Double The Risk (11 page)

“Sorry about that,” the guy said. “Craig wanted to stay home and play video games, like he doesn’t get to do that every day.”

Ronan smacked him on the shoulder. “Oh, I’m so loving this, little brother. Now you know what it was like for me when you were that age.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The guy’s scowl disappeared when he looked at Cassidy. “Hi, sorry, for the mini-drama. I’m Finn Callaghan, and this is my partner, Michael Caruso. The kid that nearly ran you down is our foster son, Craig.”

Ronan made the necessary introductions, and when they’d all shaken hands and exchanged greetings, they followed the trail laid by the sullen Craig into the backyard. There were dozens of people already hanging around, drinking, playing, and laughing. Cassidy paused a second, feeling a bit intimidated. Diego placed a reassuring hand on the small of her back.

“I don’t know anyone, either. We’ll stick together.”

Grabbing her hand, Ronan said, “Yes, we will. Let me introduce you to my uncle.”

The three of them walked through the yard stuck together, as if they were part of the road company for The Golden Goose. Cassidy didn’t mind too much as she felt safe and comfortable with each of these men. The way they touched her was both arousing and strangely cozy. Once again, she wondered how they must look to Ronan’s family and friends. No one gave them any funny looks, at least not that she could tell. Perhaps she was being overly sensitive. Of course,
she
knew how weird it was for them to attend as a troika because she knew how intimate she and each of the men had become. She really hoped that closeness wasn’t being telegraphed by her or the guys.

Ronan led them over to a place under a large shady tree. An older man with grizzled features and buzzed white hair held court in a wheelchair. The birthday boy, no doubt. A rather stunning and tall redhead stood next to him, her hand on one of the chair’s steering handles. Ronan had told her he had a female cousin who was a homicide detective. This had to be her.

The woman smiled broadly when she caught sight of Ronan. “Hey, there, cousin.”

The birthday boy waved at someone before turning to them, his shrewd eyes taking them all at a glance. He wrinkled his brow, as if working out a hard puzzle. Okay, so this guy had definitely seen the oddity in their threesome. Yet all he did was smile as widely as the woman beside him. He held out his hand when Ronan stepped up.

“Good of you to come, boyo.” There was a slight Irish lilt to his voice that sounded like he’d emigrated and not been born in Boston.

Ronan not only clasped the hand, he leaned in to kiss the older man loudly on the forehead. “Like I’d miss it.”

He gently pulled Cassidy in closer as he hadn’t let her hand go when he greeted his uncle. Diego, of course, kept his palm plastered to the small of her back.

“Uncle Jack, Regan, meet Dr. Cassidy Barnes, the new medical examiner. And this is my new partner, Diego Nieves.”

With her right hand held hostage by Ronan, all she could do was nod and smile. “It’s nice to meet you both. Thank you for having us.”

Hmm, where did the
us
come from? It’s seemed natural to say it, and she was hard pressed to say whether she meant us as in her and Diego or us as in her, Diego, and Ronan. And why did the latter feel so right?

“We’re delighted to have you,” Jack said. His sincerity was obvious. If he thought it was strange that his nephew came with two dates, he didn’t hint as much.

Regan, however, had other ideas. Her gaze darted back and forth between Diego and Ronan before it landed on Cassidy. “I’ve heard of you, but so far haven’t had an opportunity to stand over a DB with you. I can see that, as usual, my cousin has worked fast.” She directed a smirk at Ronan.

Not knowing what to say to that observation, Cassidy fell back on the kind of social politeness drilled into her since childhood. She held out the party bag in her left hand. “I’m sorry, Mr. Malloy, I didn’t get the memo about your drinking preferences. This is wine, not whisky.”

Reaching for her offering, Jack smiled up at her. “Not to worry, my girl here likes to take part in the grape.” He handed the bag over to Regan who lost no time opening it. She looked at the label and gave a nod of approval. “And it’s Jack, please. We don’t stand on ceremony in this part of Boston.”

Cassidy didn’t imagine in the least that it was a subtle dig at her more upscale neighborhood, and even if it had been, it would have been well-founded. Regardless, Ronan squeezed her hand. She looked up and gave him a reassuring smile. She liked his uncle and his cousin already. She couldn’t possibly take offense at anything they said.

