“If it wasn’t rape, her husband would do the slaying,” Nicole said and licked her fingertips again. “McDade men don’t like their women to cheat.”
“Neither do Doherty men,” Whisper said. “Wasn’t a double standard I paid attention to when they said it either.”
Nicole’s face was turned down, so there was a chance Whisper read it wrong, but she was certain that for a fraction of a second, a quirk of a smile touched Nicole’s mouth. Filing that tidbit away, Whisper wondered if Parker knew his wife stepped out on him. There was no way that reaction could mean anything else.
“Doran, what are you doing down here?” a voice boomed from the other end of the room, somewhere around the bottom of the staircase. “You have a meeting upstairs.”
The voice was too mature to be Parker, so she’d guess it was Burl. If it was Parker, he’d probably have come to say good morning to his wife. But she didn’t know the dynamics yet or what kind of marriage they had. For all she knew, they hated each other.
“Now? Are they here?” Doran jumped to his feet, tossing the last bite of his bagel down. “On my way.” He put a hand on the back of Whisper’s chair, but leaned down to kiss Nicole who tipped her cheek up for him. “You good, babe?”
Nicole rotated her hand in an absent wave and caught a tendril of hair as she let it droop. That seemed to be enough of an answer for Doran who turned to hightail it in the direction of the voice.
“You better get ready, Nicole,” Bosco said.
“Are you giving me orders, Toad? How do you think my husband will feel about that?”
“I don’t know. How do you think Razer will feel about you referring to his wife as an object all morning?”
Unfazed, Nicole sighed. “He knows all Dohertys are sub-human.”
Whisper grinned. “You know, I thought the McDades were rude and undisciplined. Now I’ve moved in, I find out you’re disciplined in your rudeness. Least I was half right.” She took a mouthful of coffee. “But I can’t be offended. In fact, I encourage all of you to talk about this in front of Zaid as much as possible.”
Nicole sighed again. “Nobody calls him Zaid… though I suppose you probably should… or Mr. McDade… or lord and master, I don’t know.”
“Thanks for the suggestions,” Whisper said. “I have plenty of my own to try out.”
Most of her suggestions started with curse words… ended with them too, but she wasn’t short of ideas.
Nicole closed her magazine and twisted around to stretch herself out before rising to her feet on a long exhale. “I suppose if I must take the mutt to the vet, I should get moving… She better be riding up front… or in the trunk. I won’t sit with her.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Whisper said and put her cup down to hop to her feet, blocking Nicole’s way. “I’ll just sprout my devil Doherty wings and fly…” Though Nicole crooked an unimpressed brow, there was enough hesitation in her eye to reveal a simple truth. Sniffing out weakness was in Doherty blood. Relishing her discovery, Whisper smiled and tsked. “Oh, Mrs. McDade, your husband never taught you how to defend yourself… did he?” Resting a hand on the back of her chair, Whisper cocked a hip and raised her other hand to drum her nails against it. “You married into crime… right?”
Sliding her hand from her hip down the line of her thigh, she gathered her skirt out of the way. Whipping her knife from its sheath in a flash, Whisper thrust Nicole against the wall with one sure forearm.
“Bosco!” Nicole squealed in fright.
“Whisper!” he called.
Despite the sound of him darting around the table, she didn’t retreat. In fact, she leaned in closer, pushing herself against the tense, rigid Nicole whose wide eyes reeked of fear. Parting her lips, Whisper licked the blade until the end nicked the tip of her tongue. The familiar metallic taste of blood heightened all of her senses. Nicole’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger, but her breathing grew faster and shallower.
Whisper leaned in close. “How fast can your heart beat for me, Sweet Nicki?”
Pushing her mouth over Nicole’s, Whisper anticipated the instant the frozen woman was going to gasp. She used the opportunity to push her tongue into the beauty’s mouth to share the taste of her blood.
Bosco grabbed her shoulder to haul her back and put himself between them. “Whisper,” he hissed.
