Page 18 of The Mobster’s Daughter (Massachusetts Mafia #2)

Grady

I t was half an hour before Grady noticed Caitlin hadn’t come downstairs. He shoved himself away from the table and went to the bottom of t he stairs.

“Caitlin!” he yelled.

No answer.

“Dammit,” he muttered. He stomped up the stairs, making as much noise as possible, hoping if she fell asleep, it would wake her up. He checked the bathroom and the two bedrooms, but she was gone.

Grady swung around, barreled back downstairs, and yanked open the front door. Dante came racing after him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Caitlin is gone,” Grad y replied.

“She couldn’t have gotten very far,” Dante said.

“Not without a car.” He pushed past Grady and down the porch steps.

“Go check the barn. I’ll walk toward the road.

If she’s trying to leave on foot, it’s a long hike.

Here.” He dug the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Grady.

“If she’s not there, pull the truck around and we’ll look for her. ” Dante slowly jogged up the driveway.

Grady shoved his hands in his pockets and hurried toward the barn. This was so typical of Caitlin; she never thought about anyone but herself. If she got a bug up her ass and took off, then she would do it without a second thought, consequences be damned.

He stopped at the barn and peered in the window, but he didn’t see anything, so he walked around the side of the building. Fortunately, the full moon was bright enough for him to see where he was going without a f lashlight.

In the back, he found an old sedan parked in the middle of a weed-filled garden. Sitting inside the car was Caitlin. When she saw him, she climbed out and stared at him over the roof.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked. “You can’t just disappear l ike that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t disappear. I went for a walk because I needed some air.”

Something was wrong. Something she wasn’t telling him. He wasn’t sure what it was and, knowing Caitlin, she wouldn’t offer any in formation.

“You need to come back inside. Now,” h e ordered.

Obviously irritated, she marched past him and headed for the house. He hurried after her, grabbed her arm, and st opped her.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she muttered. An obvious lie. She took a step, then turned around with her hands on her hips. “How long are we going to be here?”

“I don’t know,” Grady answered. “As long as nobody finds us, we can hole up here for a while. If something happens, we’ll have to move somepl ace else.”

Caitlin sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. “What are we going to do, jump from safe house to safe house, hoping and praying we can stay awhile? That’s s o stupid.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

She darted back to his side. “We could go away, me and you. Go someplace where no one knows us. Mexico, Canada, shit, Europe. Any place but here.” Caitlin put her hands on his chest and stared into his eyes.

“We could start over. As long as you’re with me, everything would be okay. Right? And we would be together.”

Grady’s eyes closed. Those were the same words Oona said to him all the years ago. But unlike Oona, at that moment, all he wanted to do was throw Caitlin in his truck and run away with her. He would have done it, too, if he thought they could break away withou t a fight.

He cupped Caitlin’s cheek and brushed his thumb across her lips. “You don’t know how tempting that is, sweetheart. But it would ne ver work.”

Her face fell, and her eyes widened. “What do mean, ‘It would never work’?” she whispered.

“Grady!” Dan te yelled.

“Over here!” he responded.

Dante jogged around the corner of the barn. “You found her. Thank God. We should ge t inside.”

Grady took Caitlin’s hand and dragged her to the house.

He knew he’d hurt her feelings, but they couldn’t afford her drifting off into some fantasy about the two of them running away together.

It wasn’t plausible; it wouldn’t save her; and her father would never allow it.

It was time for her to come to terms wit h reality.

Once they reached the porch, Caitlin yanked her hand from his, stalked through the house, and sat down on the overstuffed couch in front of the fireplace, her back to him.

He ignored the obvious tantrum and parked himself at the table.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, dialed Sean’s number, and waited for the inevitable as s-chewing.

“Jesus Christ, where the fuck have you been?” Sean yelled. “Where is my daughter?”

“She is safe,” Grad y replied.

“Where are you?” S ean asked.

God, the urge to tell his boss where they were overwhelmed him. He usually told Sean everything; it didn’t matter that the man was Caitlin’s father. Grady’s need to protect Caitlin outweighed the biological factor. He exhaled slowly before he answered.

“It’s probably best if I don’t tell you, sir,” G rady said.

