I left Eamon’s office and glanced down the hall. I bit my lip and hesitated. Looking down at my hands, I had one camera left. After checking down the hall again, I made the sign of the cross over my chest, asking God to forgive me for what I was about to do.
I slipped into the master bedroom, knowing this was where Caity slept. I’d seen the lights go on and off at night when I sat outside the house.
My eyes swept the room, floor to ceiling, looking for the best position for the camera. I wanted to watch her sleep. That was what I told myself. The truth was, I wanted to make sure no one else was in that bed with her.
Caity was mine.
I slipped the camera into a plant on the bookshelf and adjusted the settings so all I could see was her bed. The temptation to change the parameters, so I could see her entire bedroom, was overwhelming. I hurried from the room before I gave in. Double-checking Eamon’s office to be sure it was locked, I ensured the front door was also locked as I exited the brownstone.
Walking back to the office, I kept my head down on my phone, once more clicking through every screen until I reached the camera pointed at her perfectly made bed.
I could already feel my dick thickening in anticipation of movie night and watching her twist and turn in those covers.
Chapter Nine
Caity
I stood outside my daughter’s door, hand poised to knock, fear keeping me from making contact.
It had been two months since Maddie had learned Cian was her father, and it was time to talk to her. I’d wanted to let her come to me, but she was stubborn. It was that damn Irish temper we were all afflicted with.
Someone had told her the truth, and I needed to know who. And I needed her to understand why I’d made the choices I did. I only hoped she understood.
Taking a deep breath, I rapped my knuckles on the wooden door and waited. I could hear her moving around inside. Did she know it was me? Would she answer the door? Would she slam it in my face when she found me on the other side?
I took a step back and held my breath as the knob turned. The door swung open, and Maddie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Mom?”
“Hi, Maddie. Can we talk?”
Maddie bit her lip and looked over her shoulder, and I wondered if she had company.
“Sure.”
She stepped back, opening the door wider so I could walk in. I knew the apartment layout; it was Colleen’s. When she wanted to move out of her parents’ house, Duncan bought this building so she had a safe place to live. Now that she was living inNebraska with Maureen, Maddie was taking care of the place for her.
There had been no end date on Colleen moving back to Boston, and I wondered if she would. Maureen was pregnant, and I suspected Colleen would want to stay at least a while to help her mom and get to know her new brother or sister.
I waited to the side and let Maddie lead. This was her home, and I was the guest now. I followed Maddie down the hall into the kitchen.
“Would you like coffee?”
“If you have some, but don’t make it especially for me.”
Maddie had never been much of a coffee drinker. Truth be told, I wasn’t either, but my mother had instilled in me that you offer your guest coffee, and it gave your hands something to do while you waited in awkward silence.
“Water?” Maddie asked.
“Yes, please.” I smiled at my daughter. It was awkward and humbling to know that my daughter, whom I loved with everything inside me, might hate me, and worse, might never forgive me.
The hate I could handle. Most people didn’t like my brash personality. They didn’t take into account that I was raised by the head of the Mob. I may have lived with my mother, and she did the best she could to temper my father’s contribution, but I was Eamon O’Malley’s daughter, and nothing would change that.
Maddie set a glass on the counter and filled it with ice before running it under the sink. She placed it in front of me at the table, where I sat down and waited.
I stared at the glass for a moment before reaching out and wrapping my hands around it. I fought the tears in my eyes as I asked, “You know I love you, right?”
I chanced a quick glance at my daughter, and she nodded.
