The Long Road Home [The Final McCassey Brothers Book] by Lauren N. Sharman Page A

forward and offer Wade a hand. After he shook it, Blackie and Rebel offered theirs, too. “You ready to meet her?"
    Wade was never ready to meet anyone at seven o'clock on a Monday morning. “Sure,” he slurred as if he'd been drinking—although he was completely sober—then began digging in the breast pocket of his flannel shirt for his Winston's, “but before we do that, tell me something. Does she know you boys called me? Because if she's not expecting a strange man to walk into her room—"
    "She knows,” Blackie interrupted, “sort of. Once she got outta the shower and calmed down, we told her we were gonna find someone to help her. She probably ain't expectin’ a man, but that's just too goddamn bad. She'll get over it."
    Get over it, my ass.
    If everything the brothers had told Wade about Georgia's experience with not only her father, but countless other men, she was going to go ballistic when he walked into her room. The last thing she needed right now was a strange man anywhere near her.
    But he wasn't going to try and explain that to the brothers. They'd find out for themselves soon enough.
    "Well, let's get going, then. Where's she staying?"
    "Here,” Blackie told him, “she's upstairs in the apartment."
    Cigarette lighter in hand, Wade stopped mid-light and looked at Blackie. “Here?"
    "The garage was closed for a long weekend because we were supposed to go huntin',” Blackie explained. “We thought it'd be better to have her detox here so she'd have some privacy. The three of us have been takin’ turns stayin’ with her."
    Wade nodded and clicked the lighter with his thumb until a tall flame rose into the air. Dragging on the cigarette until it was lit, he stuffed the lighter back into his pocket, then turned his head and released a lung-full of smoke.
    Watching Blackie, Judd, and Rebel watching him, waiting expectantly, Wade suddenly envied Georgia; wishing that just once in his life, he'd had the kind of support that she was getting from her brothers. Hopefully one day, she'd be able to appreciate everything they'd done for her.
    "You ready, Wade?” Blackie asked.
    "Ready."
    The four men strode out of the office just as the rest of the McCassey's Garage employees were coming in. Wade recognized them all; Georgia's uncles, Frank and Jimmy—two of Dolan's seven younger brothers—and Brady, Kane, and Flynn, three of her cousins.
    Wade nodded to Frank, who he knew wasn't more than a year or so younger than Dolan, which would put him in his mid to late fifties. Jimmy, the youngest of Dolan's brothers, was the same age as Blackie ... or was it Rebel? Brady and Kane were a few years younger than that, and Flynn was only in his mid-twenties.
    They were a motley looking crew. But they were as tight-knit as families came. Wade knew that their motto, ‘mess with one McCassey, mess with them all’ rang painfully true; he'd seen the boys in action too many times to doubt their loyalty to one another.
    Frank nodded to Wade in return, as did the rest of the boys. He could only assume that they knew what was going on, since neither Brady nor Kane—two of the most obnoxious people he knew—hadn't attempted to make a single joke.
    As Wade followed the brothers up the metal steps that led to the apartment, he finished his cigarette; relishing the taste of the nicotine—the only one of his addictions that he hadn't been able to let go.
    He held his breath as Rebel knocked lightly on the door, then cracked it open and stuck his head into the dark apartment. “Georgia?” he called, “you awake?"
    She mumbled something Wade was too far away to hear, but assumed it was permission for them all to enter the room, since Rebel opened the door wide and disappeared inside.
    Lagging behind, half-expecting Georgia to begin screaming the instant she saw him, Wade followed the brothers into the apartment.
    Waiting patiently for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he was relieved when someone turned on a bright,