This is a standalone story, but “Cormac” features Shane’s sister, shares plot elements with, and enhances the world of “Shane.” This fits between Chapters Twelve and Thirteen if read as part of that novel.
(Previously published under a slightly different title and pen name.)
Cover image source: depositphotos/artem_furmen; Cover design Amourisa Designs; Editing KTEdits
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Cormac
R.E. Saxton
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Bonus Excerpt
Chapter One
The pain in her neck was the only constant that Siobhan could track for the first thirty minutes or so after being shot. Even the thought made her mentally stumble and try to find some other logical explanation for her neck hurting and the blood making her red scarf sticky. People like her didn’t get shot, especially outside the ballet in some indiscriminate crime spree.
She heard Cormac, her brother’s friend, talking to the police as they loaded her brother Shane into an ambulance.
“It seemed like a random drive-by, officer. We were standing outside the back of the Morrisey Performance Hall, waiting for Siobhan O’Mara, when the car drove by. They had already fired, I think, before anyone noticed they had guns.”
She managed a vague smile at the officer when he turned to look at her. A paramedic was busily bandaging her neck wound, and she clutched the red scarf in her hand, unable to stop scrunching the part that was crunchy with her dried blood. “I’m a ballerina.” Perhaps the cop interpreted her words as meant for him, but she was speaking her own thoughts aloud. Why would someone shoot a ballerina?
When the paramedic indicated she should climb into the ambulance, she cast a longing glance at Cormac, who was occupied with his interview and couldn’t come along. There wasn’t room anyway, with Shane in the ambulance already.
As she stepped inside with the medic’s assistant and took a seat on the bench, she glared at the two guys hovering over her brother. They were his bodyguards, but Bruno himself took up most of the extra space in the back. “Get out of here,” she snapped.
They ignored her, both leaning over her brother, who was speaking urgently. His voice was soft and strained, but she could detect his urgency when he said, “Find her.”
Wallace looked annoyed, but nodded. “We’ll find the Russian chick, boss.”
Mia. Siobhan struggled to remember her surname, having just met her brother’s girlfriend that same evening, during intermission. The name wouldn’t come to her, but she remembered it had a Russian sound.
The paramedic who had bandaged her nudged the big blond brute. “Look, buddy, you gotta get out of here. We don’t have enough room for everyone.”
“I ain’t leaving my boss.” Bruno spoke with determination, crossing his arms and making himself truly formidable—as if he’d been puppy-like before.
Wallace tapped his shoulder. “Come on, Bruno. Mr. O’Mara wants us to track down his whore. We’ll get that done and be at the hospital in no time.”
“You shouldn’t talk about Ms. Kasilli that way.” Bruno frowned at his shorter partner.
With a shrug, Wallace slipped out of the ambulance. As Bruno turned sideways to move past her, Siobhan put a hand on his shoulder. “Bruno?” At his nod, she bit her lip. “Was that woman the reason we were shot?”
After a brief hesitation, he half-nodded before leaving the vehicle. The medic closed the doors, and they were off a moment later.
Siobhan stared at her brother, who was thrashing and whispering Mia’s name. Was he going to be okay? Anger filled her at the thought of some woman endangering her brother’s life. He was her bastion of support and the main person in her life, since their mother lived in Florida. For a second, she wanted to tear every dark hair out of the petite Mia’s head.
A deep breath restored some calm, and she remembered the way her brother had hovered so protectively over the other woman. His hands had stayed securely on her, and she’d seemed just as drawn to Shane. Her first impression of Mia had been a quiet woman with kindness in her eyes, haunted though they had been.
Her gaze changed to speculative as she assessed her brother. Siobhan wasn’t naïve. She knew her brother was mixed up in the criminal underworld. His involvement went way back, to the afternoon he had killed their father to save her life when she was just six years old. Too young then to understand, it had taken her years to realize Shane and his associates lived on the dark side.
Cormac was immersed in that web of darkness too. Her heart gave a small pang as she pictured the tall blond man who was the only other constant in her life. He had always treated her respectfully, almost as a kid sister, but she thought he wanted more. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, though he’d never admit it.
With a sigh, she leaned back against the metal side of the ambulance, wishing for some padding. Her head spun a bit, and she was woozy from blood loss. Closing her eyes, she tried to grasp that she had been a victim of a violent crime. Having been sheltered by her older brother most of her life, and equally protected by Cormac, she hadn’t expected to ever be so close to the seedy side of their lives.
Deciding not to think about it, she let her body slump and tried to clear her mind. It wasn’t difficult to slip into a light doze with her body feeling so weak, and her neck throbbing with every beat of her heart.
Living with rheumatoid arthritis had made pain a part of her daily life, but this was an irritating, burning kind of pain she’d never experienced before. Who knew a gunshot could be so excruciating when it hadn’t caused a serious injury? The bullet fired from that bland sedan had simply grazed her neck. The medic had told her she would recover just fine, but that didn’t take away the sting of being shot and exposed to ugliness she had tried to ignore.
