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, pequeña?”

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.

Tess stands next to Spender—or whatever the hell his name is—watching him laugh and rub elbows with the cluster of pricks circling him. He doesn’t care that she looks miserable. Instead he reaches for two glasses of champagne, one for him and one for the idiot next to him, while Tess’s hands stay empty except for the purse she’s clutching tight against her.

“Curran, what’s going on?” Lety asks. She glances in the direction I’m eyeing. “Oh, shit. It’s about that girl, isn’t it? Christ Almighty, you’re not going to start a fight, are you?”

“Humph,” Brody says. “And I thought this was going to be another boring-ass fundraiser.” He claps my shoulder. “I got your back if you need to throw down, dude.”

“Brody, do not encourage him.” She stops mid-sentence. “Oh, no. Here comes your dad.”

He looks to where his dad is maneuvering around a crowd of people making their way to the dance floor. “Yeah, he’s headed right toward us. Hey, Curran. He’ll probably do you one and mow over the bald prick to Spencer’s right. I think he slept with my mom.”

“Jesus,” Lety mumbles.

Brody’s dad stops his high-tech wheelchair directly beside his son. “Hello,” he says, frowning slightly, obviously aware something’s not right.

Lety inches to his opposite side, taking point directly in front of me. She’s trying to distract me, worried I’m going to do something stupid.

She’s probably right.

“Curran, this is Edward Moore. My…”

She seems to search for the right words. He smiles, and answers for her. “I’m Lety’s future father-in-law,” he says, causing Lety’s blush to return. “But you may call me Edward.”

I try to smile, knowing I need to keep it together. “Hey, man, and congrats. I hear Lety’s gonna pop out at least seven grandkids for you.”

His smile widens. “I was hoping for two, but this is excellent news indeed.”

Brody cracks up when Lety clasps her hand over her eyes. “I like this guy,” he says. He lowers himself so that he’s eye level with his father. “But hey, Dad, Curran here doesn’t like Spencer.”

Edward’s smile fades. “I can’t say that I blame him. He’s an imbecile, very much like his father.”

Lety places her purse on Edward’s tray and adjusts his collar. “Then why are we here? We could have stayed in and watched all those Wolfman movies we planned on.”

“Your mother-in-law insisted on getting me out, and her friend is the publicist running the event. She begged Dionna for her presence, and mine.”

I’m only half-listening. Spencer motions in Tess’s direction. Whatever he says makes the men laugh, and causes her to edge further away from him.

What did you just say about her, asshole?

Nails dig into my arm, keeping me in place when I take a step forward. “Curran, don’t,” Lety warns. “You’re a cop, and this is a highly publicized and political event.”

She’s right, and it pisses me off. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t embarrass her, especially now that others have seen me with her and her future family. I lean back on my heels, ready to apologize to Edward and Brody. They’re frowning, but it’s not because I’m seconds from charging Spencer and bashing his face in.

“You need to get that girl out of here. Don’t you?” Brody asks me, leaving me with the impression he realizes how Tess is being treated.

I square my shoulders. “Yeah. Will you help me?”

He and his father say yes at the same time Lety says no.

“I’ll go up first, Dad,” Brody says, straightening his tie. “You come up next and distract him so I can get her on the dance floor.” He grins at me then. “Curran, Lety’s one hell of a dancer,” he adds with a wink.

“Be sure to tell him I’m torn between parties,” Edward says.

Brody nods and takes off, leaving Lety to throw her hands out and swear. “Nice, Lety,” I tell her. “You kiss your future father-in-law with that mouth?”

“Shut up, Curran,” she fires back, when Edward starts laughing.

His wheelchair jerks and swerves as he attempts to steer between chuckles. He stops long enough to speak to someone he knows and give Brody time to strike up a conversation with good ol’ Spence. I’m not sure who Brody is around here. The security guard seemed to think he’s a big deal. Maybe he is, seeing how his presence draws Spencer’s attention away from the dumbass he’s been working. Again, a tray filled with champagne passes by. And again, Spence grabs two, one for Brody and another for himself.

Brody motions to where his dad is making his way forward. Spencer’s face lights up, similar to how a cheetah would at the sight of a baby gazelle. Evidently it’s cash on wheels moving toward him. He doesn’t even notice Brody pass Tess his drink. She takes it, her gaze dropping to it like she’s shocked anyone noticed her.

Brody makes a show of introducing Spencer and his dickless buddies to his dad. If Brody is a prince on a mound of bling, his dad is the king on a damn hill of diamonds. The men swarm him, with Spencer fighting to be front and center. Brody uses the moment to inch his way closer to Tess. He says something and motions to the dance floor. She shakes her head and smiles politely.

Come on, angel face. Dance with him.

Lety leans into me. Like me, she’s been watching everything closely. “Don’t worry, he’ll get her out there,” she promises.

Brody takes a small step back, giving her room before saying something that widens her smile. “Let’s go,” I tell Lety, knowing her boy is getting it done.