I don’t let him see how deeply his words cut me. I refuse to show weakness here, in front of a hungry panther when he’s ready to rip my head off.
“No, I’m thinking, maybe a ransom?”
“Ransom?” I glare at the smug asshat. “You want to ransom me to Ace?” He’s a stupid man if so.
Not only will Maeve not pay it, but she’s already been acting strangely since she took over for Pops. Not eating, and rarely sleeping. This might be the thing that pushes her to kill him.
“More like my business.” He opens his hands, and I’m having a hard time following. Is he having a stroke? That’d make things easier for me. “I’m going to put a contract together and give it to Ace. An alliance. Your sister likes alliances, right? Whereas she’ll get a truce with me, access to my business and I’ll get that dowry I know Ferguson had set up for you whenever he allowed you to marry.”
Dowry, marriage. My brows furrow, mouth pouting as the words sink in, various explanations flying through my brain.
Pops always said he had money set aside for us but a dowry? Roman wants my dowry?
What is this? The medieval ages?
My mouth works faster than I can keep up. “You’re going to offer marriage to Ace in exchange for money?” He smiles, enjoying the way I’m putting the information together.
Then a ball of dread drops into my gut. “You’re going to ask formyhand in marriage. You want tobuyme.”
Roman’s smile grows as the smugness rolls off of him in thick waves. I barely swallow down the bile. “Just think of the alliance, Collins. A smart woman like you? The children we’d make.” He bites his bottom lip, lustful eyes staring to the apex of my thighs.
He certainly doesn’t think I’m disgusting now. If anything, I’m a pretty vagina with legs and he’s a big, bad wolf ready to devour it. I shudder.No, thank you.
“Of course, no more dancing for you. You’ll learn to love the Bruno compound.”
My fingers tremble. I’ve heard horror stories of that house on the edge of town, opposite of the O’Brien mansion. Women go in there and never return.
“Ace will never allow it,” I argue, standing still. Only my bottom lip quivering gives away the fear currently sloshing in my stomach. “She’ll never agree.”
Winking, he gestures to a guard behind me. “What do you think your sister will care more about? You or the clan?”
I hate how my chest seizes with fright. Maeve cares about the clan. She married Sloane off for the betterment of it. She’ll do the same to me, even to a monster like Roman Bruno.
Glancing over my shoulder, he flicks his fingers, as if he’s done with his plate at dinner. “Take my fiancée home. Can’t have her getting lost before the big day.”
When the guard’s hand closes around my arm, I jerk away, temper flaring. “Don’t,” I threaten, glaring at the Capo. “You’re not going to be my husband. I won’t fuckingallowit.”
Those dark eyes brighten and a dimple pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Oh, I can’t wait tobreakyou, wife. Preferably on your knees, my cock down your throat.” He chuckles and bile coats my tongue, ready to spew it onto his shoes. “I’ll bet you’re a virgin. Won’t that be nice? I’ll be the first to ruin you.”
“Fuckyou,” I curse, surging forward, temper snapping. I tried to hold out, prove I could be good. Even now, Pops’ lessons are engrained into my brain—like I have to be good to survive.
But I won’t be with Roman.
A guard catches me, strong arm cradling my stomach before I can reach the Capo. My body bows, fighting off his hold. “If you touch me, I’ll carve out your eyeballs and stick them into a jar on my desk.”
“Ah, that infamous O’Brien fire. I wondered if you inherited it or if you were always agooddaughter.” That dimple pulls tighter. “Sleep well,wife. Expect my proposal first thing in the morning.”
4
HAYES
Leaning against my blacked-out BMW s1000 RR, the dark handlebars dig into my sides, and my brown leather jacket barely keeps the bite of pain away. Inhaling, I detect the distant scent of snow on the horizon. It’ll be here soon enough, the end of fall turning into the blistering cold of the Northeast. Soon, the streets will be covered in white and I’ll have to hang my bike up for better weather.
I always hate the changing of the seasons. It reminds me of horrible pain and the promise of something worse coming.
Adjusting my legs, I rest forward, eying the closed steel door.She’s late.
Collins O’Brien is never late. Not to class, not to any event, and not coming off her shift atThe Dock. She knows better. If she’s late, Maeve will notice and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that wrath.
