Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Joey
To say meeting Olivia blindsided me is the understatement of the year. Our resemblance is uncanny. It made my hackles go up immediately. I know there are miles upon miles of lies and secrets my father’ll never share. But this…
If Olivia knows, then why couldn’t Santi and I? It’s not like I expect my parents to invite Olivia and her family to Christmas, but this is a big fucking deal to keep hidden.
It makes me wonder if papá really doesn’t know I’m with Cormac. If he did, he’d know I’m likely to meet members of the other syndicates, and that means I’d likely meet Olivia. I’ve been thinking about that for the last three days. We ended our conversation far better than it started. My combativeness shocked me, but instinct told me to protect my family and Cormac’s. It made me defensive and untrusting to an extreme. I know my behavior displeased Cormac, but he’s said nothing about it nor treated me any differently. But it put him in an awkward position during the conversation.
Santiago let me have it, though. He texted me like every five minutes until I relented and answered the phone the next day. He chewed me out in English, Spanish, and Spanglish for fifteen minutes. It tempted me to put the phone down and walk away. Instead, I folded laundry. He defended Olivia a lot more than I expected, but nothing he said was untrue. I was a royal bitch. I don’t know if her attitude was a response to mine or the other way around, but neither of us was nice during most of the exchange. However, we’re meeting for lunch today.
I need to get a few things from my place before I head to the office then the restaurant. I seem to be progressively moving my stuff into Cormac’s place. All of this season’s clothes are there, but I need some more as the weather transitions and keeps getting cooler.
“Sean, I’ll be five minutes. I just want to grab a few things.”
Cormac’s cousin reaches for my keys as I insert them into the lock. I turn it and push the door open an inch as he steps in front of me. The moment he opens it wider, heat and sound combined with the force that launches us backwards keep me from understanding what’s happening. Immediately, fire detectors go off in my apartment. I hear people screaming, but I can make no sense of it.
“Jocelyn? Jocelyn?”
“Sean?”
“Yeah. Where are you hurt?”
“I don’t know. You?”
I force my eyes open and see a deep cut on his forehead and cheek. His suit coat is off and smoldering beside him. The front of his shirt’s ripped and shows cuts and likely burns, but nothing anywhere near as bad as I expected. How long was I out of it?
I look down at myself and realize I’m sprawled on the floor of the apartment across the hall from mine. The blast burst open that door. I hurt, but I think it’s from landing so hard. I feel some cuts on my arms, and I spy a wood shard in my thigh. I don’t think it’s done any serious damage, so I reach for it.
“No.”
Sean pushes my hand away and scoops me up. How the hell can he carry me when he just took the brunt of the explosion? I don’t understand what’s happening, but he’s running toward the fire exit. So are my neighbors. Everything’s been in slow motion, but now it whips back into real time. I feel the heat as we rush away from my fiery apartment.
“Sean, my head hurts more than anything else.”
“I know, Jocelyn. We’re going to get you to a doctor. You took a nasty blow to the back of your head.”
I try to lift my hand to feel for an injury, but Sean has my arms pinned to my sides. I struggle, but he tightens his hold. He’s keeping me from reaching, so it makes me think it must be bad.
“How’re you carrying me down four flights of stairs?”
Are my words slurred? They feel like it.
“Because Cormac will kill me if anything else happens to you.”
“But—”
“Jocelyn, save your energy.”
That’s a nice way to tell me to shut up.
Sirens greet us as we reach the street. Mobsters push through the crowd until they get to us. I don’t know them, but Sean’s issuing orders. They bundle me into an SUV. I don’t understand why it’s not an ambulance if it’s severe enough we need to leave.
“We need to make a statement to the police and fire department.”
Everyone ignores my comment. Sean’s kneeling beside me in the back of the vehicle. The second and third row seats are down, so I’m stretched out. My vision’s blurry now, but I know I recognize automatic rifles in the back. There’s one laying on the floor beside Sean. I twist my head and wince, but I see men beside the passenger windows with rifles at the ready.
It’s only now that it sinks in.
That was a bomb.
A bomb in my apartment.
A bomb in my apartment meant to kill me.
“Cormac.”
“I’m calling him right now, Jocelyn. He’ll meet us.”
“Our place. He calls it ours.”
I hear one side as Sean explains what happened. It helps me to understand because I don’t have a clear memory.
“Cor, Jocelyn’s safe, but you need to meet us at Meredith’s. There was an explosion at her place. Opening the door triggered it…Yes, I was in front of her. Yes, I’m all right…I’m sure I’m fine. A few singed hairs, and my suit coat is worthless.”
I lift my hand to point to his forehead. Blood’s streaming down it. I know head wounds bleed profusely, but he should be unconscious.
