That force field around him could knock a nun off course. “Fiancé. She hasn’t made any promises to you yet.”
Right before I opened the door to leave, he cleared his throat. Sometimes his voice sounded jagged. “Have you made any promises to Kelly yet?”
I squeezed the door handle so hard that it bit into my palm. “I know you,” I said, my voice quiet. “I know men like you. Sierra and I talked. It doesn’t surprise me that you know everything. That you control everything. And since you know the intentions of Cash Kelly, then it would be in Mari’s best interest not to involve her in my life right now.”
Mac’s stare felt like ice melting on my back. “Kelly knows better than to come near me or mine. But I have no problem with him, as long as he stays in his lane.” He cleared his throat once more. “Mari considers you a good friend. A sister, as you say. That’s why I’ll leave you and her to it. Your secrets are your own, as long as they don’t hurt her.”
A shiver tore over me before I shut the door, putting some distance between us. Not even a door felt like enough, though. These men, the kind I suddenly found myself around, were not ordinary. They were fucking vicious animals in custom-made suits, disguised to look like gentlemen.
I had to get to my brother before he did something that would probably cost him his life. Like tell Mari that he loved her.
I sat in my car, staring at my brother’s place on Staten Island. He had already started making it his, but I could tell that he was holding out, hoping to get Mari’s opinion once he told her how he felt and then asked her to marry him. I knew how my brother’s mind worked. Even though he hadn’t said as much, he was making plans here—for a wife, for a family, for a future.
A wave of nausea came over me, dreading the talk we were about to have.
My phone rang, and my head popped up from the steering wheel. Scott’s name flashed across the screen. We’d been talking lately, but thanks to his schedule and mine, we hadn’t seen each other much. The longest we were together was five minutes, and without making a deal of it, I tried to distance myself from him. I wanted to make this as easy as possible, but Cash had told me not to say anything. It was a specific order.
“I’ll tell you when the time’s right.”
Scott had accepted my offer to come to this party. He seemed eager when he realized that my family was going to be there. Mari had mentioned it in front of him. He had to make another trip to my place when her pervert of a landlord had been killed.
Just as I said, “Hey,” an expensive car pulled into Harrison’s driveway. A second later, Cash Kelly stepped out, wearing a black t-shirt that hugged his muscular frame, dark jeans, and boots. Expensive sunglasses covered his eyes, but his gaze locked onto mine right away and refused to move.
“Kee? You there?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “I’m here.”
“Listen.” Scott sounded out of breath. “I thought I could make it, but that politician’s still missing.” He’d told me the day before that he didn’t think he’d be able to make it to the party, because all manpower had been brought in, but then told me he thought that maybe he could. That was his life. Making plans to break them for his job.
“Sounds like madness,” I said, and the dullness in my voice couldn’t be hidden.
Scott was quiet for a moment. “This is my life, Kee. I know it’s hard to deal with in the beginning, but here’s a deal I’m willing to make: I might not be around all of the time, but when I’m home, I’m yours. I won’t even think about a dead body.”
“Cute,” I said.
Cash leaned against his car, like he didn’t have a care in the world. There was that la de da attitude. And there I was, my entire world crashing in around me. Bastard.
Scott sighed. “I’ll make this up to you, I swear. We’ll take your mom and dad out to dinner. Maybe it’s best if I meet the boys one at a time. They might kick my ass if I just show up.” I heard someone call him and then he told me he had to go. “Kee,” he stopped