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I arch my eyebrows. "Who says ya tricked me?"
She laughs. "Ya know damn well I tricked ya."
I'm not going to admit it to her. I just shake my head. "Nah, ya can't trick me, and ya know it." I give her another kiss.
I grab the keys from the cupholder and hold them in front of her. "We'll take it for a spin when I return, okay?"
She takes the keys and beams. "Okay. And you're going to let me drive?"
I grunt. "I prefer to be the one driving—"
"I'll let ya drive any other time, but the first drive is mine," she blurts out.
I chuckle. "Whatever ya want, princess." But I am happy that she stated I can drive every other time. I hate sitting in the passenger seat with my woman. I'm the man after all.
I get out, as does she, and I lead her into the house. I step in front of Brody and Alaina's office.
They're inside, along with my brothers. Dad's in there as well.
I kiss Maeve one more time.
Alaina calls out, "Lauren and Scarlet are in the family room. They're excited to see ya. They're with the babies."
Maeve puts on a brave face, even though I know she's not happy I'm leaving. "Okay." She rises on her tiptoes and kisses me on the lips. "Be careful, okay?"
It's the first time I've ever seen real worry in her eyes where I'm concerned. I actually like it. I don't know why. I don't want her to worry, but knowing that she cares about me is nice.
"We really need to get on this," Brody calls out.
I release Maeve. "Have fun with the girls."
"Okay. I hope you're back soon," she says.
"I'll do my best," I vow, then go into Brody's office and shut the door.
"This is war," Alaina seethes.
"Aye, no doubt about it," my dad states.
Brody's phone rings. He picks it up and answers, "All clear?"
Silence fills the air.
Dad rolls a fresh cigar between his fingers and thumb.
Brody says, "Stay available," and hangs up. He turns to us. "The chief cleared us to go to the docks. We can go inspect the damage now."
My three brothers, Dad, and I leave the house. We get in an SUV. As we near the docks, tension builds.
Every one of us is seething, angry, and frustrated. Smoke fills the air, getting thicker as we approach the water. Sidewalks and buildings lay crumbled in piles of concrete.
"Jesus, ya weren't exaggerating," I mutter.
"Did ya really think we were?" Brody snarls.
"No. But seeing this... Jesus." I shake my head, more determined than ever to kill every O'Leary I can and show no mercy.
Maneuvering through the rubble takes longer than I expected. Everything's chaos. The authorities zip body bags, and too many corpses are strewn everywhere.