Whisper laughed and held up her hands. “Just a little fun,” she said, wiping blood from her lip and sheathing her knife.
Nicole spat on the floor in the midst of her huffing and puffing. Eventually, she worked herself into a full wail and opened her mouth to scream. As Nicole ran away in floods of tears, Whisper laughed.
“Did you have to do that?” Bosco asked, folding his arms.
Whisper had trouble flattening her smile. “I take back all the mean things I said. This family is a lot of fun. I’m bringing my knuckledusters to dinner.”
Raising her hands, she wiggled her fingers near his face.
Unimpressed, he leaned away. “As you pointed out, Nicole is not from a family who practices that kind of stuff.”
“Are you kidding? I don’t think I ever left the dinner table without a new bruise or shedding a little blood…” Losing her smile, concern hit her. “You guys have trained her, right? She’s vulnerable on the street. Her name makes her vulnerable… Shit, I can’t believe I have to say that to you. The McDades are slow on the uptake.”
“That’s not my department,” he said, pushing what had been Nicole’s chair under the table.
“But you work for Zaid who—”
“Not his department either,” Bosco said. “One man doesn’t tell another what to do with his own wife.”
Whisper shoved her own chair out of the way as she started to turn. “I’m going to beat on her.”
Bosco grabbed her arm to haul her back. “What? What the hell? Why would—”
“You’d rather I do it than some fuck on the street who won’t know when to stop,” Whisper said. “You wanna see how fast Parker starts her training after I’m done with her?”
To his credit, Bosco grew solemn. “You wanna see how fast he beats on you if you lay a hand on his wife?”
She grinned. “You think I’ve never taken a beating before? Shit, Bosco, I’ve been in intensive care four times! Never stopped me from sassing my family, did it?”
“It doesn’t work like that here,” he said, clutching her arm tighter when she attempted to withdraw. “If you hurt Nic, and Parker hurts you, then Zay will have to take it up with his brother and—”
“I don’t need him fighting any battles for me. If Parker wants a fight, I’ll give him a fight.”
“God, you don’t know when to stop, do you? You won’t be satisfied until you kill yourself or everyone around you.”
“That’s kinda the idea,” she said. “Be the strongest. The smartest. The quickest. I’ll never be the biggest; I know how to fight dirty to get what I want.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “But be careful around here… It’s more complicated than you think.”
Taking Bosco’s face between her palms, she gave him a squeeze and then patted his cheek. “This is my life too, Bosy-baby. I know all about the jockeying and the deceptions and the fierce loyalty… I’m no rookie. I have been trained.”
“Then use that to protect her if she can’t protect herself,” Bosco said. “Because like it or not, you’re a McDade now.”
Like she needed to be reminded of that fact.
Releasing some of her tension, Whisper stepped aside. “Fine, go tell her I’m terribly sorry. I’ll travel in the trunk… I’ll even buy her lunch.”
“With what?” Bosco asked, going past her to the kitchen. Whisper followed behind him, grabbing her purse as she went. Opening a drawer in the center island, he produced a bunch of things. “Cell phone. Keys. Credit cards.”
“For real?” she asked, picking up the credit cards. Her excitement chilled when she read the name Whisper McDade on them. “Reall
y?”
That led to him pulling out a stack of paperwork and handing her a pen. “Time to practice your new autograph.”
“You guys don’t mess around, do you?” she asked, irritated, though what else did she expect? Whisper signed a bunch of name change forms, but paused when she registered what was beneath her pen after he turned the next page. “This is life insurance.”
“Yep.”
Narrowing a glare on him, she put a fist to her hip. “Did you think you could just sneak it in and I wouldn’t notice?”
“No,” he said and pushed away the sheets she’d already signed to make space. Bosco spread out the pile that were left. “There are six policies.”
“Six?” she asked, her eyes about leaping from her head. “You think I’m nuts?”
Laying a hand on them, Bosco showed no shame. “Three for you. Three for him.”
“Him?”
