Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon

Chapter Twenty-Three

Barking woke Cassidy. Loud barking and not the friendly kind.

“Markus!” She bolted upright to find the other side of the bed empty, the sheets still warm. Sunlight streamed in through the window, forcing her to cover her eyes or have her retinas fried.

From inside the house, a siren wailed, followed by beeping and not the kind her digital clock made to wake her up gently. This was at ear-splitting, eardrum-busting levels.

Someone had set off her brand-new alarm system.

Fear snapped her into action and she threw her legs over the side of the bed. No sooner had the alarm kicked on than it abruptly kicked off. The barking eased to an occasional snarl. What she heard next frightened her more.

Voices. Lots of voices, and she knew whose they were.

Her entire family was downstairs. All six of them.

And Markus is alone with them.

With her heart racing at what she could only imagine in her worst nightmares was happening downstairs, she snatched up her clothes then opted for the more expeditious option—her robe.

Still tying the robe around her waist, she all but ran from the bedroom. Halfway down the stairs, she froze. Heat scorched her face.

Markus’s expression was grim as he stood in front of the keypad in nothing more than his jeans and a gun tucked into the small of his back. Ghost sat obediently beside him, with only the slightest rumble coming from the back of his throat. Her father, mother, two brothers and sisters stood in front of the open door.

“What’s doing, sis?” her oldest brother, Jimmy, asked in a frosty tone.

Wearing only her robe, it was pretty darned obvious exactly what she and Markus had been doing.

“Merry Christmas, Cassidy,” her younger sister, Kaitlyn, said, flipping back her unruly head of red curls and grinning as she cast an unabashedly appreciative eye at Markus. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”

While she totally understood her sister’s sentiments because, well, Markus was hotter than hell in his bare feet and the top snap of his jeans still undone, it irked to have her sister drooling over her new boyfriend.

Boyfriend?

She shook her head to clear it. Deciphering what she and Markus were exactly would have to wait. Especially after last night’s conversation. Right now, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like keeping her father and brothers from pounding on Markus all at once.

Cassidy took the rest of the stairs in record time, stepping in front of Markus and Ghost as if they needed protection. He might not know it, but he does. “What are you all doing here?”

Sean, the second oldest sibling of the family, tapped a finger on his watch. “It’s ten o’clock, Cass. On Christmas Day.”

She gasped. Oh my gosh.

Her father pursed his lips as he glared at Markus. “We were worried about you, lass,” he said in the same thick Irish brogue that hadn’t diminished much, even after decades of living in the U.S.

Jimmy crossed his arms. “You’re always the first under the tree. When you didn’t show at nine on the button, we were surprised.”

“When you didn’t show by nine fifteen,” her older sister, Brianna, chimed in, “we got a little worried.”

“By nine thirty,” her mother added in a lilting brogue and coming to wrap an arm around her shoulder and give her a good squeeze, “we decided to come by and check on you. You can blame me for that. I insisted.”

Then and there, she made a New Year’s resolution to collect every single one of her house keys from every single member of her family so this would never, ever happen again. “I’m sorry to have worried all of you, but you could have called or at least texted.”

“Between all of us”—Sean swept his arm to encompass the family—“we probably called ten times.” He pointed to her phone which was right where she’d left it last night. On the kitchen counter.

She smacked a hand to her forehead. “You did call, didn’t you?”

As if sensing there were no words he could say to pacify her family at finding a half-naked man and a snarling dog in her house, Markus wisely remained silent. She couldn’t be sure whether the slight upturn of his lips was a grimace or a smile. Given the awkwardness of the situation, she’d go with grimace.

Her father arched a brow. “Care to introduce us, lass?”

Markus was a big man by anyone’s standards, but he’d never been up against the Morgans. She hooked an arm through his, resting her other hand on Ghost’s head and giving the dog a quick scratch behind his ears. “This is—” Was he still introducing himself as Alex Adessio?

“Markus York,” he said without missing a beat, then extended a hand to her father. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d taken the initiative. Somehow, she didn’t see Markus cowering in front of anyone or anything. Including her father’s legendary disapproving glare.

For a moment, her dad hesitated. She was well over the age of needing permission from him to go out with a guy, but still…

Cassidy breathed an inward sigh of relief when he shook hands with Markus. “Ian Morgan.”

After repeating the process with her brothers, Markus focused on her mother and sisters. “Ladies, it’s nice to finally meet Cassidy’s family.”

Kaitlyn giggled. “The pleasure is ours. Really.”

“Kaitlyn!” Brianna elbowed her younger sister. “I’m Brianna.”

