“Oh, that proposition is the same, by the way,” I smiled. “That buys me your loyalty…along with your grave if you fail to put your John Hancock on the line. Shit, sorry…that’s an American thing…it means you sign your name or you fucking die.”
Annette grinned as pens moved hesitantly. I met eyes with her and nodded once. She wavedherhand this time…papers were gathered and a gun with a single bullet was given to everyone that had the second document. Five of Kelly’s men surrounded my chair, blocking me from the rest of the table.
“Begin,” Annette said, simply. “If you can’t bring yourself to do it, use the bullet on your own head.”
There were screams.
There were expletives.
There were gunshots.
And when it all went silent, Kelly’s men moved away. It was like raising a curtain at a grand theater. Brother turned on brother. Ally turned on ally. Annette’s white tablecloth was painted red. The emptied guns clattered to the floor, most of the men that used them refusing to look at me. I just forced them to turn on their friends. I rose from my chair, pulling an envelope from the bodice of my dress, and I handed it to Kelly.
“As agreed,” I smiled.
“Pleasure, Little Queen,” Annette winked.
“Sorry about the mess.”
She put a palm up, clearly unfazed, and I shook hands with them both before Declan helped me up onto my chair…and then up onto the table.
“What’s a merge without amerge, lads?” Kelly smiled. “Pay your respects to our successor.”
The train of my dress dragged through blood. The toe of my heels kicked glass and heads that were in my way as I walked with purpose down the middle.
“Your money is being wired as we speak. I’m sure it’s enough to make you think twice before any of you wanna forget your place. House Byrne will always be above you.”
I didn’t even look at the ones left alive as one of Kelly’s men helped me back down to make my grand exit. Dec offered his arm and I took it before tipping my chin over my shoulder, winking and sporting a smile that nightmares are made of.
“Slán.”
Clack…clack…clack…clack.
CHAPTER 22
The Pawn
I’ll never in my fucking life forget that feeling of falling. The rush of hitting the ground so hard for somebody you thought you’d already had it bad for. Watching that lass evolve from a timid mouse with occasional rabies, to the queen she was always meant to be…that was the moment I knew. That was the moment I felt my stomach flip, and my heart make the deal to sell my fucking soul.
The look on her face.
The way she owned every piece of shite in that room and kicked crystal glasses with heels that cost more than my car.
She didn’t just level that table that night. Shedominatedit. And then she dominatedmeat our hotel afterwards. I let her. Totally and completely immersed in every part of her. I wish I could say that we stayed in that blissful bubble longer than a night.
Two months.
It's taken two months to get the last of the girls Bridget bought, home and safe and clean. I’ve been busy as fuck, keeping track of every single one and making sure they get the care they need without knowing who freed them. It still feels wrong. They’ll never know Bridget. They’ll never have a trace to follow to figure out who the person was that was willing to walk into a room full of savages that hate her every breath, for the sole purpose of getting them out.
We’re both fine with the world still seeing us as the people we are…not who they want us to be. We’re not heroes. We’re anythingbutthat. But if it earned us anything…it’s this nice long vacation away from cold weather, Castine, or rainy Ireland.
Cancun, Mexico. That’s where she decided we’d rot and bake for three weeks, and at first…I wasn’t loving it. But give Bridget Byrne a reason to take her bloodyclothesoff…fuck me. She spent the whole first week with her top off on this beach, and was I fucking allowed to say anything but“Yes, dear”?
No. That answer is no.
So, a thousand hard-dick blokes saw her tits, and I had to sit my ass in the sand, biting holes through my lip and blanching all my knuckles like the lucky sod that I am. She’s decided on a pin-up style black number today with a gigantic red sun hat, and heart-shaped sunglasses. Tell me why the fuck this is hotter to me than her bare chest? Someone make a call for my excruciating dick.
“Ah, so you’ve finally decided they’ve seen enough of my girls for one vacation, yeah? Only took you a week.”
