Page 24 of Black Wedding

“Oh yeah, I know that. By the time Hallie is old enough to give a shit about boys, Liam over here is going to be old and wrinkly, so I have nothing to worry about,” I joke. Both boys stop dead in their tracks, all the colour draining from their faces.

“Fuck!” says Kellan, almost as a mutter to himself. I look around for the danger they are seeing, and I have missed, but I don’t see anything, so I ask them what is wrong.

“Well, for me, you scared the shit out of me by saying I will be old and wrinkly when we both know I will be a gorgeous silver fox that still fucks as good now,” Liam postures, and I can’t help but chuckle. On the other hand, Kellan still looks like he has seen a ghost and is staring at Hallie.

I look over at him, waiting for his reason, but instead, Liam continues. “You just reminded us both that at some point, this little ball of pink is going to want to date boys, and I am rethinking my assassination moral code, whereas Kellan is trying to decide when is a good time to start warning them off.”

“Is now too soon?” he asks, his face staring intently at mine. Following my initial chuckle, I quickly realise he is serious. He drops down onto the sofa, cradling his head in his hands.

“Listen, you have about thirteen years before you have to worry about that sort of thing. But let me give you some advice as a girl raised by an overprotective father, just leave her be. My father didn’t leave me alone and tried to tell me who I could date or marry. He had my whole future planned out for me, and so, of course, I rebelled. I wanted to be my own person and make my own choices. I mean, they did turn out to be quite a good choice, but to my dad, all he will see is that I asked my kidnapper to marry me to rebel. So, give her a break, okay?”

“There are so many things wrong with that sentence. Firstly, did you really just tell me that my sweet baby girl will start showing an interest in guys at thirteen?” Kellan asks, and as I shake my head, he lets out a very audible sigh of relief.

“No, silly. Thirteen is when she will start going on dates. She will start liking boys from around nine or ten, depending on how soon signs of puberty show and her period hits,” I explain, but clearly, I said the wrong thing as Kellan jumps up with Hallie in his hands, and both he and Liam start pacing like a caged bear.

“Oh my God. I don’t know what I’m going to do. In the space of five minutes, you have reminded me that not only will she be at risk of being kidnapped, thanks to the shit business we are in. But, she might also want to marry her kidnapper. Oh, and then you reminded me I only have about eight or nine years before I have to worry about boys and puberty and periods. I think I just aged like fifty years in one conversation. I don’t know how to do this. How the hell do I talk to her about boys, or puberty, or periods? Fuck, I can’t raise a girl by myself.” Kellan may have started off feeling very jokey about the conversation, but the more he joked, the more his fears rose to the surface.

Liam told me all about Kellan’s mother fighting for custody and that she doesn’t think a man can raise a young girl alone. Her main argument is that Hallie needs a girl in her life, and both Liam and Kellan have always said that is not the case. That Kellan can be both mum and dad, but he doesn’t look so sure right now.

Liam starts to reply, but I shake my head, cutting him off. This is my mess to fix, and I walk over to Kellan, taking his free hand in mine and looking him straight in the eye so he can see my fierce determination as I speak. “You listen to me, Kellan. You are never going to be the perfect dad because he doesn’t exist. You will mess up. You will do and say the wrong things from time to time. Hell, there will be times when she hates you, but that’s good. It means you are winning at this parenting thing. Don’t you dare think you can’t do this by yourself because you absolutely can, but you don’t have to. Whether it’s help buying her first bra, or her first tampon, or talking about periods and sex, I will be there to help. When Liam and I agreed to get married, even if this relationship stops working, we will have to remain amicable as friends and as business partners. The O’Keenan’s have a no divorce rule, which means you are stuck with me. We may have only known each other for a couple of weeks, but I have enjoyed getting to know you, and I know you already know how much I adore this little girl. So, you never have to do this alone. Okay?”

“So you will bail us out of jail when we murder the first guy who tries it on with her?” Kellan jokes, and I feel my whole body relax. I never intended on freaking him out. If I have learnt one thing from spending the last couple of weeks with him, it’s that he is a great dad.

“Don’t be stupid. We won’t get caught,” jokes Liam before turning to me. “Come on, beautiful, we have a date to get to.”