“I’m going to talk to Seamus and see if Tiernan can get in there once it’s safe. She’ll know what happened.”
Tiernan?
My future sister-in-law. A fire inspector.
I feel like my brain’s slogging through mud, but it still works.
“Yeah. She’s awake. Here you go.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, cailín . I’ll be at Meredith’s as soon as I can. I’m already in the car.”
“This is a lot worse than my shoulder and elbow.”
“I know, little one. But Sean doesn’t think it’s serious enough for the hospital if he’s taking you to Meredith. What do you think?”
“I ache all over. My head’s killing me, and my thigh’s?—”
I look down and realize someone’s wrapped a bandage around the wound, but the piece of wood’s still protruding from it. I don’t remember that. Did I pass out for a while?
“What about your thigh, Joey?”
“Don’t panic, Da?—”
“I’m not, Joey. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m trying to, but you interrupted me, Da?—”
“I’m getting impatient, Jocelyn.”
“Fine, Cormac.”
Oh fuck!
Saying his full name makes me realize what I almost called him twice. I cringe. I already said it once loud enough for the men in this SUV to hear.
I look up at Sean, and he’s shooting glares at his men that promise retribution if they repeat what they heard. He leans forward as though checking my pupils. Maybe he is.
“My wife calls me that, too.”
“Joey?”
“Sorry. I have a piece of wood in it. But I didn’t see bone or anything earlier, and it must not have hit a major artery if I’m still alive and talking. Mered?—”
“Joey!”
I hear Cormac bellow my name, but everything’s already fading to black.
“Joey? Little one, can you hear me?”
“Da—Cor?”
“Yes. I’m here.”
I catch myself this time. I’m coming round from whatever Meredith must have given me. I’m not in pain anymore, which is a plus. I look around, but I don’t recognize where I am. When I look down, I’m under the covers on one of the comfiest mattresses I’ve ever felt. Cormac and I are alone.
“Daddy, where are we?”
“My parents’ house. This is my bedroom.”
“Was this your childhood bed? It’s enormous.”
“I’ve been a big guy for as long as anyone remembers.”
“Yeah, you are.”
I grin, then giggle. Okay. This medicine’s made me a little loopy.
“I thought we were going to Meredith’s.”
“I decided here would be better since it’s going to be awhile before I’m comfortable moving you.”
I shift my uninjured leg and feel the sheet against my bare skin.
“I’m naked.”
“I know. Meredith and I got your dress off, so she could stitch up your leg with nothing dirty around it.”
“Oh, God. She saw I didn’t have any panties on.”
“I draped the sheet over you while she lifted the dress up. I held you up so she could get it over your head. She saw nothing.”
“She probably guessed.”
“Does it bother you that much?”
“Considering your men and cousin heard me call you Daddy, I suppose not.” I can add Finn to that list thanks to the call after my argument with Martha.
“They won’t dare say anything, cailín .”
I nod as I shift to find a more comfortable position. I’m propped up with pillows half under my back. I’m not entirely on my side, but it means the back of my head isn’t pressing too heavily into the pillow. When I move it, blinding pain reverberates through my skull.
I moan, and Cormac’s immediately hovering. I pat his cheek before trying to lift my head. He cradles it as though he’s holding something as fragile as a Fabergé egg. He presses his lips to mine, knowing what I need. He’s so gentle, it makes my heart swell. When we pull apart, he strokes my temple with the back of his fingers.
“Little one, you’re going to get fed up with me hovering. But I may never leave your side. I never want to be that terrified again. I doubt Seamus ever wants to be in a car with me when I’m that terrified. I’m pretty sure he was reciting the rosary—in Latin.”
“Is Sean okay? His head was bleeding really badly.”
“Yeah. He has a row of stitches. Fortunately, we’re all so fair his singed eyebrows don’t look odd.”
“Will you hold me?”
He looks skeptical for a moment, judging whether he can get on the bed without jostling me.
“Cor, I really need you right now. It’s coming back to me, and I’m about to lose it.”
It hit me like a tsunami when I asked about Sean. How he stepped in front of me because he would have done a sweep of my apartment before letting me in all the way. I was rushing because I needed to get back to work before I could meet Olivia for lunch. I wasn’t thinking about the protocols I’ve known since I was a child. It was inevitable he went ahead of me, but it should have been me who was closer to the blast.
Cormac hurries to shed his clothes but leaves his boxer briefs on. We’ve had a couple heated—dialogues—about those wretched things. He insists he has to wear them to keep the entire world from knowing he gets hard the moment he thinks about me, which is, apparently, about every thirty seconds. I told him if I have to go without panties because he wants free access to my pussy whenever he wants, then I should get the same for his dick. He only wins when he points out it would draw anyone’s attention who’s into dicks.