***
Four hours later, Siobhan shifted restlessly again in the hard hospital chair. She looked up with surprise when a nurse came toward her holding what looked like Shane’s cell phone. Staring dumbly at the phone for a moment, she finally asked, “What?”
“There’s a girl on the line frantic for information about Mr. O’Mara, but I can’t release anything. The best I can do is let her talk to a family member.” The nurse seemed nervous, as though fearing for her job. “I’m not supposed to do that, so if you don’t want to talk to her…”
With a nod, she took the phone. “Mia?” She asked the question, but already knew the answer before the other woman spoke.
“Is he alive?”
She sounded strained and exhausted, with a strong undercurrent of worry. Siobhan had been nursing some anger toward the other woman, but it lessened slightly at her tone. “Yes.”
“Is he going to make it?”
She hesitated. “Probably. The gunshot passed near his heart, and he hemorrhaged, but he’s stable now.” That was a strong assessment. The few minutes she’d seen him, he’d been fighting the effects of anesthesia and repeating Mia’s name. As he’d regained his strength, he’d started trying to take out his IV and get up. The doctor had ended up sedating him. “He needs you.”
A soft sob was the only response for a moment. “I can’t.”
Siobhan scowled. “Why the fuck not? You love him, don’t you?”
Her voice broke on a barely audible, “Yes.”
“Then come to the hospital and be with him.”
The other woman sobbed again before the line disconnected. In shock, she stared at the dead line, unable to believe Mia had just hung up on her. She was still glaring at the phone when Cormac slipped into the seat beside her, handing her a cup of dre
adful coffee from the vending machine.
He looked at the cell phone. “What’re you doing with that?”
“Mia called.” With a huffy sneer, she thunked the poor telephone onto the seat beside her. “That bitch isn’t coming.” She looked up at Cormac. “How can she claim to love him, but not be here for him?”
Cormac’s lips pursed, making his rough features even more uneven. Some might have called him unattractive, but she liked the irregular, blunt composition of his face almost as much as she liked the transformation when he smiled. “There’s more to the story than you know.”
“So tell me.”
After a brief hesitation, he shook his head. “Nah, that’s Shane’s business, princess. I don’t know everything going on between them, but maybe you shouldn’t judge her so harshly.”
She glared at her brother’s friend. “I’ll judge her however harshly I want. I saw how he was calling for her and struggling to get out of that hospital bed to find her.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Love’s complicated, and sometimes you do things that make no sense to protect the ones you love.”
Her heart stuttered, and she briefly wondered if she was reading more into his words than he’d intended. It could be a simple case of projection and wishing for what she wanted making her think he was giving her a veiled message that applied to more than her brother and his girlfriend. Before she could think of a way to probe delicately, he spoke again.
“Come on. I’m taking you home.”
She shook her head, crossing her arms. “I’m not leaving Shane.”
“Yeah, you are. He’s stable, and you need to take it easy. You were shot a few hours ago.”
She touched the thick bandage without thought and winced, though she didn’t know if it was more from pain or a psychological response. “I’m fine. The doctor said it barely grazed me, and I won’t even have a scar.” The pain meds they had given her were phenomenal, leaving her with little discomfort and a clear head.
“You are going to rest.”
Scowling at his dictatorial manner, she shook her head again. “I’m not leaving my brother here.”
“Bruno is here to watch over him, and we both know Shane would want you to be in a comfortable bed. These stiff chairs won’t be good for your joints, and I know you don’t want to miss too many performances.”
Her glower lessened slightly, but her irritation rose as he struck one of her weak points. She’d already called the director and arranged to take off the rest of the weekend, but a flare-up of RA could render her unable to perform even next weekend. “It feels wrong to leave him lying there.”
Cormac nodded. “I know, but he has protection, and he’s sedated. He won’t wake for hours and won’t know you’re there, even if you sat at his beside and held his hand the whole time.” He reached out to fold her hand in his. “I promise I’ll bring you back tomorrow, and the hospital has my cell number, and yours, in case something unexpected happens, and he takes a turn for the worse.”
He held up a hand, as though to forestall her panic. “Not that his doctor expects anything to go wrong. He told me the same thing he told you. Shane is stable and should recover, though he’s going to need to spend a few days in the hospital and some time recovering at home.”
Finally, with a reluctant sigh, she nodded. “Okay, I guess I’ll go home to rest for tonight.” She stood up with him, surprised when he didn’t let go of her hand. Since she didn’t want it back, she made no effort to disengage or draw his attention to their clasped hands. “You don’t need to drive me back tomorrow though. I can catch the bus like an adult. You don’t need to take care of me like a baby.”
With a tender motion, Cormac pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I like taking care of you, Siobhan.” His hand dropped to his side, but his gaze raked over her in a manner that seemed assessing and hungry. “And I’m well aware you aren’t a baby.” Tugging her hand gently, he forced her to move in step with him.
“Really?” She grinned, finding her mood a bit lightened just from the physical touch. “’Cause you always tease me about being a young thing, maybe because you’re so old?”
“Thirty-five is practically ancient,” he agreed drily, “Especially when you’re twenty-one.”
“Twenty-two. I just had a birthday, remember?”
