Honored_ An Alpha Mob Romance(4)

But not really.

“I’ve heard plenty of good things about you,” I said, laying it on.

She laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Richie is such a good student.”

I nudged him. “Hear that?”

“Yeah,” he said, not looking up.

I grinned at her. “Polite, too.”

She laughed again, and her expression turned more serious. “Mr. Sullivan, can I talk with you for a second?”

“Sure, but call me Liam.”

Her expression softened and she looked at Richie.

“Richie, why don’t you go sit over by the wall for a second?”

He looked at me and I nodded. He shrugged and walked back to where he had been sitting, plopped down, and resumed playing.

“What did he do?” I asked her, cutting to the chase.

She laughed softly and moved a step closer. I loved the sound of her laugh: melodic and gentle. I thought I could feel something between us, but I wasn’t sure. The place was crowded, practically teeming with kids and their parents, and my head was still buzzing with partial flashbacks.

“What makes you think he did something wrong?”

I shrugged. “Whenever a teacher wanted to talk to my parents, it was always because I messed up.”

She nodded softly. “Well, Liam, he got into a fight.”

“Richie got into a fight?”

“With a boy in his class, yes.”

I was surprised. Richie was one of the quietest kids I knew, and had never been in trouble before as far as I knew. I couldn’t imagine him getting mad enough to fight someone.

“What happened?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see the whole thing. Richie says the other boy, Joshua, was saying things about his mother. Joshua says Richie hit him for no reason, but who knows.”

“Riche wouldn’t just hit a kid for no reason.”

“I think you’re right. But he can’t fight, for any reason, you know?”

I nodded, but inwardly I was glowing with pride. Richie wasn’t a weak kid, exactly, but it was about time he stood up for himself. He always had his nose in a videogame or a book, and I was worried that the son of one of Philly’s most notorious Mob bosses was going to grow up a target. He needed to learn to defend himself sooner rather than later.

“Of course not, Miss Boucher.”

“So you’ll talk to him?”

“Yeah, definitely. I’ll talk to him.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Liam.”

“Any time, Miss Boucher.”

She paused, looking me in the eye. “Call me Ellie.”

“Okay, Ellie.”

She glanced over at Richie and then back at me, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Can I ask you something else, Liam?”

I shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“I was told by the administrators that Richie’s home life is a little different, and that you’d be the one taking care of him, but I wasn’t told why.”

She looked at me, her face so earnest and sexy, and I almost wanted to tell her the whole truth. I wanted to tell her that my little brother’s mom was a pill-addicted whore who could barely take care of herself, left alone take care of Richie. I wanted to tell her that Richie’s dad was one of the most dangerous bosses in the whole Irish Mob, and that I was both older brother and protector. That I walked the path of the Right People, hoping Richie never would have to.

Instead, I settled for a partial truth.

“Richie’s dad passed two years ago, and his mom’s going through some stuff. So I’ve been helping out.”

She nodded. “That’s really good of you.”

“It’s what you do for family.”

“Well,” she said, smiling. I had the urge to grab her by the hips and find out how she tasted, but that might not be appropriate to do outside an elementary school. “I’ll let you get going, Liam.”

“Sure, and I’m sorry about the fight.”

“Just make sure you talk to him.”

I nodded. She smiled again and walked off, and I stared at her ass as she picked her way through the crowd, greeting parents and waving to kids. I shook my head softly, laughing to myself.

Of course Richie’s teacher would be a knockout.

I looked over at the kid and waved to him. He glanced up from his game, stood, and walked over. He fell into step with me as we headed down the block, walking back toward his mom’s house.

“Your teacher told me you got into a fight,” I said after a short silence.

“Yeah,” he said.

“What happened?”

“He called mom a whore, so I punched him.”

I stifled a laugh. “Kid, you can’t do that in class.”

He looked up at me. “You say I need to defend myself and my family.”