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She was right. Kellan was damn good at leadership and logistics and everything else that being a Mob boss required. Still, it was hard to look at him and not see the snot-nosed kid brother I always had to look out for back when we were young.
“And I know you’ve been smart with your money, made some good investments over the years to the point where you don’t need the income from your work. You don’t have to live this life until you’re old and gray like your father did. You can retire, make a clean break, start new with a wonderful woman at your side.”
I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable by the whole thing.
“You’re making it sound so simple,” I repeated.
“That’s because you’re stubborn like your pa, always insistent on doing things the hard way.”
She sighed, shaking her head and handing me the card.
“There’s the recipe for your pa’s soda bread on the back. He may have been a right arse, but he was no slouch in the kitchen. And save a little for me if you can, I want to make sure you’re doing my recipe justice.”
I laughed, taking the card and tucking it into my jeans pocket.
“Thanks, Ma.”
“Thank me by doing what you know needs to be done, lad. I know you’ve got it in you.”
Time would tell if Ma was right.
Chapter 27
Claire
Ihad to admit, I felt a little bit of anxiety along with a slight twinge of guilt. Kat had no idea who I was going to meet or better yet, who I had been meeting and having sex with. Knowing that Connor possibly played a role in her kidnapping gave me all sorts of feelings, one of them most certainly betrayal to my best friend.
I’d spent the first part of the evening at home with Kat getting ready for the night ahead, having her help me try on outfits. She had a date of her own with Trevor, the two of them ready to head out for a night on the town to celebrate her being off the hook with the Mob.
I stepped out of the Uber and checked in with the front desk clerk, who gave me the pass for the elevator. With each step I took closer toward it, the more nervous I became. Something was happening between Connor and I; I could feel it in my bones and it scared the hell out of me.
Once in the elevator and on the way up, I gave myself a once-over in the mirror. Unlike the purple party dress I’d worn to our first date, Kat and I had settled on something a little more subdued for this occasion. I had on a dark blue cocktail dress, the fabric tight enough to hug my curves, the hemline just low enough to be interesting. My hair was curled and hung around my bare shoulders, my coat draped over my arm.
It didn’t take long before the doors opened, revealing the same gorgeous apartment where we’d had our tryst the day before. It seemed as if I was seeing it with new eyes, not blinded by the incredible lust that had overtaken me yesterday.
The apartment was vast and well-appointed, adorned with stone sculptures and beautiful landscape paintings. The evening was well underway, the lights of the city twinkling through the amazingly tall glass walls.
Two things filled the air—soft jazz music and the scent of something delicious cooking.
“Claire?” came Connor’s voice from the kitchen off to the right. “Is that you?”
“Nope!” I called out. “Mob assassin coming to take you out!”
I winced as soon as I said the words. Connor appeared a moment later from the kitchen, that signature smirk on his face that made it clear he wasn’t too bothered by my tasteless joke.
“Sorry,” I said. “Not funny.”
“It was kind of funny,” he said. “You sounded like the most chipper assassin I’ve ever heard in my life. They tend to be a grouchy sort if you can believe it. Not really much of a sense of humor with most of them.”
I laughed, loving the way he hadn’t been put off by my dumb joke.
The way he was dressed had me right away thinking all sorts of dirty thoughts. Connor wore an off-white dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and showing off his sculpted pecs, gray slacks and a pair of black loafers.
“Love this outfit,” I said, stepping over to him. “You look like an Irish James Bond.”
He closed the distance between the two of us, putting his hands on my hips in that way I loved.
“You know, there already was an Irish James Bond.”
