart across the street, and I narrowly avoid being run over by a yellow cab. The guy shouts curses from the open window, and I shoot him the finger in return.Arse. I’m so damned distracted that all the chaotic sights and bustling sounds of midtown blur in the background.

You’re out of your fecking mind, Rory. The errant thought echoes through my head in time with my slowing footsteps, the timbre and thick Irish lilt sounding an awful lot like my childhood best friend Maeve. Shite, I miss her. How that girl and her brother came from the same parents is beyond me.

I shouldn’t even be considering the possibility of taking on a position as a live-in nurse for the infamous wounded heir to a multi-billion-dollar corporation. In my short time in Manhattan, even I had heard of the Gemini Corporation and the notorious Rossis. The enormous tower looms over Park Avenue only a few steps away from Grand Central Station.

Mob rumors surround the corporation that has its hands in everything from manufacturing to high-end condos and lush nightclubs. The last thing I need is to get involved in anything remotely suspicious, not after everything I did to escape that life.

My fingers absentmindedly trace along my ribcage to the words imprinted along my skin.Saor óna slabhraí. Free from the chains. A permanent reminder I’d had tattooed when I arrived in Manhattan, along with a fierce butterfly emerging from those shackles. Never again. I would never be bound by a powerful, brutal man again.

But… if I don’t at least consider the position, I’ll find myself homeless in less than a week. And I refuse to ever return to that halfway house. My chat with the human resources lady at the hospital proved fruitless so at this point, I’m shite out of luck.

I must have lost all that damned luck of the Irish the Yanks go on about when I abandoned my homeland.

Cursing my father for forcing me into that disastrous arranged marriage with a psychopath, I march up to the cute café and yank the glass door open. The scent of roasted coffee beans wafts up to my nostrils and I breathe it in, allowing one of my favorite scents to calm my nerves.

I glance across the small coffee shop and find Isabella and Serena huddled around a quaint table in the corner, sipping lattes and laughing. There is no way those two are involved in the dark underground dealings of the mafia, right?

The mob rumors could be just that. Nothing more than unsubstantiated speculation.

Then my gaze lands on two gorgeous, muscular men dressed in all black lurking in the shadowy corner. One can’t keep his eyes off Isabella, a nervous clench to his jaw as I draw closer.

“Hey, girl!” Serena waves, drawing my attention away from the two bodyguards. She smiles at me like we’ve been friends foryears instead of strangers who chatted over coffee in the staff lounge for twenty minutes yesterday.

Isabella, too, offers a hopeful grin as I approach. “I got you a caramel macchiato. You said it was your favorite, right?”

“If you’re trying to bribe me, it’s working.” I wrap my hand around the warm mug and sink into the chair beside her.

“Good.” She smirks before glancing at her cousin with a quick nod.

“Right, so, Rory…” Serena begins, “let’s chat about Alessandro. You seem like someone who could hold her own against our cousin.”

“I’m glad I gave that impression straight off the bat.”

“It’s the leprechaun.” Isabella motions to the lanyard I wear over my scrubs, her lips twitching, and I can’t help the cackle that has my head tipping back.

“His name is McFecker. It’s what I call my patients when they’re pissing me off.”

Serena laughs, nearly spitting out her matcha latte before jabbing her elbow into Isabella’s side. “See, I told you! I knew she’d be perfect for the job.”

Of course I am, but I’ve still heard little about the man I’m supposed to care for besides what I’ve read on social media. And those bodyguards have the hair on my nape standing at attention.

Serena must notice my gaze flickering to the imposing men because she waves a dismissive hand, flashing that sparkling diamond. “Oh, just ignore them. Isabella’s boyfriend-slash-bodyguard is a little overprotective.”

“What about Antonio?” she blurts. “He’s as obsessed with you, if not more so.”

“Well, I am pretty fucking fantastic, and ever since Toni put a ring on my finger, he can’t stand to have me out of sight.” Sheshrugs like this is totally normal, and I allow myself to stare at the two striking men for another instant.

“Why does the taller one look like he wants to eat me?” I mutter under my breath.

“Raf, stop staring!” Isabella hisses to the opposite corner of the small space, “You’re going to freak Rory out.”