“And you must be Mrs. Morgan,” Markus said, bestowing a full white smile on her mother. “Cassidy talks about you all the time.”

Wow. For a guy who didn’t talk much, he certainly knew how to work it. Charm practically oozed from the man.

“Really. How nice,” her mother said, smiling back and looking as if she’d just met the King of England. “Call me Fiona.”

“Fiona, then.”

Oh my God. Was her mother actually batting her eyelashes? Must be all that Secret Service training. And let’s not forget the fact that Markus’s half-naked body is cut with more muscles than I can count.

“You should have told us you installed a security system,” Jimmy said. “That thing scared the sh—heck out of us.”

“Cassidy, sweetheart.” Her mother rushed forward, taking Cassidy’s chin in her fingers and turning her face to the side. “What happened to your face?”

Her hand flew to the bruise on her cheek. “I, uh…” Suck it up and get it over with. They’d freak out, but it had to be done. No way could she lie to them. “My house was burglarized, and I kind of interrupted the burglar.”

She let out a breath, waiting for the barrage to come and grateful for Markus’s protective arm as it came around her waist.

“He hit you?”

“When did this happen?”

“Did they catch him?”

“Why didn’t you call us?”

“Sweetheart.” This from her mother, who practically dragged her from Markus’s embrace into her own maternal bear hug. “My baby. Oh, my heavens. Are you all right?”

“Yes, Mom.” She returned the hug but inwardly hated being the singular subject of her entire family’s attention. As if the last year hadn’t been enough.

“Why don’t we let her tell us what happened over breakfast?” Brianna suggested.

“Breakfast?” Jimmy huffed. “Apparently, she’s too busy for Christmas breakfast.”

“I can see why,” Kaitlyn muttered.

Markus cleared his throat. “Excuse me while I get dressed. Ghost, come.”

Her family remained silent as Markus and Ghost went up the stairs.

“Did you see all those muscles?” Kaitlyn grinned.

“He sure puts Hugh to shame,” Brianna added. “I hope it’s safe to say you’ve finally moved on, Cass?”

Cassidy nodded. “I’ve definitely moved on.” Even if Markus moved on, too. There was no way in hell she’d ever take Hugh back now.

“Now girls,” her mother admonished. “We agreed never to mention that man’s name ever again.”

“It’s okay, Mom.” She squeezed her mother’s hand. “What happened wasn’t Hugh’s fault, and I don’t blame him for leaving. Taking care of a wife in a wheelchair is a big ask.”

“I still think the guy’s an asshole,” Jimmy spit out.

“James, language!” her mom said. “We should all just be grateful that Cassidy’s okay.”

“Is the dog part of the new security system?” Sean asked. “I thought he would tear us apart.”

“He’s a K-9,” Cassidy said.

“Duh,” Sean said. “I know he’s a dog. I can see that.”

Cassidy shook her head. “No, I mean he’s a police K-9.”

“Is Markus a cop?” Kaitlyn asked.

“He’s a Secret Service officer. He guards the White House.” A series of oohs and hmphs coursed through her family. Oohs from her sisters and mother. Unimpressed hmphs from the men. “He installed the security system for me after that burglar broke in. He’s staying next door at John’s house. He heard me scream, then he and Ghost broke in through the window to save me. I don’t know what would have happened if they hadn’t come.” She swallowed. Talking about that night reminded her of just how close she’d come to being seriously hurt. Or worse.

“For that,” her dad said softly, taking her in a big hug and whispering in her ear, “we’re so grateful.”

“Amen,” her mother said in a choked voice, squeezing Cassidy’s hand again, tighter this time.

Markus and Ghost came back down the stairs. Markus had redonned the black sweatshirt he’d had on last night, along with his boots. “You’ll have to excuse us again,” he said, heading for the door. “Ghost needs to take care of business. Merry Christmas, everyone.”

Her heart sank. He’d already declined her invitation to join them for Christmas, but she’d thought—or rather, hoped—that after last night he would have changed his mind. Guess not.

Then he caught her eye and in that one glance, she knew what was really at the root of things. This wasn’t about her or them as a couple, which they weren’t. Not officially, anyway. This was about him.

Now that she knew he’d essentially grown up without parents and no family structure, it was understandable why the whole family thing was freaking him out. Being around the Morgan clan could be trying at times, even for her. For someone like Markus, it would be overwhelming.

He opened the door.

“Wait.” Her mother stopped him with a hand on his arm. “You saved my little girl. We’d be honored if you’d join us for Christmas.”

There probably wasn’t much, if anything, that Markus was afraid of, but when she looked at his face, his eyes confirmed what she suspected.

Her family scared him to death.