He’s got a younger woman on his arm, and she wears a wedding band. That must be his wife. Someone said he married a Russian princess. Zoya something?
I know one of their brothers is still incarcerated, though Cavin was recently released…
What arrangement?
They always tell me I gethyperfixated.
But who wouldn’t?
Who wouldn’t get hyperfixated when the wordarrangementgets tossed around with families like ours?
We drove an hour, no stops, just to “discuss the possibility of some form of alliance.”
I said I’d be friendly, said I’d play nice because Bridget’s worth it.
After her last incident, with blood loss so bad she nearly didn’t make it, they gave her an infusion and sent us home, where we have twenty-four-hour care.
The problem is, when my sister bleeds, it doesn’t stop like it’s supposed to.
Ironic, isn’t it? That her disease is poisoned blood.
And blood is what ties us all together. My family. The McCarthys. Good blood, bad blood, and everything in between.
Before we left, my da made sure she was stable.
Of course he did. He loves Bridget.
He gives me a look now. That don’t-fuck-this-up kind of look.
Play nice, Erin.
And maybe I can.
But the last person on this planet I want to be alone with?
Cavin McCarthy.
Chapter Five
Erin
“Cavin,”Caitlin calls. “Come here, son.”
My breath catches. Actually catches, like I’ve been punched.
His shoulders fill the doorway. There’s ink crawling up his neck now, disappearing under his collar. His jaw is sharper, harder.
He’s in a dark suit that fits himtoowell and shows every line of muscle underneath.
My mouth goes dry.
No. Absolutelynot.
I willnotbe attracted to Cavin fucking McCarthy.
But my body doesn’t seem to care what I will or won’t do.
Heat floods my face. My thighs.Lower.