Diego stepped forward, his hand still touching her. “I did get the memo, sir.” Grinning, he handed over his bag and was rewarded when Jack smacked his lips.

“I do love my Jameson. Thanks, and the same goes—it’s Jack. Put this with the other gifts, won’t you, sweetheart?” he asked, giving it to his daughter.

“Sure, Pops.”

Jack’s expression turned abruptly sober. “Connor’s not here yet, but he promised he’d stop by at some point even though he’s just getting back from vacation.”

“Thanks, Uncle Jack, I appreciate it.”

The older man turned pensive. “I hope he has some answers. I always felt he knew more than he let on years ago.”

While he didn’t come out and say so, Cassidy understood the veiled reference was to the murder of Ronan’s parents. Ronan stiffened a bit beside her, so it was her turn to squeeze his hand. Although she didn’t know what was going on, she wanted to reassure him that she was here if he needed her.

“It’s probably a long shot for him to help us with the current investigation, but nothing else has panned out so far.”

“Well,” Regan interjected with a note of lightness in her tone. “In the meantime, how about a beer? There’s plenty of nibblies laid out, and Aunt Mary is taking orders for burgers or dogs.”

“Do you have any Sam Adams?” Diego asked. “I’ve been meaning to try it.”

Regan gave him a pitying look. “Christ Jesus, you’d think New York was on the other side of the world. Come on, then.”

Cassidy, Diego, and Ronan turned as one, and with her left hand free, somehow it had ended up clasped by Diego. Now they really did look ridiculous, and she wondered how she was supposed to eat and drink. An image of the men feeding her with their own hands popped into her head. She stumbled a bit as the fantasy grabbed her right between her legs. Each man closed in to make sure she was stable. She flashed them a weak smile. This was going to be a long afternoon.

****

Ronan wasn’t surprised when his brothers came to sit on either side of him. He was surprised they’d managed to wait until lunch was mostly consumed before cornering him. Of course, he’d been staying close to Cassidy for the entire afternoon. It wasn’t until his female relatives wrangled her away for hen talk while they fussed over his cousin Siobhan’s new baby girl that he’d been vulnerable for attack. With Diego engrossed in a Red Sox vs. Yankee’s discussion with Uncle Jack and his coterie of retirees, Ronan was wide open. Daire and Finn didn’t even bother to say anything at first, they simply sat and stared at him.

Ronan sighed. “What?”

Clasping a hand on Ronan’s shoulder, Daire said, “I get the gorgeous medical examiner, but your partner doesn’t strike me as your type. He’s a little, too, I don’t know—male?” He leaned over Ronan’s front to get confirmation from Finn.

Their little brother didn’t hesitate to join in the fun. “Yeah, that was what I thought, too.” Finn nudged Ronan. “Are you switching over to my team, bro?”

“Ha, ha.” Ronan didn’t bother to glare at either of them. His attention remained fixed on Cassidy. Someone said something to make her laugh. The way she looked as she threw back her head with her lips parted hit him not just in his balls, but somewhere much farther north. God, she was so lovely and delightful.

He wasn’t the only one to notice, however. Diego’s gaze was also fixed on her even as he spoke with Jack and the others. The knowledge spiked his blood pressure in a whole different way. God, he’d never been the jealous type, always pulling out when he had competition. This was different, though. He wasn’t going to give up Cassidy without a fight, even though it meant fighting with his own partner.

A hand waved in front of his face. “Seriously, Ronan, what the fuck is going on?”

“Nothing,” he lied. When it was clear that answer wasn’t going to be accepted, he grudgingly added more. “Cassidy and I are dating, that’s true. I thought it might be fun to bring her. Nieves and I are waiting for Dad’s old partner to show up because he might tie in with a murder investigation we’ve got going. We want to ask him a few questions.”

Mention of their father took his brothers’ focus off Cassidy as he knew it would.

“Do you mean the homeless guy found by the Charles last week?” Daire asked, his teasing tone gone.

“Yeah, except we don’t think he was homeless. He had a place he was renting for years still available, and other than his clothing, he didn’t look like someone who’d been living on the streets. We think the whole thing was staged.”

“Why would anyone bother?” This from Finn, who, like Daire, was all business.