“Your husband,” Bosco said, resting a hip on the island. “He doesn’t trust you and you don’t trust him. Understandable. But your fathers think this is going to benefit both families. Let’s not bullshit each other, Whisper. This is going to get worse before it gets better, for both sides. As soon as the Byrnes hear about this, that it actually happened, they’re going to be on the warpath. That doesn’t leave us much time to come to terms with our new reality. You hate the McDades. We get it. We’re not that wild about the Dohertys… The one thing we both hate more than each other is the Byrnes… So, are you going to help us stand up against them or you want to hand them a victory with your fucking around?”
Life insurance. Her father probably had policies on her; he’d had them on his sons. As Whisper signed the forms, she thought about how she was worth more to the men in her life dead than alive. Her hope was that she didn’t come to regret the ink she was laying on the paper.
After Whisper was done with the paperwork and had stowed the wares in her purse, Bosco told her to stay put in the kitchen and wait. When she asked why, he glared and told her he was going to try talking Nicole down from her, probably justified, tantrum.
She didn’t do well with staying put. Bosco went upstairs and Whisper began to count, she got all the way to seven before beginning to move. Creeping along to check out the gym at the front of the house on the same floor as the kitchen, Whisper remained as near to the kitchen as possible for even longer.
A good minute went by with her just loitering at the foot of the stairs. Really, she figured, it made sense to be on the same floor as the front door. They’d need to use it to leave, so going up one floor was her helping them out. Least that’s the excuse she planned to use if anyone questioned her.
No one crossed her path. The front door was tempting, but so were the double doors that had tried to lure her with their light the previous night. Putting her purse on the display case opposite the stairs, she read the spines of the books on the shelves and admired the knickknacks, moving sideways up the hallway, edging closer to the open double doors. Ensuring no one was around, she sidled into the living room. The floors and sleek décor were beautiful. The warm space managed to be homey while maintaining its modern, masculine appeal.
All she’d wanted to do was snoop. Whisper didn’t expect to hear voices carrying from the back of the house. The narrower double doors at the head of the living room were just slightly open. The strip of light stimulated her speculation. The back of the lower floor was glazed, that light suggested this floor could be the same.
Recalling Bosco’s audio tour, she guessed Burl McDade’s office was on the other side of those doors. Inching toward them, she went to the dresser just next to the doors, pretending to admire the statue in the middle while actually listening in.
“…it will take considerable effort,” said the voice responsible for calling Doran that morning: Burl McDade.
“Yes, it will,” her own father said. Whisper’s interest increased. Her father, in McDade territory? Hell must have frozen over. “You knew this was not going to be an easy task… It is the largest operation either of our families have ever undertaken… But it will be worth it; it’ll unite us as the strongest force on the east coast. Perhaps in the country.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” another male said. Since it wasn’t Doran or Zaid or any Doherty, she guessed it was Parker. “We want to be careful, plan this right… And we need to know you’re holding up your end of the deal before we commit ourselves.”
“Before you commit yourselves?” Cyrus Doherty said. “I gave you my only daughter. That should demonstrate the lengths I will go to… Doesn’t that prove I can be trusted?”
“The deal was she became a McDade,” Doran said. “You might be willing to hand her over, but if she’s not willing to follow through and commit to us…”
“My daughter is headstrong,” Cyrus said. “I won’t deny that she can be difficult. But she will do what is in the best interests of her family… and we are all family now.”
“She doesn’t get that,” Doran said.
“Doran’s right,” Parker said. “Whether you’re trustworthy or not doesn’t matter. Your daughter’s the one in our bunker. Until we trust her, there’s nothing we can commit to you—”
“Now wait a minute—”
“It’s rude to eavesdrop.”
On hearing the voice behind her, Whisper whirled around on instinct to lash out at whoever was there. Her hand was sure in its path, but it was easily halted by a bigger, stronger counterpart. Looking up at the solid form blocking out the light, she only hissed upon registering Zaid was the one scowling down at her.
