Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“Him or another one of Liam’s people. Mark is Liam’s cousin, so he gets the fun task of being my babysitter more often than most.” Keira shrugged. “I’m an O’Malley. There are people who’d snatch me up to use against my family.” Something passed over her face, gone too quickly to identify. “Goes with the territory.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” She had, but it was one thing to know that Aiden routinely sent one of his men to watch Keira and totally another to have the spooky experience of being shadowed by a stranger. Of course, Mark wasn’t a stranger to Keira, but the fact remained.
No wonder the woman does whatever it takes to escape sometimes. I would, too.
Her phone rang, and she knew who it was even before she looked at the caller ID. “Good morning, Aiden.”
“Where the hell are you going?”
She shot another look at their tail. “That was fast.”
“Mark reports to me, so imagine my surprise when I find out that my fiancée and my sister just staged a jailbreak and are walking down the goddamn street without a protection detail.”
So much for any lasting feel-good sensation from their night before. Charlie rolled her eyes. “One, we already discussed how much I despise having to check in with you before doing anything. Two, you know as well as I do that I’m more than capable of taking care of myself and Keira.”
“There are other factors in play.”
So we’re just going to ignore logic when it doesn’t suit our argument? Nice, Aiden. His icy bullying tactics might work with his family, but she wasn’t about to play that game. “It’s got to be something of a shock waking up to realize your parents are back in town.”
He cursed and then changed tactics. “Just get your ass back here, Charlie. There’s trouble.”
It was like she could actually see his thought process: Commanding didn’t work. Let’s try warning about danger. Sooner or later, he’d realize that she preferred him to just be fucking honest with her instead of trying that high-and-mighty O’Malley lord crap. “You mean politics.”
“They’re the same thing.”
That answered that. She shook her head. “No, Aiden. Your man can follow us—at a discreet distance—if that will make you feel better, but we both needed out of the house, so we’re getting out of the house.”
“Charlie—”
“See you tonight.” She hung up, frowning when she caught Keira looking at her strangely. “What?”
“No one talks to my brother like that.” She shook her head. “Hold that thought. I mean no one talks to him like that and gets away with it, without him putting them under house arrest or some other macho bullshit.”
One didn’t become the head of a mob family without a certain level of don’t-cross-me. If anyone in the family could talk back to Aiden and get away with it, he’d have anarchy on his hands before long, and anarchy was dangerous for everyone.
But, for better or worse, Charlie was outside the hierarchy—and he’d put her there. If he’d wanted a meek little fake fiancée, then he should have called someone else. She wouldn’t know meek if it bit her in the ass, and having him try to order her around only made her dig in her heels.
Charlie shrugged. “I’m sleeping with him, and I have his ring on my finger. It gives me the ability to talk to him however I damn well please when we aren’t in front of an audience. And, no, before you ask, you don’t count as an audience. You’re family.”
“You know, Charlie, I think I like you, magic pussy and all.”
She snorted. “Give it a rest.”
“I will. Promise.” Keira looked around, her furious attitude melting away in favor of curiosity. “So, where are we going?”
“Keira, my dear, we’re going to teach you how to fight.”
Chapter Thirteen
Giving Keira a crash course in Krav Maga ended up being exactly what they both needed. The girl knew the basics in self-defense, but watching the comprehension dawn on her face as she went after the punching bag was a revelation in and of itself. She craved control in a life where she had little—Charlie got that. She felt exactly the same way sometimes.
They grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to the O’Malley house, Keira peppering her with questions along the way. The woman was practically bouncing on her toes as they rounded the corner of their block. “What about takedowns, like those guys who were sparring?” Her excitement made her look younger than she was, her hazel eyes dancing with interest.
“You learn those once you hit a certain level. You have to master kicks and hits before you go on to the more complicated stuff—or start sparring.” She hesitated. “If you want to pursue this, I think the owner would love to see you back there again. A lot of women check it out and then move on to other stuff, but Krav Maga really is one of the best out there for the lives we live.” We. She missed a step.