Their banter continued as they left the hospital and went to Cormac’s black sedan. He held the door for her like a true gentleman before walking around to slide in behind the wheel.
As she sank against the sinfully comfortable leather, Siobhan realized she was weary. Her eyes closed, and she relaxed, deciding to grab a quick snooze on the way to her apartment. As much as she hated giving up the time with Cormac, one of the few moments when she had him to herself without Shane around, she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
Chapter Two
She stretched and yawned when he tapped her shoulder. Siobhan opened her eyes and looked at him. “Thanks for the ride home.” As she sat up fully in the seat, she frowned as she looked around her. “Where are we?” This definitely wasn’t her modest brownstone. They were in a parking garage, and all the cars around them were brands that cost more than she earned in several years as a chorus dancer.
“My apartment.”
She frowned. “Why?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he looked out at the shadows in the parking garage instead of looking at her. “I’m not a good man, Siobhan.”
“What?” She shook her head. “Of course you are.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve done things…seen things…” He trailed off with a sigh. “I haven’t much cared about being a white hat, to be honest, except in one area.” Cormac’s piercing blue gaze turned to her. “You. I’ve always tried to be a decent guy and do the right thing when it comes to my best friend’s little sister.”
Her mouth was dry, and her stomach clenched. “What do you mean?” But she knew, didn’t she? The longing glances, the overlong touches they occasionally allowed each other. He wanted her. She’d known it for a while, even though he had refused to admit it.
“I’m a bad man, and you’re a good woman. You deserve better than me.” His knuckles were white on the wheel even in the dim recesses of the garage. “I know that, but when I saw you bleeding tonight, when I held you in my arms and didn’t know if you were dying, I didn’t give a fuck about any of that.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “What did you give a fuck about?”
“Having you. Keeping you.” His gaze didn’t waver as he looked into her sea foam green orbs. “You’re mine, Siobhan. You always have been, and you always will be. You might deserve someone who is handsome and squeaky clean, but you’ll never find someone who needs you as much as I do.”
“Oh.” Her head spun with his admission, and her heart raced in her ears. It was what she had wanted, but hearing it so bluntly still inspired a spark of fear. Fear of the unknown and of changing things, but not a fear of the man himself.
“There are things about my life that you don’t know, princess. Things you have to before you walk through that door with me.”
Squaring her shoulders, she put her hand on the handle of the door. “I already know you’re a mobster, Cormac.” Seeing his shock made her giggle. “You and Shane aren’t as subtle as you think. I don’t know the particulars, but I know you don’t answer phones or balance accounts for a living.”
He blinked, his rough countenance looking harsh. “I knew you knew a bit, but didn’t realize you’d guessed that much.” At her shrug, he took her hand. “You know I can’t just walk away? As much as I want you, I can’t pick you over them. Once in, always in. It’s dangerous for you to be with me under the circumstances, but would be far more dangerous if I tried to break away.”
She gave him a small smile, projecting a bit more bravery than she felt. “Did I ask you to quit?” Squeezing his hand, she brought it to her mouth to brush her lips across the scarred knuckles. “I want you too, Co
rmac. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love you.”
He sagged slightly, looking at the entrance door meaningfully. “You have one last chance to tell me this isn’t what you want, Siobhan, and I’ll try to let you go. I know you need a better man, but if you come inside with me, I’ll be the only man in your life. I’m talking forever.”
She took a deep breath. “Is it a mafia thing? Once I know too much, I can’t walk away?”
He snorted. “Hell, no. It’s a need thing. I need you so badly, and once I have you, I can’t imagine letting you go. If you commit to tonight, you’re committing to everything. Once will never be enough. So decide if you want to be with me, or if I should drive you home?”
She didn’t hesitate, knowing the decision had been made long ago. Maybe it had even been predestined or fated. “Take me inside, Cormac, and then take me.”
Chapter Three
With a groan, he hustled them out of the car and across the parking garage. As they crossed the threshold into the hallway leading to his apartment, any remaining doubts melted away. She clung to his hand and let excitement sweep over her, embracing the realization that she was finally going to belong to Cormac, and he’d belong to her.
They entered the space less than a minute later. She got a brief glimpse of clean lines, white carpet and walls, and glass and metal furniture as he pulled her inside, his destination clear when he led her from the living room and down a hallway. He slammed the door against the wall in his haste to get her into the bedroom, and she jumped slightly when he pushed it closed forcefully a second before pressing her against the solid wood.
She’d waited forever for their first kiss, and the firm touch of his lips was everything she’d hoped, but nothing like she’d imagined. He wasn’t gentle as he tasted her, his tongue dipping between her lips to explore her depths. Siobhan whimpered and tangled her hands in his hair, trying to pull him closer.
His hands were on either side of her head, his body pressing firmly into hers as he ravaged her mouth. She eagerly met each stroke of his tongue, doing her own share of tasting and nibbling. He groaned when she drew his lower lip into her mouth and sucked forcefully. With a smothered curse, he tore his lips from hers, and they stared at each other, foreheads touching, as they regained their breath.
Cormac: A Mafia Love Story Page 1