Page 33 of Bride By Initiation

Liam steps up and points at me. "Look at you. We haven't seen you for weeks and then we find out you've been searching for pictures of skull brands and everyone's names all over the Darknet. That's reckless, and you know it."

I stay quiet. It is risky, and I can't deny it.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Liam questions.

Before I speak, I think. Then I slowly state, "You're right. I shouldn't be searching anyone's names. But I'm trying to get to the truth, so please tell me everything you know about my father and that brand. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not someone who has to be hidden away or taken away from his family or not know what really happened to his father."

Killian groans. "We've gone through this before. You know what happened and why your mother had to keep you away from the O'Malleys for several years."

"No, I don't. I thought you guys didn't know the whole truth either. But I'm getting the feeling you do, which means you've lied to me. And it's my father we're talking about. So I have a right to know," I declare.

Aidan scoffs. "No one's lying to you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"Sorry for myself? Your father's still alive. You aren't searching for answers. But why does that mean I feel sorry for myself? Just because my father's dead and I want to know the truth, that means I'm some pussy feeling sorry for myself?" I sneer.

Brody steps forward next to Liam. "Listen, Sean, and listen closely. Do not go all over the Darknet searching for your father's mark. It was just an idea. And when he died, so did his imaginary utopia. But it's buried. Let it lie. Looking for something that doesn't exist will only cause problems for everyone in the family. And not only ours but the Marinos as well as the Ivanovs."

I don't reply.

Liam adds, "You're going to drive yourself nuts looking for something imaginary. Don't put the families at risk. And that's an order."

I blurt out, "But what if it does exist?"

Liam's gaze burns. "It doesn't."

"What if it does?"

"Is there something you know you're not telling us?" Finn interjects.

I sigh. "I'm just asking, what if the world my father wanted to create did exist? Then what?"

Killian shakes his head. "Then, it'll be nothing like what your father intended it to be. There's no way on earth O'Malleys and O'Connors can ever exist and play nicely with Baileys or O'Learys."

"Alaina's an O'Leary," I point out.

Brody crosses his arms and barks, "Not anymore. She's an O'Connor. She left them."

"I'm only going to tell you one more time, Sean. Let it lie," Liam threatens. "As much as we loved your father, we can all agree on one thing."

"What's that?" I seethe.

"There's no way we would ever get into bed with our enemies. He was a fool to ever think that we could," Liam snarls.

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6

Zara

Several Days Later

Twelve men of all shapes, sizes, and colors stare back at me from the photos. It's Sunday night, and I spent the weekend fixated on the images to the point I've memorized things others probably wouldn't ever notice about them.

Each man has a set of seven photos, spiral bound together. The first is a close-up of their face. The second and third are photos of their naked bodies, both front and back. The fourth is two side-by-side images of their ears. The fifth is the bottom of their feet. The sixth is the inside of their mouth. In the seventh photo, their cock stands at attention, hard as a rock.

Their features are all different, but each man has the same evil glint in their eyes. It draws me in while sending chills down my spine.

No matter how many times I tell myself to close the binder and toss it in the trash, I can't. I study every man until I know every mole, tattoo, scar, and imperfection. If I were blind, I could feel their sharp or rounded features in the dark and know which one is which.

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