The guard motions me through. “Coming, sweet cheeks!” I yell.
I walk through the revolving doors. Lety wraps her arm around mine and leads me into a grand ballroom, speaking through her white sparkling teeth. “?‘Sweet cheeks’? Nice, Curran. You could have said anything, but you had to go there.”
I grin. “You can’t tell me that boyfriend of yours never told you you have a nice ass.”
She tries to hide her smile, her real one, and fails. “That’s none of your business, butthead. Show some class for once and I won’t have to kill you.”
She weaves us around the crowd. She doesn’t seem to know anyone, but she also doesn’t seem to care. Instead she tries to look over and around people until she spots who she’s searching for. And holy shit, doesn’t she light up then.
Her date is down to a shirt and tie. Good thing security doesn’t know what he looks like, ’cause we sure look nothing alike. Although muscular, and about my height, he’s not as brawny as me. And instead of short hair, his falls past his chin.
He polishes off the shrimp on toast he’s munching on and straightens when he sees Lety’s arm around mine. She holds on to her smile but lets me go, hurrying to his side. “Sorry, babe,” she says, standing on her toes to kiss his lips. “This is my boyfriend, Brody,” she tells me.
“Who’s this?” Brody asks, securing his arm around her waist.
Lety smooths her hand over his chest. “Oh, sorry. This is Killian’s brother, Curran.”
Brody nods, appearing to relax. “Oh, the DA.”
“That’s Declan,” she explains.
“That’s right, you’re the carpenter.”
Lety laughs. “No, that’s Seamus. Curran’s a Philly cop.”
“Then who’s the contractor?”
“Angus,” I clarify. “And Finnie’s the baby and probably up to no good.” I shrug out of his jacket and hand it to him. “Thanks for the coat, man.” I motion to Lety. “And sorry about keeping you from your girl. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
He slips into his coat and shakes my hand, grinning like he means it and showing me he’s a good guy. Lety leans into him like she’s known him forever, or at least plans to.
Brody’s arm returns to her waist as he considers me. “There are six of you, and you have a sister, too, right?”
“That’s right.”
He nods. “Yeah, Lety’s probably going to pop out at least seven for us, too. Right, peque?a?”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Brody,” she mutters.
I laugh. “Oh, shit, are you blushing?” She narrows her eyes. “Aw, hell, you are. You got it bad, kid.”
“Don’t you have something you’re supposed to be doing?” she snaps. “Or are you only here for the free food?”
“Oh, I’m already doing it with my super-spy skills. I’m just so stealth—that’s spy talk for sneaky—that you didn’t notice.” I’ve already scanned the bar area and the other serving station. Still no Tess. “Hey, Brody. You know any of these people?”
He makes a face like he wishes he didn’t. “Yeah. Most of my life.”
“Where’s the asshole up for mayor?”
“Curran,” Lety warns, when my compliment makes an older couple passing us pause.
Brody laughs, not caring what people think any more than I do. “He’s over on the other side, trying to squeeze money out of a bunch of executives. Come on, I’ll get you close.”
“Thanks, man.”
We edge around the perimeter of the dance floor until I catch sight of Tess. Lety stops Brody when she realizes I’m not following them, her eyes widening at the sight of my pissed-off face. “Brody, wait,” she urges.