“Bullshit.” Ghost’s voice cuts through the bar noise, quiet but sharp. “You look like someone kicked your dog.”
“I don’t have a dog.”
“You know what I mean.”
A waitress appears at our table. She eyes Ash with obvious interest before reluctantly turning to me. “What can I get you?”
“Whiskey. Double. Neat.”
Her eyebrows rise slightly. “ID?”
I fish my fake ID from my pocket and slap it on the table. She studies it, decides it looks real enough, then looks at Ash.
“Same,” he says.
“Make that four,” Titan adds, draining his beer. “And keep them coming.”
The waitress nods and disappears toward the bar. Ghost leans back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, still watching me with those dark eyes that see too damn much.
“So,” Titan says, breaking the silence. “You gonna tell us what’s going on or do we have to guess?”
I glance at Ash. He gives me a slight nod—your call.
Fuck it. They’ll find out eventually anyway.
“Dad’s marrying me off to Marcus Stone.”
The words land like a grenade on the table. Titan’s grin vanishes. Ghost goes even more still than usual, which I didn’t think was possible.
“Say that again,” Ghost says quietly.
“You heard me.”
“The hell he is.” Titan’s voice rises, drawing looks from nearby tables. “Marcus Stone? The same psycho who?—”
“Yes, that Marcus Stone.” I cut him off before he can list all the reasons this is insane. I’ve already spent the afternoon doing that math myself. “Dad says it’s the only way to end the war between our clubs.”
“That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.” Titan slams his palm on the table, making the saltshaker jump. “Your father’s lost his goddamn mind.”
The waitress returns with our drinks, sets them down, and retreats quickly.
I grab my glass and down half of it in one swallow. The whiskey burns going down. “He thinks a marriage alliance will bring peace. Merge territories, combine resources, stop the bleeding.”
“By bleeding you out instead.” Ghost picks up his glass but doesn’t drink. “Marcus doesn’t do peace. He does domination.”
“I know.”
“So don’t do it,” Titan says, like it’s that simple. “Tell your dad to go to hell.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“Because the club’s dying. We’ve lost too many members, too much territory. Dad’s desperate. And desperate men make desperate choices.”
Ash finally speaks up beside me. “I tried talking him out of it this afternoon. He won’t budge.”
“Then we make him budge.” Titan leans forward, all that playful energy gone, replaced by the cold fury that makes him so dangerous in a fight. “We don’t let this happen.”
