“I prefer men who make me feel safe,” I finally countered, crossing my arms.
A lopsided grin curved his lips. “That’s not me, Princess. But as for your question, the whole ‘MacCarrick Mafia’ thing is a bit of a running joke with my remaining brothers.”
“Remaining?”
His smile vanished as if I’d imagined it. Shutters seemed to slam down behind his eyes, walling me off, stopping me from understanding him.
He turned back to the door, no longer even reaching to put his arm around my waist—even though he didn’t have the right to touch me in the first place, the bastard.
My hand reached out as if it had a mind of its own, and I grabbed his upper arm. Not hard. I didn’t think I could squeeze that rock-hard muscle tight enough to make him notice if he felt like ignoring me.
To my surprise, he returned his attention to me. My breath caught, but I didn’t look away. His eyes were sharp and cold again like a knife pulled out of the snow.
“My older brother Cal was murdered,” he said in words as chilly as the air around us.
I didn’t know what I’d expected. Maybe how one of his siblings had died in a car accident or from cancer or something. But now it made perfect sense. Leon lived a dangerous life—and apparently, so did the rest of his family. A person couldn’t live dangerously forever. Eventually, your luck ran out.
At the same time, my heart went out to him. It was clear Leon had never come to terms with the loss. I was no psychiatrist, but sometimes women’s intuitionwasall it was cracked up to be. He was still a difficult man to read, but maybe that was why he came across as so ice-cold. Maybe he had to be that way.
He was still staring at me, and I still held his arm. I knew I should let go, but I didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
He said nothing for so long that I began to think he would never reply. I didn’t look away, even though holding his fierce gaze was not easy. The intensity in his stare was intimidating, ferocious.
Then Leon surprised me by breaking the silence. “Don’t mention any of that to my mother.”
“I won’t.”
I answered by reflex because I wasn’t a terrible person like he was. But after a second, I decided I’d made the right choice. For whatever reason, he’d dragged me to his mother’s house, putting his family at risk because of who my father was. I didn’t understand it, but the least I could do was keep my mouth shut and play along. At least until I found out what was going on in the nightmare my life had become.
He nodded curtly, then marched up the two steps, effortlessly pulling out of my grip. His broad back was to me as he pushed the doorbell. Distantly, I heard chimes and a woman’s voice calling, “Coming, coming.”
I walked up the steps and stood at his side. He didn’t look at me. I had the feeling I’d angered him somehow by bringing up his brother, even though I hadn’t intended to upset him. He had no right to make me feel guilty about it, especially after all the things he’d done to me. But Ididfeel bad about it. It was insane but true.
Maybe I was the one who needed a psychiatrist.
The door swung inward, the Christmas wreath rattling a little. A small woman who looked to be in her early fifties appeared behind the storm door glass. As soon as she saw Leon, her entire face blossomed with joy.
This had to be Leon’s mom. The family resemblance was striking. It made my breath catch and my throat ache because I wasn’t sure my mother had ever beenthathappy to see me show up unannounced.
His mother swung the storm door outward, beckoning us inside. “Leon, it’s so good to see you. I was just baking.” Her green eyes—the exact same shade as Leon’s—turned to me and sparkled with interest. “Who is your lady friend?”
If only she knew. But I dutifully smiled back. Maybe a little shyly. That played right into the role Leon intended, as if I were his “lady friend.”
How the hell had things reached the point where I was pretending to be my kidnapper’s girlfriend? I had no idea, but here I was.
“This is Sofia,” Leon told her, grinning now. He held the storm door open for me.
What a hypocrite, playing a gentleman in front of his mom. I should tell her he’d scared me to death, threatened me a hundred times, tied me to a chair, and duct-taped my mouth shut. Maybe she wouldn’t think her boy so gentlemanly after all.
But I was still all talk, no action. What I actually did was smile at his mother. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Mrs. MacCarrick.”
“So polite, too.” She beckoned me inside eagerly. I stepped into a small foyer in a house that smelled vaguely of cats and…pies? She took my hand in both of hers. “Welcome.”
I was a little taken aback at how warm she was being to be. Now that I was inside the house, I had a better look at her. Leon’s mother was an inch or so taller than me and middle-aged plump. She wore an apron edged in little baking teddy bears. She was very fair-skinned, with a dusting of freckles across her nose and high on her cheeks. But her hair was dark, although liberally streaked with gray. It was still my guess that she had to be in her early fifties. She was broad in the hips now, with crow’s feet and lines on her friendly face, but it was easy to tell she would’ve been quite stunning when she was younger.
Leon followed me inside and shut the door behind him. He grabbed his mother in a bear hug, lifting her fully off the ground as she scolded him. He completely ignored her. At least he was consistent about some things.
