Page 7 of The Mobster’s Daughter (Massachusetts Mafia #2)

Grady

H is boss was pissed and if there was one thing nobody wanted to see—or hear—it was an angry Sean O’Reilly.

Grady dreaded making the call, but he knew he had no choice.

He intentionally waited until Caitlin dozed off; he couldn’t handle her bratty attitude and deal with her father at the same time.

Even after she fell asleep, he put off calling Sean as long as he could.

When he called for the fifth time in less than fifteen minutes, Grady knew it was time to tell him about the situation with his daughter.

He picked up his phone and reluctantly told Siri to call Sean.

The head of Massachusetts’ largest crime family initially seemed worried about his leascheannasaí .

Grady had never missed a meeting or ignored a phone call from his boss; for Christ’s sake, he’d never even been late.

He appreciated the concern, but as soon as Grady said he had gone to help Caitlin, Sean went dead silent for almost a fu ll minute.

“What did my daughter do now?” Sean fina lly asked.

He listened in silence while Grady explained what had happened and where they were. He didn’t speak until Grady was done.

“Take her to the cabin in Con necticut.”

“In Sharon?” Gr ady asked.

“Yes. It’s close and safe.” Sean cleared h is throat.

“You don’t want me to bring her home?”

“Absolutely not,” his boss replied. “Moretti’s crew will assume you’re bringing her home. She needs to go somewhere else. That’s why I want you to take her to Sharon. A nd Grady?”

“ Yes, sir.”

“You keep her safe. Do you un derstand?”

“Un derstood.”

“Where are we going?” Caitlin interrupted his replay of the conversation with her father. “Aren’t we going back t o Boston?”

“No,” he replied. “We’re going to Sharon, Con necticut.”

Caitlin’s face twisted like she’d bit into a sour lemon. “Where the hell is Sharon, Con necticut?”

“It’s in the middle of nowhere,” Grady said. “There’s a cabin there that only a few people in the family know about; it’s sort of like a safe house. We’ll stay there as long a s we can.”

He checked the GPS. They were less than twenty minutes from the place in Sharon.

He’d only been there once, shortly after Sean bought the place.

It was truly a cabin—one small bedroom, a bathroom, and a great room encompassing the kitchen and the living room.

Nothing fancy. It was a safe house and had never been used. Until now.

Caitlin sat up straight and looked out the window, still scowling. “It’s nothing but trees . Boring.”

“We’re not on vacation, princess. We’re here because you’ve got a price on your head.

” The GPS directed him to turn left in 500 feet.

If he remembered correctly, the turn was difficult to see and easily missed.

He slowed to twenty miles an hour and stared intently at the thick forest passing by, watching for the slive r of road.

“There it is,” he mumbled to himself. He hit the brake and slowly turned onto a dirt road hidden among the trees.

The narrow road wound through thick clusters of pines and oaks.

Caitlin clung to the door handle as the SUV bounced down the road, muttering words he couldn’t understand under her breath until the vehicle emerged in a clearing surrounded by towering oak and pine trees.

They cast long shadows over the clearing, making it feel more isolated than it act ually was.

The small, rustic cabin sat in the center. The wooden siding showed signs of weathering and age, but it was soli dly built.

Grady drove around the back and parked under a ten-foot awning. As soon as he shut the engine off, Caitlin jumped out of the Bronco and darted up the steps. When she realized the door wasn’t unlocked, she huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, leaned against the wall, and glar ed at him.

He sighed. She grated on his nerves on a good day, and this was not a good day.

He was tired and pissed, in no mood for Caitlin O’Reilly and her bratty attitude.

He understood the trauma she’d been through, but there was no time for hysterics or drama.

While he felt bad about calling her a brat earlier, it had to be done.

She couldn’t lose her shit, not when they were on the run.

To his surprise, she’d pulled herself together.

Unfortunately, it appeared the princess attitude was back.

Caitlin hadn’t always been like this. When she was a teenager, she had been sweet and carefree. After her father sent her sister Olivia off to marry the future leader of the Muldoon family, she had changed. She’d grown sullen and moody; it had only gotten worse after Olivia dis appeared.

That was about the time Caitlin started causing problems. Grady lost track of how many times she ditched her bodyguard, but then called him to retrieve her from some club or frat party because she’d been drinking and couldn’t drive herself home; or the guy she was with left her stranded or turned out to be an asshole.

He thought after she went to college he’d get some kind of reprieve, but she hadn’t improved.

Wrecked cars, drinking, partying, you name it, Caitlin did it.

It was a wonder she maintained her good grades, acting the way she did.

When she screwed up, Sean O’Reilly sent his second-in-command to clean up her messes.

He didn’t trust anyone else to be discreet.

“Grady!” Caitlin shouted. Apparently, the princess was impatient.

He climbed out of the SUV and grabbed the bags out of the back. When he got to the top of the stairs, he shoved them into Caitlin’s hands and punched in the code into the keypad on the door. When he heard a click, he pushed it open and ushered h er inside.

“Thank God,” she muttered. She dumped the bags on the table and dug through them until she found the clothing they’d bought for her. She put everything in her backpack, picked it up and slung it over her shoulder, then walked further into the room.

The cabin’s layout was open and dominated by one large room.

In one corner was a small, old-fashioned wood-burning stove, flanked by inlaid bookshelves crammed with a variety of books.

A flat-screen TV sat in the other corner.

A worn leather couch and a recliner faced the television, along with a large coffee table and matching end table.

An expensive area rug covered the floor.

To Grady’s right, the small kitchen held a stove, several cabinets, a refrigerator, and a thick wooden table with mismatche d chairs.

On his left were two doors leading to the bedroom and the bathroom.