He eases onto the bed as he pulls the covers over him. He lies on his side, resting his head on the fist of his bent arm. He reaches for me, and his thumb brushes my cheek. He sprinkles kisses over my cheeks, my nose, and my forehead before leaning farther to kiss along my neck. He lays his head beside mine, and his arm drapes over my stomach. He’s careful not to drop the full weight on me. I press down with both hands until he relents. I sigh.
“I should have had better security at your place. Finn’s combing through the footage to find the breach. I want to know who did this.”
“How did Sean and I come away with so few injuries? It was so loud, and the fireball felt scorching.”
“We won’t know until Tiernan investigates. But while Meredith had you out to stitch up your leg and head?—”
“My head?”
No wonder it hurts like a motherfucker.
“Yes. You had a cut near your crown, likely from the edge of the door across the hall when you hit it as you fell backward. Tiernan thinks the trigger was on the door handle or hinge, but the actual explosives were somewhere across the apartment or in the bedroom. The blast was big enough to cause a serious fire and hurt you, but it didn’t explode your entire place. She thinks whoever designed it made it big enough that you’d get hurt but not killed opening the door, and it wouldn’t endanger the entire building. Apparently, your sprinkler system and some of our guys with fire extinguishers got it under control before the fire department arrived.”
“Your guys? I thought there were only two staking out my place, plus the one who’s Sean’s guard.”
“There were only ever two you saw. I had more around your block. I didn’t want anyone else to see them, and I didn’t want to worry you. They got there within minutes.”
“Has it always been like that?”
“No. Only since the car incident. I was going to ease off, but then you had issues at work almost immediately after. This confirms I was right to assign the team.”
“Who do you think it was?”
“I have suspicions, but nothing confirmed.”
“Who, Cor?”
“If this is about your dad, then any of the Culiacán’s rivals.”
“The Diazes?”
“They’re certainly on the list.”
“But not at the top.”
“For now, no. If this is about my family and me, then the list gets a lot longer.”
“I was supposed to meet Olivia today.”
“I know.”
“Could meeting me have been a distraction to keep me from my place? Could the bomb have been on a timer, and it was just bad luck Sean and I stopped by?”
“Both’re definitely possible. The Cosa Nostra doesn’t do much business with your dad, but they do some. I thought they were on peaceful terms, but maybe I’m missing something. Sean’ll look into it tomorrow.”
“Shouldn’t he rest for a few days?”
“He has a wife to hover over and spoil him, but he can work from bed. We’ll know more soon, but we don’t know much now.”
“And when you find out?”
He says nothing, and I knew better than to ask. He won’t speak lies when he doesn’t have to, which means I get lies of omission instead. In this case, I’d rather guess since I’m certain it’s far less graphic than what Cormac will do to whoever’s responsible for this.
“How long will I be on bed rest?”
“A couple days.”
“Can we go home today?”
Cormac pauses before he shakes his head.
“Do you not want me at your place?”
“Our place, Joey. I feared you wouldn’t think of it as home anymore.”
“Daddy, that’s why I said we. My home is wherever we lay our heads together. I don’t think I can sleep anymore without being in your arms. You’re definitely the comfiest pillow I’ve ever had. Who’d think sleeping on marble could be so restful?”
“I’m like marble?”
“Yeah. Exquisite to look at. Smooth but hard.” I run my fingers down his abs, which flex since I know he’s ticklish.
“I don’t want you to sleep anywhere but with me in our bed. You’re officially moving to the Brooklyn house for now, but I’d like us to consider a home in this neighborhood or the one adjacent. In a twisted bit of fate, all the married syndicate families live here. They’re the neighborhoods we all grew up in. It’s Switzerland, so it’s the only place I know you’re safe.”
A month ago, I would have bristled at a command like that. Now I revel in it.
“We’re safe, Cor. The explosion could’ve hurt you just as easily as Sean since you offered to go with me after work.”
“Speaking of that. I’m going to punish you once you’re well enough to take it.”
“Punish me? For what?”
“You were going to enter your apartment before Sean swept it. You know better than that. That bomb could’ve hurt you so much worse if he hadn’t shielded you.”
My mouth drops open, and I blink. That’s all I can do as shock steals my words for a moment. Then they tumble out.
“How can you say that about your cousin? How can you so flippantly be fine with him getting injured because of me? How?—”
“Because he was your bodyguard. Because we all know and accept the risk when we guard the people we love most in this family. Because he’s one of the few men I trust implicitly with your wellbeing. I didn’t want what happened. I definitely didn’t want to be petrified I’d lose either of you. I’ll never wish harm upon him or any of our relatives. But we guard each other because these things happen.”
