Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
It was also good to know his kidnapping had put a light in his mom’s eyes.
“The boy’s right, Erin. Slow the car down and let him jump.” His mom wasn’t the only OG he was dealing with this morning. Liam O’Donnell had been sitting in the passenger seat when she’d driven up. He’d explained that he was riding into the office with Erin for the week because his saint of a daughter Daisy needed to use his car.
Those words. Those exact words had come out of the man’s mouth.
He wasn’t sure Uncle Li had met his daughter. Daisy was a ball of chaos and nowhere close to a saint. It wasn’t that Daisy was awful. She was lovely, but crazy shit seemed to follow her, and according to her father, she was responsible for nothing.
Liam had been his mom’s partner for…well, as long as TJ had been alive. They’d been paired up when his mom had joined McKay-Taggart, and Li referred to his mom as his work husband ever since. Yep, husband not wife. It felt almost right to have the man witness his humiliation.
Because Lou had to have known walking out the way she did would hurt him.
“What are you going to do if Lou won’t drive you back to the office?” his mom asked as she stopped at a red light.
Liam briefly put his newspaper down. Where did the man find a physical newspaper? He always seemed to have one. “That’s a good question. Are you going to rent one of those scooter things?”
Excellent. He had two sarcastic parental figures to deal with. At least if his dad had been in the car, he would have gotten some sympathy.
And likely more advice. Was he dressed for this? He needed to get V-necks because he couldn’t show off any male cleavage in this crew neck.
He thought about getting out and walking the block and a half. “She won’t leave me. I’m her bodyguard. I called Zach, and he told me he informed her that she now has a bodyguard. Either she hasn’t read his report yet or she’s being mean. As Lou is the least mean person I know, I’m going with she hasn’t opened her email yet.”
Because she was too busy getting ready for her date with an accountant. During the wait for his mom, he’d looked up Miguel Garza, the dude his aunt thought would be a good fit with Lou. According to his socials, he was at least ten years older than Lou and thought pickleball was a real sport. He supposed the guy was attractive in a nerdy way, and he was way invested in Star Trek. Which would be a point in his favor when it came to Lou.
It wasn’t happening. He knew he’d said it was fine, but she shouldn’t be dating while they were working a dangerous case. He was putting his foot down.
“Do not put your foot down,” his mother said with a shake of her head, proving she knew him well. “I know that look. Your father gets that look when he’s about to be super stubborn. Don’t do it. She won’t handle it well.”
Liam turned to her. “What would he be putting his foot down about? And why? I don’t think TJ has that place in Lou’s life. Has anyone told her?”
His mom grinned Li’s way. “Oh, I didn’t tell you. So when the kidnappers had TJ, his response to being in danger and Lou getting sent in to save him was to hump her leg. And in a way that Big Tag saw.”
A booming laugh came out of Liam’s mouth. “Are you serious? How did the big bastard take that?”
“Oh, it was so much Big Tag drama. There was talk of him gouging his eyes out or bleaching them. I offered to sew them shut for him,” his mom replied.
“You didn’t even tell him Lou and I are together now?” His mom knew how to bury a lead. This dude was his mom’s best friend and she hadn’t even told him?
Liam shrugged. “She told me the important stuff. You let yourself get roofied and some bad guys think you know another bad guy.”
This man had a reputation as McKay-Taggart’s problem solver. The man who could put the wildest shit together to solve a case.
“Though she should have told me Big Tag got an eyeful,” Liam continued. “He’ll probably still be ranting about it this morning. So you finally fell into bed with Lou and now you think you need to put your foot down? Why would that be?”
“Because the men who kidnapped me got away, so she could still be in danger. She’s my weak spot and everyone knows it,” he replied. “So while I’m here, I’m her bodyguard.”
Liam turned and looked at him. He was roughly the same age as his mom, with a hint of silver at his temples and intelligent green eyes. Though he’d lived in the States for the majority of his adult life, the man still sounded like he came straight out of Dublin. “Let me see if I understand. She had to go in and save your arse, but she’s the one in danger. You know there is a school of thought where if you’re the target of a bunch of maniacal killers, you maybe distance from your loved ones.”