Page 70 of Serve ’N’ Protect

Little Finn took that moment to toss a scrap of ham to Ghost, who lay on the floor directly behind Markus.

“I am not clumsy,” Markus countered, sending Cassidy a stone-cold glare he normally reserved for bad guys, but she wasn’t having any of it and just winked at him again. “I was in a prescription drug–induced haze, if you recall.”

“Oh, well, that’s true. I did kinda forget about that.” She pointed to a platter next to Brianna. “Bri, could you pass the sausage?”

Brianna handed her the platter. “You act like you haven’t eaten in a week.”

Cassidy speared a sausage. “I’ve been working out a lot.”

Kaitlyn snorted, arching a brow as she looked at Markus. “I’ll bet.”

Oh man. Accepting Fiona’s invitation had gone against every instinct of his being, but he’d also known how much the whole Christmas-with-the-fam thing meant to Cassidy. So he’d swallowed the ginormous lump of chickenshit in his throat and said yes. Now, he was paying the price because Cassidy hadn’t been kidding. Her entire family loved to talk and just plain say anything that came to their minds.

“Knock it off, Kaitlyn,” Ian admonished.

Cassidy jabbed a forkful of poached egg in her sister’s direction. “Seriously, that PT guy I was going to was a waste of time. Markus has been helping me with my rehab, and it’s working wonders. Didn’t any of you notice that I hardly ever need my cane anymore?”

Seemed like every single person seated at the table over the age of ten looked around for Cassidy’s cane.

“See what I mean?” Cassidy continued. “Markus was a military fitness instructor and knows what he’s doing.”

“What branch were you in?” Ian asked.

“The marines, sir.”

“And now you’re in the Secret Service protecting the President. That’s impressive,” Cherisse said with no small amount of awe in her voice—awe Markus didn’t feel he deserved, especially considering what had happened to him.

Then came the inevitable barrage of questions.

“What’s it like protecting the President?”

“What’s he like?”

“Is the First Lady as pretty as she looks on TV?”

“Have you and Ghost ever been on Air Force One?”

“I don’t actually interact with them much.” Markus fidgeted in his seat, not really comfortable talking about himself like this, let alone in front of so many people. “Ghost and I patrol the White House grounds. Our main job is to keep trespassers out and to respond if there’s an incident.”

Sean nodded. “Like that time a guy actually got over the fence and one of the K-9s took him down. I saw that on TV.”

“Exactly.” Markus took another piece of ham away from Finn. He’d caught all the other kids doling out pieces of Irish sausage and black pudding to Ghost when they thought Markus wasn’t looking. “The dog’s name is Hurricane. He’s a black Belgian Malinois. Retired now.”

“Then Ghost is a cop, too, right?” This question came from Brianna’s nine-year-old daughter, Mikaela.

“He is. He wears a uniform and body armor, just like the rest of us.”

Sean stared at him, his eyes narrowing. “You’re an awful long way away from the White House. Any chance you’re here, say, recuperating from a serious injury?”

Beneath the table, Cassidy rubbed his thigh. It was as if she knew this would be difficult for him to talk about.

Might as well get it out there and be done with it. “I did get hurt. I’ve been taking some time off, recuperating at a friend’s house next to Cassidy’s.”

Sean smacked his palm on the table. “I knew I recognized you. You’re the Secret Service cop who got knifed in the back. Literally. And your partner was killed the same way. I’m sorry. Did you ever catch whoever did it?”

All eyes turned to him as the entire table went dead silent. Cassidy had taken his free hand, interlacing their fingers.

“We got him.”