“Goddamn it,” his boss snapped. “That is my daughter.”

“I think someone told the Morettis where we were. I’m not sure who I c an trust.”

“Somebody who work s for me?”

“Yes, sir. I be lieve so.”

Sean swore loudly, then he exhaled with a huff. “Understood. But I want my daughter brought home. As soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Grady replied.

The phone went dead in his hand. Sean O’Reilly was a man of few words.

He shoved the phone into his pocket and looked at Caitlin.

She had taken off her sweatshirt, stretched out on the couch, and thrown a blanket over her legs.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow.

She appeared to be asleep. He gestured to Dante, who got to his feet and followed him into the o ther room.

“I need a new phone,” Grady said. “I still don’t know how they found us in Sharon. It could be the phones, if it’s someone we know. I need to dump this one and get new burners.”

“I’ll go,” Dante said. “You stay here with her.”

Grady took out his wallet and gave his friend a handful of cash. “Can you buy her some clothes: a coat, jeans, maybe a couple of T-shirts? She has nothing.”

Dante nodded. “Yeah, I got this.” He glanced at the couch where Caitlin slept before lowering his voice. “I’ll be gone two, maybe three hours. See if you can’t fix whatever the hell is wrong between you two. This is going to be a lot harder if we have to fight her every step of the way.”

Dante was right; if they were at odds and fighting, Grady wouldn’t be able to keep her safe. Her natural tendency to push back against authority could cause problems. They neede d to talk.

Grady waited for Dante to leave before he approached Caitlin. He stood at the end of the couch and watched her sleep. Except she wasn ’t asleep.

He grabbed her foot and shook it. “I know you’ re awake.”

Her eyes opened, and she rolled onto her back. “I don’t want to tal k to you.”

“Tough shit,” he replied. “You’re angry with me, ar en’t you?”

Caitlin grunted something incoherent and pushed herself upright. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

“You didn’t answer my question? Outside? Tell me why us being together would ne ver work.”

“Caitlin—”

She shook her head. “Answer the questio n, Grady.”

“You know all the reasons this can’t work, Cait. Our age difference and your father are the biggest and most pressing.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t do relationshi ps, baby.”

Now she was on her feet in front of him, that damn defiant, petulant look on her face. She put her hands on her hips and jutted out her chin. His cock twitched as he considered spanking her ass to rein in her attitude.

“Why won’t you admit you don’t believe in love?” she demanded.

He didn’t think. He moved, his hand going around her throat, forcing her back a step. “Were you eaves dropping?”

She stiffened, but she didn’t pull away. “Yes,” she whispered. Tears welled in her eyes. “Just tell me you don’t love me. Shit, tell me you don’t care about me, and I’ll l et it go.”

God, he wanted to kiss her, own her, possess her. But he couldn’t lose control, not when Caitlin’s life was on the line. Grady pushed her away and walked across the room.

“Dammit!” she screamed. A pillow from the couch flew past his head, followed by another hitting him in the back.

He turned, and she was right there, inches from him, her blonde hair flying around her face and her blue eye s on fire.

“Don’t walk away from me,” sh e shouted.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he snapped. “You need to c alm down.”

Caitlin raised her hand and before he could stop her, she slapped Grady, the sound resonating through the farmhouse. His head rocked to the side and his cheek stung where she had scratched him with one of her fake fi ngernails.

He froze for a split second before he turned to look at her.

He reached for her, wrapping his arms around Caitlin’s waist and pulling her close.

But she wasn’t having it. She struggled to get away and when that didn’t work, she balled her hands into fists and pounded on his chest, screaming in angry, incoherent bursts of nonsense.

“Knock it off.”

“You used me!” she screamed. “I let myself be vulnerable, and you fucking used me.”

Grady grabbed her by the upper arms, swung around, and held her against the wall. “I didn’t use you, baby. I fucked you because you w anted it.”

Caitlin stared up at him and her lip trembled. “Yes,” she whispered. “I need you, and it fucking kills me.”

“Don’t you think it’s killing me, too?” he asked. “I can’t keep my hands off you. I know I shouldn’t want you, but I can’t fucking re sist you.”

She grunted, but before she could say anything, he k issed her.

“Let me go,” she mumbled when they br oke apart.