“That’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question. The vic was a snitch of Dad’s, and he’s been living off the grid if not on the streets for about eight years.” Both of his brothers swore. “Yeah, I know. It’s easy to read into it as being relevant.” He shrugged. “We’ll see. I find it odd that this low-level snitch came into enough money to live comfortably all of these years.”

Finn leaned in closer. “You think he sold Dad out?”

“Or pulled the trigger?” Daire added.

Ronan shook his head slowly and shot a reassuring grin over to Cassidy when she glanced his way. “I don’t know. He wasn’t a hard-core criminal, no convictions for violent offenses, but selling people out was his stock in trade.”

The three of them were quiet for a while as they pondered the possibilities. Ronan’s attention was divided at best, however. He couldn’t keep from tracking Cassidy’s every move. He liked the way she looked sitting among his female relatives. They all seemed to like her, Regan included, and that made her even more appealing to him. Family meant the world to him. Naturally, his brothers finished digesting his news about O’Malley and circled back to the original topic.

“You do know that Nieves has a thing for her, too, right?” Daire asked.

Ronan made a face. “Yeah, I do know that. He’s been dating her as well.”

Finn whistled. “Wow, and I thought meeting my partner while posing as an underage prostitute was a weird how-I-met-your-mother kind of story.”

“It’s not like that. Cassidy and I are just hanging out, having fun. We’ve known each other for less than a week. Diego, the fucker,” he said before he could censor himself, “asked her out after I did, although he managed to get his date with her in first.”

Daire chuckled. “You must be getting old, little brother. I’ve never known another man to outflank you before.”

“Bite me.”

“I’m confused,” Finn interjected before Daire could respond. “How’s this working today with the three of you out together? It’s like a double date minus another woman. Are you all going home together or something?”

The question surprised and maybe even shocked Ronan so much he tore his gaze away from Cassidy. “What the hell kind of question is that?”

Finn shrugged. “No judgment implied. Look at me and Michael. Lots of people are shocked at the idea of two men.”

“Troglodytes, maybe.” Ronan hated the fact that there were people in the world who judged his brother harshly for being who he was.

Finn grinned. “Maybe, but my point is, you need to do what works best for you so long as you’re not hurting anybody.”

Ronan shifted his focus back to Cassidy. Although what his brother was suggesting might sound plausible in the abstract, he had a feeling it would hurt the woman in the center of the matter. He knew he wasn’t good at sharing anything, let alone something as important as a woman he cared for.

He glanced over at his partner. What he didn’t know about Diego would fill Fenway Park. He was willing to bet, however, that his partner was not the kind of guy who played well with others either.

“Hey.” Daire nudged Ronan. “Uncle Conner has arrived.”

Thoughts of Cassidy and threesomes fled as Ronan traced his brother’s line of vision and saw their father’s old partner saunter into the backyard. It had been years since he’d seen the man. The image in his head was sorely out of date. Connor Mahurin was past middle-age, as white haired as the older Jack and moving slowly enough to imply his body gave him trouble. The pot belly he sported certainly wasn’t a sign of health, and even from a distance, his face looked haggard. It was hard to believe he’d just come back from vacation.

Ronan stood up and didn’t spare a word or a glance for his brothers as he moved to intercept the older cop. Diego was likewise watching the man’s approach, having apparently figured out who he was, or maybe Jack had told him. In any event, Ronan reached them all just as Connor was shaking Jack’s hand.

“Happy birthday, old man,” Connor said with the kind of phlegmy voice associated with long-time smokers.

Jack gave him a grudging smile. “Call me old all you want. So long as I’m breathing, it’s fine by me. You remember my nephew, Ronan.” Jack gave a nod in Ronan’s direction.

Connor turned to Ronan with a guarded look. “I do, of course. How’ve you been?” he asked, extending his hand.

“Well enough, thanks.” Ronan noticed the man’s palm was ever so sweaty. “This is my partner, Diego Nieves.”

Connor gave Diego the same look and hand. “Oh? I thought it was Rory’s youngest who was light in the loafers.”

Whether it was the casual mention of his father’s name or the offensive and out-of-date insult to Finn, or most likely both, Ronan felt his hackles go up. With bared teeth, he took a step forward before a gesture from Jack told him to rein it in. They weren’t going to get many answers from Connor if Ronan knocked all of his teeth out.

“I’m his partner on the force,” Diego said, helpfully distracting Connor while Ronan pulled his shit together.