I insulted him. My mouth’s run away from me twice in a week. I need to get my head out of my ass and think more before I react.
“Daddy, I’m sorry for what I said and for not obeying protocols I’ve known since I was a kid. I’ve had guards enter before me, but I realize it was different with them. I didn’t think of them the same way I do your brother and cousins.” Something else registers with me. “You said ‘our relatives.’”
“You’re going to be my wife soon. You’re already accepted as the newest O’Rourke. They’re your family now, too. When we talk amongst us, we don’t use qualifiers like in-law. We’re just parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins.”
“Are you proposing while I have a head wound? Do you think being concussed guarantees a yes?” I tease him, smiling to let him know my questions are jokes, not accusations.
“No, that isn’t a proposal. It’s fact.”
I release a puff of air, which isn’t quite a sigh. It’s more resignation that things aren’t that simple.
“I have to tell my father about us. He’ll expect you to ask for my hand. Not just because it’s traditional, but because he could have arranged a marriage for me I don’t know about.”
“Would he do that?”
“I don’t think so. He’s sworn he wouldn’t. But you know arranged syndicate marriages happen for many reasons, and one of them is safety for the leader’s family. I don’t know if he’ll agree.”
“You wouldn’t marry me if he disapproves?”
“Of course I’m marrying you. It’ll just complicate things. I’d understand if you don’t want to.”
I yelp as his hand wraps around my throat. There’s no pressure. I just didn’t expect it.
“You just doubled your punishment, little girl. I’m going to heat your arse until you can’t sit for a week. Never suggest I don’t want you or a life with you. You’ll remember that every time I fuck a baby into your belly, which I might do every year for the next forty if that’s what it takes to remind you, you belong to me just like I belong to you. Every inch of you is mine. Mine to protect. Mine to love. Mine to do whatever the feck I want. And what I want is our life together.”
“I like how you won’t say fuck in front of me unless we’re talking about sex. It’s endearing. You say the most wonderful things.”
I smile as I tug his hand from my throat. He releases me, but he resists moving his hand down my body at first. I draw his palm over my right breast, then down to my cunt. I spread my uninjured leg, so I can guide his fingers into my pussy. I’m soaked after what he said.
“Daddy, I wish your cum was inside me right now. I wish you could paint my ass red right now.”
“Because they’d brand you as mine?”
“Exactly. But I want to leave my cream all over your cock. I want your palm to be sore. Only I get that because you’re mine.”
He pushes back the covers and shifts down the bed. My gaze darts to the closed door.
“Daddy, you can’t?—”
“What’s the rule?”
“Whenever, wherever, however.”
He’s my Dom right now, along with my boyfriend. The angle’s a little weird because of how I’m lying against the pillows, but he makes it work. He kneels before leaning forward, resting on one forearm. I watch him push down his boxer briefs enough for his cock to spring free. His lips latch onto my clit and suck so hard I cover my mouth with both hands to smother my scream. He grazes his teeth over it as he fists himself.
My right hand reaches for him even though I know my arm’s not long enough. He knows I hate it when he deprives me of pleasuring him. He’s starting my punishment now. It’s divine torture. He gets me close, then pulls away. Through it all—four rounds of it—he strokes himself. My left hand continues to cover my mouth while my right hand clutches the sheets.
“Open your mouth. You’re going to take every drop. It’s going to brand you from the inside, but it won’t be where you want. Why?”
“Because you decide, Daddy.”
“That’s right, and your needy little cunt will wait until I’m ready for you to take my cum. It won’t be until after I fuck you in the arse, and that won’t be until you’re healed.”
“That could be weeks!”
“And I could have gone the rest of my life without you. A few weeks is nothing compared to several decades.”
I open my mouth as wide as I can. Any protests I could make evaporate with his words and the distress I see on his face. He shifts to straddle my ribs as best he can. His cock slides down my throat, and I wrap my lips around him. I suck as hard as I can as I watch his head fall back, the cords in his neck straining. I swallow his load, my tongue licking him clean when I feel no more cum slide down my throat.
He stretches out beside me, his touch feather soft as he caresses my chest and tits. When he toys with my nipples, it makes me think of the babies I want to nurse. If I’d rushed into the apartment the way I’d planned, I’d probably be dead. I pushed the door open an inch or two. Sean was slower, so he could peek into my place first. That’s likely what saved us. The door wasn’t open all the way.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“I know you are, cailín . You’re forgiven because I love you unconditionally. But your punishment stands, so you remember I won’t accept any risk to you, even if it comes from your mistakes.”
I can’t fight the yawn that escapes. He’s extremely careful as he rolls onto his back and brings me with him. He ensures his legs don’t bump my injured one as I settle my head against his chest.
“Sleep, little one. Then we’ll call your father.”