Chapter 8
brENNA
I’m stuck in a constant state of limbo when it comes to Cormac.
The man has a lot of bark but so far there’s no bite to him.
I’ve been pushing little by little.
First, I started with the lights. I turn them on in every room I’m in and he doesn’t turn them off.
I found an old radio that had Bluetooth and allowed me to connect my iPod. The speakers are old and have seen better days, but I play my music loud. Sometimes so loud he has to come in and ask me to turn it down.
I know I shouldn’t, but the fact that I can get under his skin in even that small of a way makes me feel good. Lets me know the man is only just human. A human who was forced into this just like I was.
Now when I walk around, he doesn’t glare at me until I go away. He actually asks if I need something or have any questions. I usually don’t. A house is a house anywhere.
As I’m walking around near the kitchen area of the house, I realize that it’s a shame that it’s not being put to better use.
I cook myself meals, but Cormac and I have yet to share one together.
Maybe one day I can make him a big meal and we can sit together to eat like normal people. At least as normal as we can be.
I don’t even know when he makes time to eat. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen him eat a scone that was store-bought and drink whiskey.
It’s sad.
Before I can fall further down that rabbit hole, I hear the in-house phone ring.
I’ve come to realize that it only rings when one of the security has something to tell him.
The last time it rang, it was because one of the dogs had gotten into something they shouldn’t have, but the time before that it was because someone had come to visit.
I feel like a dog myself, excited just because we have company. I really need to figure out a way to get more social interaction.
I wait in the hallway expecting to see Killian come walking down, but when a man I’ve never seen before turns the corner, I quickly make myself scarce.
Watching from around the corner, I see Maxim, the head security guard, escort a man to the parlor room where I’m sure Cormac is sitting brooding away.
I wait until Maxim leaves and walks back down to where I’m sure he’s posted.
I take that as my chance to do a little bit more eavesdropping.
It’s the only way I’m able to keep up with what’s going on in life.
It’s not like there are any TVs in the house.
The entire country could be at war right now and I wouldn’t know.
I have to talk to Cormac about that. How has he been living life without an idiot box?
I lean against the wall, taking up the position that I’ve realized is the easiest for me to hear what is going on inside.
“Everything is going to plan with the Doyle projects. Your father wants to make sure that you have everything you need to oversee all of your new employees.”
I can’t see him, but I have a feeling Cormac is as annoyed by this conversation as I am listening to it.
“If my father wanted to be this hands-on with how I’m running things over here, maybe he shouldn’t have given me the responsibility in the first place.”
“Oh, no. Your father has all the faith in the world in you. I’m just making sure you’re not in need of any assistance.
And also to let you know about a port we want to get control of.
Your father thinks it would be a perfect opportunity for you to spread your wings, so to say. It should be an easy takeover.”
“Which port?”
“The port down by Bettine.”
The second I hear what port the man is talking about, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
My father had been trying for years to get a foothold in that port.
From what I could gather, it was nearly impossible, mostly because of the people who presently ran it.
That port is in a prime location and there are lots of drugs that come through it, which means the gang that runs it has a lot to lose if it falls under someone else’s power.
This man is making Cormac believe that it’s going to be a cakewalk to take control of it.
I don’t know why he would do that, unless... unless this is a trap.
Fuck, this is going deeper than I thought possible. Cormac isn’t the golden child to his father I thought he was. If his father set this up, then his father is itching for Cormac to be killed. If he doesn’t know about it, then it’s someone else.
For a moment, I think about the possibilities. If Cormac dies, then does that mean my sentence is over? Will I be allowed to go back home? I doubt it. In fact, I’m sure my father would find a way to pawn me off on another family.
I’d rather be with the devil I know than one that I don’t. Cormac is brooding, moody, and downright frustrating, but at least he’s opening up to me. He’s trying. That’s more than I can say about someone I don’t know.
Quickly, as I hear people moving inside the parlor room, I scurry back to the corner so no one can see that I’ve been out here eavesdropping.
I watch as the man Cormac was talking with walks down the hall and is met by Maxim at the front door.
I give it a second before I rush to the parlor room. I don’t wait for Cormac to invite me in. He needs to know what I know before he makes any decisions that could possibly cost him his life.
“Cormac.” I call for him and his head turns in my direction. It’s the side that his scar is on, the one he still tries his hardest to keep hidden from me.
