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Corbin McClellan. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. Instead, I focus on the weird look Sean’s still giving me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” Sean asks, feigning ignorance.
“With that smug fucking grin. Why are you giving me that grin?”
He shrugs. “Because you were just staring at my sister.”
“I was taking notice of your creepy obsession with your family.” I puff up my chest, trying to sound convincing. My hand finds the bottom of my tie, and I play with it, pretending to straighten it. “And itiscreepy, Sean. Everyone has guards, and you’ve got monitors of their homes up. They need their privacy.”
“Privacy gets you killed in this life, Scotty. What I need is for them to be alive.” He turns his gaze back to the file in front of him. “Which are these?”
Sean has always been different. He’s the darkest of the Murphy children, though he tends to hide it the best. He doesn’t usually give into that monster, the way his older brothers do. While they choose violence, he sticks with the computer stuff.
I know it’s because that side of him is hard to control. Almost like he craves the bloodshed and the pain it brings. And I know that keeping his family safe this way is how he keeps that darkness asleep. Because if something did happen to the people he loves, I’d hate to see that beast awaken inside of him.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Cleaning staff backgrounds.”
The folder is from hers truly, Saoirse Murphy, the princess that haunts my dreams. It contains the next round of new hires for the hotel she’s built from the ground up in Back Bay. Callum will use it to funnel dirty money, no doubt. But this is her baby. And she’s been using their brother, Sean, to make sure the employees she’s hiring for the grand opening are upstanding citizens.
I had to swing by Callum’s and get them when she wasn’t around, because I don’t want to see her. Ican’tfucking see her. Saoirse is my weakness. Being around her awakens the beast inside of me. It makes me irrational, unpredictable.
Nodding, he closes the file. “I went through the restaurant and front lobby staff. Mostly everyone checked out. I should get through these fairly quickly.”
“I can help with them,” I say. I’ve been eager to learn the tech side of security. Especially since the shooting.
Since I’ve come home, Sean’s been keeping me on the light side of security, mostly driving the women around, or doing errands for him. And I’m starting to go stir crazy. So, if he’s not going to put me back on someone’s detail, I might as well make myself useful.
“Yeah?” Sean asks. “I can show you how to read the coding software and teach you how to find shit even Boston PD misses.”
“For an employee background check?” I ask, not even trying to hide the skepticism in my tone.
“Dude. I found three women linked to men in the Bratva applying as waitresses. Just because this hotel is being done by the books doesn’t mean that our enemies will deem it off limits. We need to be vigilant and make sure we don’t get anyone coming in as spies.”
He sucks in a breath. “Especially the feds. An alphabet agency gets a hold of an employee and turns them? We’re fucked.”
I nod, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Everything he’s saying makes sense. It’s things I haven’t thought of. Usually, my mind is on situational awareness and physical threats. Clearing buildings or shooting at an enemy. I’ve never thought about the behind the scenes aspects before.
“Now. Are you ready to hear about Corbin?” Sean asks, his gray eyes twinkling with amusement.
And if he weren’t a psycho, I’d smack him. The fucker is playing mind games with me. I really don’t want to deal with him. I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking my head. “What about Corbin? Other than he sounds like a tool.”
Sean chuckles. He leans back in his computer chair and rolls his tongue along the top row of his teeth. Clicking the pen in his hand, he waits for me to shoot him a scalding look.
“Saoirse and Corbin are dating, and from what I’ve been told, it’s getting pretty serious. Mr. Governor of Massachusetts plans to be the president one day.”
“Sounds like she’s found a good one, then.” It’s finally happening. Saoirse is finally realizing what she’s worth, and that she deserves someone better than me. Someone like a state governor who can provide her more than the Mob life.
My chest squeezes with that horrible realization.
Chapter Five
Chillsspreadthroughoutmyentire body, despite the warm temperature of the room. Corbin sent me the food options and I approved it without even looking at what’s available. Now, the menu is haunting me, bringing all of my childhood trauma right to the forefront. And he could be none the wiser.
If I don’t get a hold of my anxiety soon, he’ll know something is wrong. He’s already good at reading my face and knowing something is off.
There’s nothing wrong with Corbin. He’s kind to me, gives me the attention I deserve, doesn’t flirt with other women in front of me, and enjoys listening to me talk about my work. He even takes me seriously when I say I’m a vegan. So why can’t I just accept this and let him in? Why am I on edge about the menu when he’s made it clear he’s willing to accommodate me?
People just assume I can find anything on the menu wherever we dine, which is never the case. And here we are in a fine-dining modern restaurant with French cuisine, a.k.a. duck. There’s duck or fish as a main course. I can get a salad as an appetizer and ask them to swap the honey vinaigrette dressing for oil and lemon. Plus, I can ask them to hold the cheese.