“It’s rude to sneak up on people,” she said and tried to yank her hand back. The meathead didn’t let it go. “And it’s rude to lock people up too. I spent all damn night locked in that bedroom.”
But there was no apology. His focus was trained on her wrist caught in the circle of his long-fingered hand. He raised it up high until her arm was almost straight.
“Delicate bones… wonder how little force it would take to crush them.”
“Not half as much force as it would take for me to crush your balls in my teeth next time they’re in my mouth,” she said, setting a smug smile on him. The longer they stood there, the more her impatience rose. Whisper sighed. “Break it or let it go, husband. I hate a man who hesitates.”
“Yeah?”
His narrowing gaze slid around to hers. Gradually, his grip began to tighten. As it did, a heat of gratification infused through her. Finally, someone in the damn McDade house who was more than just talk.
One corner of her mouth curled. She was waiting for his grip to creep past comfortable. Just past… On the threshold of her pain boundary, Whisper bent her knees to jump up. Using his own strength as a lever against him, she threw both legs around his arm and pulled down. As she flipped upside down, she swung out to thrust a fist between his legs, around to the back of his knee. One swift punch was all it took to buckle his leg.
He went down onto one knee at the same time she landed on the floor flat on her back. Immediately Whisper did a backward roll to spring up in a crouch facing him. With her chin down, she smiled, enjoying the flame of surprise in his probing eyes.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
“Mm hmm,” she responded. “You’ll always be stronger than me… but don’t ever expect me to go down without a fight.”
Standing up, he extended a hand to her. “Doherty.” Slapping her hand into his, she let him pull her onto her feet. “Why are you listening in to a private conversation?”
“I’m waiting for my date,” she said, her focus bouncing upward. “Just so you know, those pesky diseases you’re worried about floating around in my blood? Yeah, they’re floating around in Pretty Nicki’s blood now too.”
“She hates being called Nicki.”
Playing it coy, Whisper pouted without hiding her mischief. “I figured.”
No one had to tell her. Just the fact that no one used the shortened version of the name was enough of a te
ll for her.
Sealing his lips until they thinned, Zaid inhaled through his nose as his eyes move to the side. Although he was doing a semi good job of acting displeased, he was definitely faking it. The irritation wasn’t real and she couldn’t see a glimmer of genuine anger either. Pissing people off was something she was usually fantastic at. This time, she’d missed her target, but, for some reason, he didn’t want her to know that.
“What did you do to her?” he asked.
Sliding one foot closer to him, she glided nearer until she could skim her knee up the outside of his leg. The fabric of her skirt drifted up her thigh the higher her leg went.
“Come closer, husband,” she purred. “I’ll show you.”
When the sheath of her blade became visible, his gaze dropped. “You cut her.”
“Uh-uh,” she said, shaking her hair away from her face. “Why would I let her have all the fun?”
His awareness cooled in the time it took his eyes to find hers again. “Flirting is your shield.”
Whisper shrugged. “I prefer to think of it like a hobby,” she said. “If I don’t practice, I might never get good enough to play in the big leagues.”
Zaid began to move, and not slow either. His long legs were capable of eating up the floor. In the momentum of his stride, he scooped her up and dipped to slide an arm around her, plucking her off her feet. Carrying her for just a step, he dropped her onto the dresser next to the statue she’d been fake admiring before he startled her.
Snatching both her wrists, he stretched her arms over her head to pin them against the wall. “You’re in the big leagues now, Peanut,” he growled, crouching lower.
“Careful, husband,” she murmured, arching her upper body toward him. “I could be a dirty, dirty girl… Don’t want to get too close without a note from your doctor.” Kicking off her shoe, she folded her leg against her body to press her toes against his fly. Just because he’d captured her arms didn’t mean Whisper was helpless, as she proved by sliding her toes up and down, stimulating him. “I’m not really in the mood for practice right now, Coach.”
Only Yours (A McDade Brothers Novel Book 2) Page 6