When I first saw it at the ceremony, it frightened me, but now that I’ve been able to see it on a daily basis, I realize that it’s not as bad as I once thought it was.
“What are you doing here? Don’t tell me. You were eavesdropping again,” he says on an agitated sigh.
“Yes, I was. And you better be glad that I was.” I cross my arms over my chest. I’m not going to be ashamed in my own house.
I blink a few times, allowing the thought to take root in my mind. This is the first time that I’ve thought of this cold mansion as my home. I don’t let it distract me from what I’m doing.
“Why should I be glad that my wife is so damn disrespectful? That meeting was private. If it were something that you needed to be privy to, I’d have told you to come in. I did not.”
“Cormac, you don’t know what I should know. You barely know what you should know. For instance, do you know about the people who run that port that man is advising you to take over?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I’ll get all the information I need when the time comes.”
“Well, the time is now. That man made it seem like you were just going to walk in there and swing a little weight around, and you’d walk back out in one piece. That’s not how it’s going to go down.”
Cormac clenches his jaw and I see the anger building in his gaze. I can’t back down now. If I do, he’ll never take what I tell him seriously.
“Listen to me. I know all about that port. The people who run it are ruthless and won’t back down from that piece of property without bloodshed.” I keep my eyes trained on him.
“And what makes you think I’m not ready for bloodshed?”
“I never said you weren’t, but this isn’t the type of undertaking someone just approaches without an army behind them.”
Cormac shakes his head and tries to walk around me. He’s obviously done with this conversation.
I’m not.
I grab hold of his arm and spin him back in my direction. “Cormac, you need to listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. I don’t know what kind of reputation you have or your association with that man who was just here, but it sounds like they are setting you up to fail.”
“Failure isn’t an option,” he grinds out.
“It never is.” I shake my head. “So maybe there’s another reason. Double-check the information. If it doesn’t pan out, maybe something more is going on here. Maybe this is a trap.”
I wait for him to understand what I’m saying, but if he does, he doesn’t let me know. He just continues to stare at me. I huff out a breath and drop my hands to my sides. It’s like talking to a brick wall.
“Are you just about finished?”
I’m trying to help him, but he’s looking at me as if I’m another enemy. All I can do is hope that he doesn’t go into that war trusting what those people are saying to him.
They are wrong.
It’ll be the death of him, and I know it.
What I can’t seem to come to grips with as I walk away is the fact that it’s bothering me so much.
CORMAC
I watch as Brenna turns and storms out of the room. She was all bluster when she walked in, but now as she walks away, I can see how defeated her posture is.
I think over what she just told me. It never even occurred to me that there could be something sinister afoot. I’ve always taken what my father ordered me to do as just that, an order.
Why would he send me into a situation that could possibly end my life? Unless he doesn’t have as tight a grip on his businesses over here as he thinks he does.
It is strange that even after forcing me to get married and outfitting me with all these security personnel, he would also send one of his underbosses my way to make sure I had everything I need.
I have what I have. My father’s never been concerned about making sure I had an easy time with anything.
Something stinks, and I wouldn’t have even noticed it had it not been for Brenna.
Instead of going to find her to let her know that, I decide to get to the bottom of at least one part of what’s going on. I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial my father.
It takes him a few rings to pick up. It didn’t occur to me that it’s the middle of the night over there and he would be sleeping. I need to know the truth of the matter now.
“What, boy?” my father grumbles on the phone.
“I apologize for the late-night call, but I needed to run something by you.”
“You’re a grown man, Cormac. Have I really raised you to be such a whining disappointment that you can’t wait until a decent hour to call? Whatever the problem is, you shouldn’t need my input.”
I grind my teeth as I wait for him to finish his tirade.
When he takes a breath, I take that as my chance to get a word in.
“I just need to know if you sent Dean over here to talk to me about an expansion opportunity?”
“What the hell are you talking about, boy? I haven’t sent Dean over there for anything. My people shouldn’t need to check in on you.” The disdain in his voice is evident, as well as the confusion.
Brenna was right. This wasn’t coming from my father. Someone else was trying to get me to overstep my bounds. Someone is trying to take me out, and they are using the fact that my father is so far away to hide it.
“That’s all,” I say, and my father hangs up the phone. There are no follow-up questions, no concern.
He may not care about what’s going on this side of the ocean, but I do. My life depends on it.