Page 7 of Black Wedding

“It may only be a million pounds, but as far as I’m concerned it could only be five pence and I still wouldn’t pay because I do not owe you jack shit.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I shout at her father at the same time as Bree does. It doesn’t matter that I told this girl to acknowledge she was alive, no extra bullshit. I’m quickly realising that Brianna is not one for following rules or for being underestimated.

“This is ridiculous! We are getting nowhere. Clearly, my father is not prepared to pay you the million he owed you according to your contract. So what’s the fine print, Liam? You have obviously kidnapped me for a reason, and a guy as smart and well planned as you always has a back-up plan, I’m sure.” Her face screams of her infuriated expression and whilst this is a massive diss to her father, she is also challenging me. Asking me if I’m prepared to threaten her any further than I already have. It’s a question I’m very pleased I don’t have to consider.

Brianna is correct in saying that I do always have a backup plan. Luckily, I know that hurting or killing Brianna will not help me. Instead, it will bring the Irish and London gangs down on me, and I can’t hurt Vernon physically, since dead men do not pay debts. So I wrote a very clever fine print, just for this type of scenario.

“I told you not to worry yourself, Bree. We will be there to get you soon,” he says and then in what sounds to be muffled hushed tones, I heard him ask if they had my location yet.

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips. As if he thinks I’m that stupid. I’m routing the call through over a hundred VPNs to hide my location. He will never find us unless I want him to.

“Fine, since you are refusing to pay the million pound fee that you owe me, that automatically triggers the fine print of the contract we signed. If you did not read the small print, that’s your fault. Well, and your shit lawyers. He should still have a copy but if he doesn’t then I will have a copy sent over. Just in case you can’t wait, I will summarise it for you now. It basically said that if you cannot, or will not pay, then you will forfeit fifty-one percent of your official and unofficial businesses. To do this, a marriage will be arranged by Liam Doughty and Brianna O’Keenan. They will then take over leadership of the London firm.” I let those words sit in the silence of the room. I dare not even look at Bree, I can only imagine what she’s going to do. It’s a good job she can’t reach the knife.

What happens next, with both of their responses, shocks me into silence even worse than the current noise level.

Vernon’s uncontrollable laughter is what snaps me out of my own head. I snap up instantly and look at Bree. She looks furious, just as I was expecting. She doesn’t seem like the kind of girl that wants her hand in marriage to be sold. But what really surprises me is that her death stare is not aimed at me. All of Bree’s rage seems to be focused towards the unnecessary laughter that is coming from her father.

We both sit there for longer than necessary, listening to Vernon laugh hysterically at a situation that was most definitely not funny. Bree is sat with the same red tinged cheek rage and she almost appears to be vibrating in anger. I think she is going to be the one that loses it and breaks the silence, but she is beaten to it.

“Fuck, Liam. You may as well not have bothered writing a fine print, and I’m glad I didn’t bother reading it. My daughter will never marry a prick like you, and I will never hand over my business to you!” he seethes.

My mind is whirling with how I’m going to respond, but I don’t need to because a furious looking Bree pulls herself up, impossibly closer given the rope, but she gets as close as she can and practically spits fire at her father.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Dad?” she shouts exacerbated. I squeeze her thigh to try and get her to calm down but I’m not even sure she knows I’m in the room. She doesn’t give him a chance to reply.

“Not only did you fuck Liam over by not paying him, you bartered with my hand in marriage. But it’s okay because there’s no way I will marry an asshole like Liam, is that what you were thinking? Or maybe you were thinking I won’t get married at all? Well, fuck you. I will marry Liam and I will go to my grandfather to request my portion of the Family business, the one I was always told I could have when I get married. You can both fuck off if you think I’m just handing it over. I have been training and this is my time. Together with Liam, I will become the next O’Keenan Family leader and there’s nothing you can do about it,” she blasts and then sits back staring at me, waiting for me to hang up. Apparently, we don’t need to hear what his response is. It would appear I just got engaged to the girl I have tied to my bed. Not a sentence I ever thought I would say. Shit, that escalated quickly. I hang up before any more damage can be done.

Fuck! What’s worse is that I’m kind of excited about seeing more of this beautiful vixen. Looks like I’m getting married to my very own firecracker, fuck me!

