Page 83 of Sins of Innocence

"What the hell are you doing here when my wife needs you at home?"

Chapter sixteen

When a Rat Can't Take a Hint

ÁINE

My breath seizes in my chest when the unwelcome voice comes from behind me. Even more unwelcome is his nearness as Kenneth Shaughnessy steps right up to our table.

Could my luck get any worse? We chose the restaurant that my ex-employer must have picked for his own lunch.

A chain restaurant at a mall, it's not his kind of place at all. Only today, of all days, he decides eating at a restaurant with a fixed menu isn't beneath him.

Kenneth glares down at me and then turns the nasty look on Sadie. "Haven't you and your daughter caused enough trouble?"

Shrinking back in her chair, Sadie looks at me imploringly.

I couldn't protect her yesterday, but this? I can protect her from.

"My daughter didn't cause a damn thing." Shoving my chair back, I surge to my feet and place my body between his line of sight and Sadie. "That was all on your miscreant of a son."

"And my daughter isn't at work right now, Kenneth." Mom never uses his first name, always referring to him as Mr. Shaughnessy. The slight is intentional. "Whatever you think you need to say to her can wait until she returns to work."

Everything's happened so fast, I haven't told mom that I quit. She's going to be thrilled.

"Come with me." Kenneth reaches for my arm.

I angle my body away from him to evade his grasp but refuse to move from my position in front of Sadie. "No. You have nothing to say that I want to hear."

Surprised that my bestie hasn't jumped into the fray, I see out of the corner of my eye that she's got her phone out and she's tapping on the screen. Is she texting someone?

Kieran. Of course. But what can he do? By the time he gets here, whatever is about to go down will have happened.

Suddenly, a much younger man with dark hair and a tan complexion, maneuvers his way between my ex-employer and me, forcing Kenneth to move back. "You need to step away, Mr. Shaughnessy."

He's the same six-foot height as Kenneth but has a more muscular build and hopefully even my ex-boss isn't arrogant enough to challenge him. But how does he know Kenneth's last name?

"That woman works for me and didn't show up today," Kenneth snarls back. "My wife is distraught because our son has a broken arm. Our domestic staff need to pick up the slack."

I am never picking up the slack for Allison Shaughnessy again. And the only reason she's distraught is that she doesn't want to have to vacuum her own floors.

I lean to the side so I can see Kenneth past the man vibrating with intense energy between us. "I don’t work for you anymore. I quit this morning!"

"Finally!" Mom says as happy about the news as I expected her to be.

"You stop working for me when I say you do," Kenneth says menacingly, trying to sidestep the other man.

"Wraith says he's not to speak to Áine, the girls, or Mamma Mo," Ellie pipes up. "Get him out of here, Torch."

She was texting Kieran. And apparently both she and Kieran know the man creating a barrier between Kenneth and my family.

Torch. Another mob nickname? I don't see someone naming their kid that, but then there are stranger names out there.

"You need to leave," Torch says, his own quiet tone a lot more menacing than Kenneth's. "Boss's orders."

"I don't know who your boss is, but I outrank him and you need to get the fuck out of my way." Kenneth's voice is loud, his tone bullish, but the look in his eyes?

Not nearly so confident. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, there's some desperation there he's trying really hard to hide. But I've worked in this man's home for more than half a decade.