“And what’s that?” I ask, rolling down my window.
The guards won’t recognize the vehicle, and they’ll want to do an inspection. Although, I’m sure Patrick warned them that I’d be right behind him. Once they spot me, they’ll wave us through.
“A compound,” she says.
Two men approach from the guard booth, but I ignore them.
I turn back to Charlotte, saying, “You’re not wrong. The O’Connor family has lived here for the better part of thirty-five years. All the streets we drove through are filled with soldiers who are loyal to my brothers and me. That’s how I can guarantee that you and your son can rest easy while you’re with us.”
She snorts.
Or scoffs.
I frown.
I’m actually not sure what that sound means, but I don’t think it was good.
The boy sleeps soundly in the back seat as I park the SUV in the driveway near the front door.
Keegan and O’Riordan file out as I look at Charlotte. She’s staring up at the house with a look on her face that I can’t decipher.
On the bright side, she’s no longer sobbing.
That made for a tense trip.
“They’ll get your vehicle settled into the garage somewhere,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Think about which things you’ll need to be comfortable tonight. The rest we can carry in tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
“Come on, let’s head in.”
With a heavy sigh, she nods and reaches for the door handle.
We both climb from the SUV, and I head around to the back passenger seat to help with her son.
I step over, giving Keegan a quick rundown of what he should do with her SUV. By the time I step back to the vehicle, she has the door open, and she’s in the process of unbuckling her child.
I’m shocked the tiny woman is even able to carry the boy around with how tall he is in comparison to her.
“You know which bags and supplies you need?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
I sound ridiculous, but I can’t help that. My voice is naturally deep and growly. If I talk in my regular tone, people always think I’m yelling.
I’m not.
I’m just loud by nature.
“Why don’t you grab what you need, and I’ll carry your son?” I offer. “There are a lot of stairs between us and the bedroom you’ll be staying in.”
She jolts, spinning to face me. “If you’re notverycareful, he will wake up. If he wakes up, he’ll see we aren’t at home, and this will become an amazing adventure. He won’t fall back to sleep for hours. Not to mention, I’m sure this giant house isn’t kid-proofed, and I’ve already had one breakdown tonight.”
She’s not wrong about the house.
Hell, this place wasn’t kid friendly when Patrick and Cormac were little, but we can have the housekeepers do a sweep of the lower level.
Her cheeks are pink, and her eyes are swollen. It’s dark, but the lights on the front of the house are bright enough to highlight that much.
“If you’d rather make two trips, I completely understand.” I nod into the vehicle. “But I swear, I’m not going to run off with your son. It’s icy, and I can tell how tired you are. I just thought I’d offer, but you don’t have to accept.”