If memory served him correctly, the bedroom had a full-size bed, and the bathroom was barely big enough for a shower, toilet, and sink.

There were two doors to the outside, at the front of the house and the one in the back they’d come through, as well as minimal windows.

As safe houses went, this one wasn’ t too bad.

Caitlin stood between the living room and kitchen. “Where’s the bathroom?” she asked. “I need a shower.”

Grady pointed to the other side of the living room. “Bathroom is right there. Bedroom is next to it. You can put your things in there.”

“Great.” She spun around without so much as a thanks and disappeared into the bathroom.

He put the food away, noting that the cupboards were stocked with plenty of canned and dry goods.

He took the clothing he’d bought for himself and hung it in a small closet in the living room.

From that same closet, he grabbed clean linens, put a set in the bedroom and the other he dropped on the coffee table.

After he finished, he checked the windows to make sure they were locked, then he closed the drapes a nd blinds.

Back in the living room, Grady checked the front door to make sure it was also locked. Once he’d done that, he pushed the couch in front of the door. Not only did it give them extra security by blocking it, but he could see the entire cabin from the couch.

After he finished, he sat on the couch and rested his head against the back. Grady exhaled and closed his eyes. Exhaustion settled over him like a warm blanket. He’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep before Caitlin called, and he’d been running on pure adrenaline ever since. God, he was tired.

The bathroom door opened and through his half-lidded eyes, he saw Caitlin emerge.

Her hair was on top of her head in what she called a “messy bun,” and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup.

She turned left and tossed her clothes in the bedroom before she joined him in the living room.

She perched on the edge of the chair with her hands folded in her lap and her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Grady recognized that look; it was the one she got any time she was trying to hold back tears. He’d seen it a lot over the last few years. He sat forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and cleared h is throat.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“What makes you think I’m not?” sh e snapped.

He bit his tongue and reminded himself that she had been through hell, including witnessing the murder of her boyfriend less than twelve hours ago.

He’d already scolded her once; he didn’t want to do it again.

Now that they were out of danger—for the time being—she could have a meltdown if s he wanted.

He exhaled slowly. “You know, it’s okay to cry, ” he said.

Caitlin scowled. “What makes you think I wan t to cry?”

Grady sighed. “I know you, Cait. Better than most people. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one who comes behind you and cleans up you r messes—”

“How could I forget?” she interjected. “You’re constantly remi nding me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to fight with you. All I’m saying is that it’s okay to mourn the death of your boyfriend. You don’t have to put on a brave fac e for me.”

Caitlin stared at her hands. “He … he wasn’t my boyfriend.

I broke up with him,” she whispered in a shaky voice.

“A couple of hours before he was … was murdered, we got into a fight. Bobby is—I mean was—an asshole. He grabbed me once or twice, hard enough to hurt, and I knew he was dealing drugs. If that relationship had continued, he probably would have hit me. The night he died, we fought. He punched the wall and left.”

“Jesus, why didn’t you tell me?” Grady murmured.

She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know.

It was just one more thing I screwed up.

” She scrubbed at the tears on her cheek with the back of her hand.

“I forgot to get his key. I figured he’d come around again, so I was gonna get the lock changed.

I didn’t think he would show up so soon.

Now, he’s dead, his brains splattered all over my apartment, and I know I’m supposed to feel bad, but he was a jerk.

A total asshole. I should feel awful that Bobby died, but all I can think about is how glad I am I got away.

” An odd chortle came out of her, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m a terribl e person.”

“No, you’re not terrible,” Grady said. “You’re human. You didn’t know he was goin g to die.”

A choked sob came out of her and the next thing he knew, Caitlin was in his arms, her face pressed against the side of his neck. He hugged her closely, though guilt washed over him as soon as he did it. This was his boss’s daughter, his best friend’s daughter. She was o ff-limits.

Knock it off. You’re consoling a griev ing woman.

A sweet, young, beautiful woman. A woman who was the same age as other women he’d recently taken into his bed. Not that any of them compared to her. She was soft, warm, and gorgeous.

Something stirred inside of him, something forbidden yet so appealing he couldn’t stop himself from imagining how good it could be. An image of Caitlin naked and lying beneath him suddenly appeared in his head, an image so visceral, so goddamn real that his cock immediately hardened.

For a brief second, his hands clamped down on Caitlin’s waist, and he considered yanking her close, tipping her head back, and kissing her. Instead, Grady pushed her away and jumped to his feet.

“You should try to get some sleep. It’s been a long night,” he muttered.

He darted into the bathroom and slammed the door so hard, the sound echoed through the small cabin. He turned on the sink and splashed cold water on his face and the back of his neck until his heart stopped pounding and his breathi ng slowed.

He stood up and stared at himself in the mirror. “She’s off-limits,” he whispered.

Tell that t o my dick.

That part of his body didn’t seem to give a shit that Caitlin was his boss’s daughter and twenty-one years younger than him. It wanted her, and it wanted her badly.

Grady bent over and splashed more water on his face.

This was ridiculous. He was tired—exhausted—and struggling to keep it together while he figured out what to do about Caitlin’s situation.

He was not attracted to her; it was a reaction to having a beautiful, young woman in his arms and pressed against his body.

It was an inappropriate response, an involuntary response.

There was nothing he could do about it. What he could do was forget it ever happened, get his head on straight, and d o his job.

Grady dried off his face and opened the bathroom door. The living room was empty, and the bedroom door w as closed.

“Thank God,” he mumbled to himself.

He listened for a minute, but when he didn’t hear anything coming from the bedroom, he made his way to the kitchen to look for alcohol. He needed a drink to dull this sudden need for sex, and he neede d it fast.