Liam is just staring at me like he can’t quite believe what the hell just happened. He practically dropped the phone onto the floor when I said the word marry before. I feel like my eyes are flipping all over the room as I try to avoid his piercing gaze, while I wait for his mouth and brain to catch up.

“So, since I’m going to be your wife I suggest you untie these ropes. Unless of course, you are the type of husband who likes to use these things for fun instead of just for kidnapping reasons,” I say suggestively with a wink. He tries to cover his distinctive laughter, but all that happens is he practically breaks down coughing.

“I’m still holding out hope that your father will call back and that I will get my money,” he says, looking at me and then pointedly staring, as he questioned whether I thought my dad would be ringing back.

“He’s not ringing back, Liam. He doesn’t think I will go through with marrying you, or that I want any part of his business. I am just a girl after all.” With that, he bursts out laughing and I’m a bit offended, not just for myself but for my gender too.

“Woah, take that look off your face. I’m laughing at the stupidity of your father, not at you. I barely know you and already I can tell that you will kick ass in our industry. How the fuck does your dad not know that about you?” he asks and I stare at him with confused eyes. How does he see me so clearly?

“He doesn’t really know me. I’ve told him a shit loads of times that I want to be part of things, but he never listens. He says I should get an education and then piss it away by becoming a socialite like my Mum. I can’t think of anything worse!” I’m not even kidding when I say I physically shudder at the thought. I don’t drink anywhere near enough to be my mother.

My father thinks I’m not cut out for this type of business, that I can’t make the hard calls when they need to be made. He has no idea I can be just as ruthless as him. But that’s going to change right now.

“Let me out, now! I promise not to hurt you in any way. If you let me go then together we will make a call that will get us both exactly what we want,” I shout.

I can’t deny that his gaze looks suspicious or that I am not thinking of how I can get the gun off him and even up the playing cards. But I’m realistic, I know that Liam has opened up a door for me today that I’d never considered. Pulling on the ropes, I give him a pointed stare and I hear him huff as he moves to cut them with his knife, finally freeing my arms. Before I have a chance to overthink things, I punch him hard on the nose. I revel in the delicious crunch I was hoping to hear.

His hands pinch at the bridge of his nose to try and stem the flow of blood.

”What…the...fuck?” he asks, spluttering blood out of his mouth and I can’t help but smile.

“You kidnapped me. You didn’t think I would let you get away with that, did you? Now stop that bleeding and give me the damn phone.”

Much to my surprise he laughs and I recoil slightly because the blood hasn’t stopped, and laughter with blood leads to blood splatter that I really don’t want all over me. Realising why I recoiled, he reaches back with his free arm and pulls the t-shirt he is wearing over his head, before balling it up and holding it to his nose. As he holds it, he then passes over his phone, just as I asked him, but I don’t see the phone right away as I am too busy staring at his glorious bare chest.

He chuckles as he catches me gawking, and he is very lucky his nose is already bleeding, otherwise, I would have thrown another punch his way. There’s a part of me that is led by my lady parts that doesn’t even regret staring, he is fucking gorgeous to look at. His chest is bare of hair, which is unexpected given the dark stubble across his cheeks. His pecs are bulging, hard, and completely covered in the most beautiful tattoos. To the naked eye, my skin is bare of tattoos, but anyone who gets close enough will see them. I do plan on getting more, but while I am forced to obey my father, that’s one of his rules. I was starting to lose my patience with him and his smothering, chauvinistic behaviour. I had already started formulating a plan, which involved finding a husband to get what is owed to me. The only problem is that the Family only allows males to rule, so whoever I marry would be the face of the organisation. Or at least they would be until we were established and then I would let everyone know I was the real leader. So I needed to find a man who would stand by my side when I needed him, but get the fuck out of my way when it is my turn to shine. Liam seems like the perfect choice.

The mere fact he only ransomed my father for what he was owed spoke volumes. Most people would have been greedy, asked for extra, added on interest, found any excuse to get more. Yet Liam only asked for what he was owed, and he gave several chances for my father to pay before he said he would evoke the contract terms. Don’t get me wrong, I am pissed that anyone feels they have a right to barter with my life, but that issue is more towards my father. Although there is a part of me wondering why Liam doesn’t want to marry for love.

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