Cormac: A Mafia Love Story by R.E. Saxton Page A

it had taken her years to realize Shane and his associates lived on the dark side.
    Cormac was immersed in that web of darkness too. Her heart gave a small pang as she pictured the tall blond man who was the only other constant in her life. He had always treated her respectfully, almost as a kid sister, but she thought he wanted more. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, though he’d never admit it.
    With a sigh, she leaned back against the metal side of the ambulance, wishing for some padding. Her head spun a bit, and she was woozy from blood loss. Closing her eyes, she tried to grasp that she had been a victim of a violent crime. Having been sheltered by her older brother most of her life, and equally protected by Cormac, she hadn’t expected to ever be so close to the seedy side of their lives.
    Deciding not to think about it, she let her body slump and tried to clear her mind. It wasn’t difficult to slip into a light doze with her body feeling so weak, and her neck throbbing with every beat of her heart.
    Living with rheumatoid arthritis had made pain a part of her daily life, but this was an irritating, burning kind of pain she’d never experienced before. Who knew a gunshot could be so excruciating when it hadn’t caused a serious injury? The bullet fired from that bland sedan had simply grazed her neck. The medic had told her she would recover just fine, but that didn’t take away the sting of being shot and exposed to ugliness she had tried to ignore.
    ***
    Four hours later, Siobhan shifted restlessly again in the hard hospital chair. She looked up with surprise when a nurse came toward her holding what looked like Shane’s cell phone. Staring dumbly at the phone for a moment, she finally asked, “What?”
    “There’s a girl on the line frantic for information about Mr. O’Mara, but I can’t release anything. The best I can do is let her talk to a family member.” The nurse seemed nervous, as though fearing for her job. “I’m not supposed to do that, so if you don’t want to talk to her…”
    With a nod, she took the phone. “Mia?” She asked the question, but already knew the answer before the other woman spoke.
    “Is he alive?”
    She sounded strained and exhausted, with a strong undercurrent of worry. Siobhan had been nursing some anger toward the other woman, but it lessened slightly at her tone. “Yes.”
    “Is he going to make it?”
    She hesitated. “Probably. The gunshot passed near his heart, and he hemorrhaged, but he’s stable now.” That was a strong assessment. The few minutes she’d seen him, he’d been fighting the effects of anesthesia and repeating Mia’s name. As he’d regained his strength, he’d started trying to take out his IV and get up. The doctor had ended up sedating him. “He needs you.”
    A soft sob was the only response for a moment. “I can’t.”
    Siobhan scowled. “Why the fuck not? You love him, don’t you?”
    Her voice broke on a barely audible, “Yes.”
    “Then come to the hospital and be with him.”
    The other woman sobbed again before the line disconnected. In shock, she stared at the dead line, unable to believe Mia had just hung up on her. She was still glaring at the phone when Cormac slipped into the seat beside her, handing her a cup of dreadful coffee from the vending machine.
    He looked at the cell phone. “What’re you doing with that?”
    “Mia called.” With a huffy sneer, she thunked the poor telephone onto the seat beside her. “That bitch isn’t coming.” She looked up at Cormac. “How can she claim to love him, but not be here for him?”
    Cormac’s lips pursed, making his rough features even more uneven. Some might have called him unattractive, but she liked the irregular, blunt composition of his face almost as much as she liked the transformation when he smiled. “There’s more to the story than you know.”
    “So tell me.”
    After a brief hesitation, he shook his head. “Nah, that’s Shane’s business,