Chapter 19
CORMAC
The dark clouds are finally gone from the house.
Both the one from the past and the one brought on by Brenna’s anger.
After that night up in the east rooms, I sat down and explained everything about our contract to her. She really had no clue about what was going on.
She spent the next day and night apologizing profusely for how horrible she’d been to me. I admitted to her that it nearly broke me apart, but I understood why she felt the way she did. I promised her that I would never play with her heart like that.
We spent that night and every other available hour since then refinding each other. The make-up sex was out of this world. I’m almost tempted to piss her off again just so we can have more of that.
Of course, not to that extreme though. I never want to see her in such a state again.
When she’s strong, so am I. When she hurts, so do I. We’re more of a team now than we’ve ever been. I’m not sure it’s the result either of our fathers expected, but it’s what they got. They wanted to build a stronger empire, well we have, and I’ll make sure that I preserve it any way I can.
“Did you eat today?” Brenna leans up on her elbows, the cover pulling down from her plump breast as she looks up at me with concern.
I’m standing by my closet looking for some clothes to throw on, preferably something I can get off just as quickly as it comes on. I never know where Brenna’s passion will overcome her, and I like to make her getting to me as easy as possible.
I look down pointedly to the apex of her thighs. “Several times, yes.” I give her a wicked smile, which she replies to by rolling her eyes and tossing a pillow at me.
“I mean actual food. You know, sustenance, brute.”
“No, you want to get something?” I ask.
“Yeah, let’s order something with cakes.” She licks her lips, no longer thinking about me but about the food she is no doubt ready to devour.
“I mean do you want to go out and get something?” My voice is lower. It’s easier to go out now, especially with her by my side. I don’t care about anyone else looking at me, not when she is there.
“Like to a restaurant? Really?” She jumps up to her knees.
“Get dressed.” I nod, and she leaps out of bed, nearly falling to the ground, rushing to get some clothes.
“It probably won’t be a big place. Just small. Something—” I go on trying to manage her expectations when she comes back in the room after getting dressed faster than ever.
“Cormac, as long as I’m with you I don’t care where we go.” She replies, leaning up to press a kiss to my lips.
One day I’m going to give this woman the world. Little steps.
Just as we are about to walk out of my room, the in-house phone rings.
We both groan. Someone unexpected is here. As the boss I can definitely tell them to fuck off, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. I’m here to handle all the problems. At least until Declan gets out. I’m counting down the days.
Brenna pouts as I walk over to answer the phone.
“Mr. O’Sullivan. Dean is here to speak with you.”
Dean. My mood immediately drops. I didn’t think I’d have to deal with him any time soon.
“Send him.” I order. When I look back up at Brenna the focused, concerned look is on her face. She knows my moods just by the sound of my voice.
“Trouble?”
I nod my head. “Stay in the room. Let me handle it.”
I press a kiss to her forehead before I turn on my heel and walk to the parlor room just as Dean gets there. He’s in a rush or seems to be uneasy.
“Is there a problem?” I question.
“I’m sure not. It must be a miscommunication. Did you order the dock workers from the Doyle family take lead at the two southern ports?”
“Yes, I did.”
“I see, what about changing the flight date for the Bolivian shipment?”
“I changed that as well.”
“Have you been personally going to every supply check? There’s been words like micromanaging being thrown around.”
The more Dean talks the more it sounds like he’s questioning my decisions. That shit doesn’t fly, not now, not ever.
“Yes, I fucking did. I’m not understanding what you and your people don’t get. I run this shit here. If I want to light the whole fucking establishment on fire and watch it burn to the ground that’s what I’ll do.”
“Cormac, your father—” He starts, but I cut him off.
“I’m not my fucking father. If you thought shit was going to be the same, you’re wrong. The business is growing, and either you get along with that or I’ll be rid of you and find someone who will.”
Dean glares at me and I wait for just the hint of a threat so I can put a fucking bullet between his eyes.
“Of course. Do you have the numbers for the last supply check by chance? They said you walked off with them.”
I’m annoyed that I’m still having to deal with him, but if getting him the numbers will be enough to get him out of my space I’ll hand them over. I have a copy already anyway.
“Sit here and don’t touch anything.” I order and walk out of the parlor room. All the physical copies of anything relating to work are in the upper east rooms.
Dean says he understands, but every last fiber of me thinks I need to be preparing for an uprising.
brENNA
Doing what I’m told has never been my strong suit.
I did stay in the room for a long while, my ear pressed against the door as I listened for anything Cormac was saying down the hall. I couldn’t hear much.
When I hear him walk by my door and up toward the east rooms, I sneak out of my room and tiptoe down to the parlor room. Whoever the meeting is with is still here. At first I don’t think he’s alone because I hear him talking, but then I realize he’s on the phone.
“It’s all going to shit. Cormac is going to run this fucking empire into the ground.
I don’t know what his father is trying to prove, but I’m not going to let it go on my watch.
Not after all we’ve worked for. We are the ones who truly run the States.
Niall can fuck off in Ireland.” The man speaks and then pauses as he waits for whoever he is talking to on the phone to respond.
“I know. It has to get done fast. The next shipment is set to come in this weekend. If one of the Doyle fucks gets their hands on it or if Mr. Goody Two-Shoes decides to do another supply check he’s going to figure it out. I’d rather deal with baby bear than papa.”
They must be talking about not wanting Cormac’s father to figure out what’s going on.
“You have someone to do it? When? No, that’s too late. It’ll have to be tonight. We can take him out while he sleeps, make it look like the little wife did it. She’s been nothing but a fucking problem anyway. I’m not completely convinced it’s not her telling him to do all this.”
I keep my mouth sealed, not even wanting to breathe too hard so I don’t give my position away. I’ve heard more than enough to know that Cormac is in real danger and possibly myself.
I tiptoe backward, making sure to avoid all the noisy cracks in the floor I’ve already memorized.
I get back to the room just in time to hear Cormac coming down from the east rooms. I want to warn him, but I can’t do it while that man is here. Thankfully, I hear the man tell Cormac thank you for something and then Maxim comes back in to walk the guy out.
I only catch a glimpse of the back of him. I think it’s that same Dean asshole from before.
Problems.
Cormac shakes his head as if he’s trying to push the bad aura away. “Come on, let’s go get that dinner.”
“No.” I say once, before clearing my throat and saying it again. “No.”
There’s a brief stint of fear that washes through me. The last time I tried to tell Cormac what I’d overheard about him being set up he was pissed. He told me that his business wasn’t a place for me.
Since then I like to think that we’ve grown, but I can’t be sure. Still, I’m not going to let fear stop me from saving the man I love. He can be mad at me all he wants as long as he’s alive.
“Why not, I thought you were hungry.”
I grab his hands, trying to get him to see how serious and certain I am about what I heard. “I know you told me to stay in the room, and I did, until the very end. You need to believe me right now, Cormac. Listen to me.”
He clenches his jaw and nods once.
“They have a hit out on you. Whoever it is will come tonight. They’re going to make it look like I killed you in your sleep. You’re screwing something big up, and they know in order for whatever they are doing not to get back to your father they have to take you out. Tell me you trust me.”
The crazy rage I haven’t seen in a long time flashes to life in his eyes. At first I think it’s aimed at me. I’m ready to back away; instead he pulls me closer.
“I believe you. I’ll handle it.”
“We’ll handle it.” I lean back and look up into his eyes.
He nods again and that’s all the reassurance I need.