He reaches out and takes my hand before leaning in and giving me a short but fucking fantastic kiss. I know it’s his way of promising more is to come. Before I even realise what I am doing, the most cheesy giggle escapes my lips, and I throw my spare hand up to my mouth to try and disguise it. I sound like a lovesick teenager going on her first date. Sadly, I did not hide it well, and Kellan starts throwing around stupid teenage girl jokes before Liam stops him and pulls me towards the door. Just as we reach it, he stops, turns around, and leans over to kiss Hallie, who is still curled up in Kellan’s arms. She almost looks like she is trying to reach for Liam and grumbles when Kellan stops her. She may only be a couple of months old, but that little girl has got the cutest personality, and I am so looking forward to watching her grow.

When we get in the car, I can’t take the anticipation any longer. My knee is bouncing with excitement, and I turn my body to face Liam as he peels out of the driveway. “So, you’re gonna tell me where we are going?” I ask nicely, and he chuckles.

“Nope. You are just going to have to wait and see.” He sees my responding pout and starts to laugh.

We joke about it for the duration of the car ride, and I am amazed once again at how easy it is with Liam. He genuinely is one of those easy-going, easy to be around types of guy. I always joke that he is so laid back that he is almost horizontal. Given my hyper organised and full-on mode that I can get in when I am thinking about business, I need someone like him to balance me out.

We have been driving for around twenty minutes when Liam’s phone rings. It’s connected to his car through Bluetooth, and the vehicle announces it’s an unknown number. Liam looks worried, and I tell him to answer it. He looks reluctant.

“Nobody has this number. It’s protected and encrypted by Kellan. So, you, Kellan, and my sisters are the only ones who know this number, and if it was any of you, your names would have come up,” he explains. But I tell him to answer it anyway.

Hitting the answer button, Liam sounds wary as he greets the caller. He was right to be cautious as a technologically altered voice begins to talk. “Liam, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Who would have thought you had the balls to infiltrate the O’Keenan’s and try to take over power that way. You’re a lucky man. Bree is definitely a looker. Given that ivory tower, her daddy has been keeping her in, I bet that ginger cunt is really fucking tight. Have you had a sample, or are you waiting for your black wedding day?”

“Who the fuck is this?” Liam growls, his knuckles start to turn white as he grips the steering wheel tighter. His posture becomes rigid, and if looks could kill, this caller would be very dead and buried.

“Just an interested party. But since you clearly don’t want to disclose any details about that sweet ass, I will get to the point of my call. We have all heard the rumours that Bree thinks she can run London for the Family, but that will never happen. Even if Gramps O’Keenan will do anything for her, Vernon will not let that happen. Personally, we do not give a shit about them; we want to rule. We want to take out the O’Keenan’s and rule for ourselves. We have no issue with you, so we are giving you an option. Help us take down the O’Keenan’s, and we will let you walk away with your life, or you can stand with Bree and burn with her and her family. But know this, you will never be in power. So...what will it be?”

Liam places his hand on my knee to get my attention before raising his finger to his lips, instructing me to remain quiet. I give him a quizzical look with my eyebrows, but he remains firm.

“Why should I trust you? I don’t even know who you are,” Liam asks. At first, I am pissed he is even entertaining this asshole, then I realise he is trying to get more information. My anger is redirected to the dick on the other line.

“You don’t need to trust us. Just know we are a better option than the O’Keenan’s and their little bitch, Brianna. Although we are not as pretty to look at,” the voice jokes, and I can feel my heart racing as I ball my hands in and out of fists.

“So, you don’t want me dead? You just want me out of the way, yeah?” Liam quizzes.

“We have no issue with you. But we will slaughter everyone linked to the O’Keenan’s before we take power for ourselves,” replies the mysterious voice.

“Can I negotiate for Bree’s life? Can we walk away from the power and let Bree live?” Liam asks, and I start to shout at him, but Liam quickly covers my mouth to prevent anyone from hearing me. Clearly, he doesn’t want the person on the other end to know I am here, but like fuck if he thinks I am going to just sit here and let him take what is mine.

“Why? Do you have feelings for Bree? We heard this was a black wedding, a marriage of convenience. Is that not true?”

“It started out that way, but now it’s real, and I will not let her die,” Liam speaks with such conviction that it’s hard for me to tell if he is just playing along or if he means what he is saying right now. Does he see our wedding as real? Do I?

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