“You think you can handle her episodes, cousin?” Shane asks, voice skeptical.
“I don’t think.” My voice cracks, just slightly. “I know. Not because I have to. I want to. And I already have. In fact, Ilovetaking care of her. Calming her down. Watching the panic leave her. Being the person who can do that for her.Withoutmeds.”
The room stills. Even the buzz of the overhead lights seems to go quiet. It’s the first time I’ve said something like that about a woman out loud.
“Everyone, calm the hell down,” Trace mutters, glancing at Raina. “Princess, what do you think?”
My eyes roll before I can stop them. “The woman who swallowed poison to kill her enemy is weighing in on the sanity of my girlfriend, who only cares about plants and cookies. Bloody fantastic.”
Raina tilts her head, the blonde braid sliding over her shoulder. “Poison, you helped me buy,” she adds ruefully.
Cormac cuts in, voice clipped, “Rhys, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I’m here to help.”
“It’s fine. I know you were just speaking from a medical standpoint. But I’ve heard enough.” My voice cracks through the tension. Every head swivels toward me. “At first, this was fake. But not anymore. I’m… I’m in love with her.”
“Christ,” Griffin mutters.
“Exactly. You know what that means. I watched each and every one of you dossers lose your feral minds over your women. You all know what I’m going through andthatI will killanyone who keeps her from me.” I glance at each and every one of them. “Now I have to get out of here because I promised to meet her father for Christmas. I’m keeping my promise.”
“We still don’t know who he is,” Trace says.
“I will find out and report back. Whatever it is, I will handle that, too,” I hiss. “None of you is stopping me from keeping my word.”
And if Ihaveto marry her, I will. Fallon will be mine. She’ll have my name. My family. She won’t be alone again.
Not ever.
Connor leans back, one brow raised. Shane studies me like he’s gauging how far I can be pushed before I snap. Trace smiles, I’m certain, because I’ve found someone. Griffin just watches me, wondering if I alone can tumble the empire he’s worked years to build and fortify.
After a long pause, Griffin gives a single, slow nod. “Fine. I trust you, Rhys. Now, Cormac, what does my assassin need to recover?”
“Here is a starter dose of painkillers,” Cormac presses an orange pill bottle into my palm. “And use the standard concussion protocol. Watch for dizziness, nausea, and light sensitivity. If any of it gets worse, call me. And good luck with Fallon and her family.”
His words land like gravel in my stomach.
Even if I didn’t code out from the blow to my head, there’s still the way Fallon looked at me tonight. Like Iwasn’tthe man she trusted. Like she couldn’t trust me.
Forget getting her to marry me, Fallon may never speak to me again.
The thought slams through me, hollow and black, heavier than the bat that cracked my skull tonight. Worse than any knife can slice out my heart.
No. Not happening.
I curl my fingers around the pill bottle, squeezing until the plastic creaks. This thing with Fallon isn’t over. Not even close.
Chapter 42
Rhys
On the drive home from the clinic, Trace keeps glancing at me. “Am I telling Mum what happened? Any of it?”
“No,” I say quickly.
“She’ll want to meet Fallon. Especially if this thing between you two is real.”
I scoff, “You had it easy with Shea. You grew up with her. Mum already loved her.”
Daylight has broken over the city, and without the darkness and shadows, everything feels too bright. The air feels thin from the recent snowfall, blanketing the landscape in white.
