Page 79 of Redemption

I tap my temple and smirk. “Noted.”

“I’d marry you right now if I could.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Really? Without the dress and the decorations and the other girly shit?”

“Well…”

“Exactly.” Whatever she wants, she’ll get even if it’s not for another three years. I climb off the bed and grab my towel from the floor, scrubbing my short hair to get rid of the excess water. “How’s everyone doing in Boston?”

“They said the staff has been very good to them so far.”

I eye her as I pluck my fresh clothes out of the pile on the dresser. The maid took our other things to wash. She made a tsking noise at the blood. “They should be. They’re honored guests.” Semyon doesn’t have much honor though, and whatever Carys guaranteed him has been eating at me. “What’d you promise him to get that treatment?”

Carys fiddles with the neck of her robe and doesn’t meet my gaze. “I told him I’d protect him and his family from you.”

I laugh, and amusement coats my face as I tug my shirt over my head. “Oh, yeah?” Just like Semyon to ask for the impossible.

“He made Jay promise as well.”

“Jay’s in no shape to hold me back from anything.” Despite my enjoyment in the request, I’m not going to like why she’ll be keeping me in line. While I might mock her for trying, if she tells me I can’t do something, I try to listen. She’s got me by the balls, and I don’t even mind all that much. “Why would Semyon and his family need you to protect them from me? I’m one guy. I don’t have any of my crew.”

She tilts her head, and her expression is exasperated. “You didn’t threaten them with a crew. Apparently, you threatened to saw off their body parts.”

That does ring a faint bell. “With a dull saw…” The piece of my memory slots into place, and I swallow. Rage rises in me swift and sure. Now I remember why I said that. “They bombed your hotel. I wouldn’t do their dirty work in prison, so they came after you.”

Carys meets my gaze, but she doesn’t deny the leap I’ve made.

“Nah, nah, nah.” I wag my finger and then button my jeans. “That doesn’t go unanswered. Those fuckers can’t threaten you and not get a reprisal from me. I don’t work that way. I don’t care what you promised them. When our family is out of their grasp, I’m making good on my threat.”

“Finn.” She climbs off the king-sized bed. “I promised. I gave my word.”

“And I gave mine in the prison. I told their errand boy if Hagen or anyone in his family was trying to use you to get to me, I’d find a way to cut off their limbs. I don’t make empty threats.”

“We’re no longer in a position of power. We aren’t. Maybe someday we will be again. Though that’s not exactly the life I want for us.” She slides her hand down the side of my face. “I don’t want to start wars or keep those fires burning. A family with you. That’s what I want.”

I meet her gaze and flex my jaw with repressed emotion. A family is good until one of my old contacts gets a little too bold. Leaving something like this unanswered is bad for business.

“All this anger, all this rage, we need to funnel it into destroying the PLA. If you do that, then in three years, we’re free. We’ll get the rest of our lives together. You, me, and Lucas. The Volkovs, every other mafia organization, and the danger’ll be in our rear window. You can’t keep courting it. Do you understand? If you keep inviting it, we’ll never be free.”

Her words land, but I don’t want to let them sink in. Maybe I can’t keep pursuing dangerous people and expect to keep us safe. Doesn’t mean the instinct isn’t there, threatening to burst out and ruin our lives. I could yell and seethe—pour these emotions across the room as proof of how much I love her, and of the lengths I’ll go to keep her safe. There are no limits and no barriers. For her, I’d burn every last inch of the world to the ground.

“Love me, Finn,” she whispers, as her hand cups my chin. “I need you to love me. Nothing else.”

I yank her robe apart and tug her naked body flush to mine. With a murmured curse, I capture her lips. If this is what she wants, this is what she’ll get. She tugs my shirt off, frantic with need, and she makes short work of my jeans. Her heavy robe hits the floor with a soft thud. I throw her onto the bed and follow her down, covering her body with mine.

She won’t let me litter the room with my rage, so I’ll sink it into her. My anger can fuel my worship. I’ll show her I love her enough to listen, even if leaving a threat unanswered murders a piece of me.

Liam, Gus, Jack, Connor, and Thomas stand around the world map with me, Lorcan, Kim, and Carys. Though the family has vetted us, and our families go way back, tension is thick in the air. No matter what guarantees we give them, there’s still a chance Lorcan or Kim could screw them over with the CIA. Hell, even I might turn them over if the CIA says they’ll get rid of those last three pesky years in prison. Trouble is, I’ve got nothing to offer them on the Byrne brothers, and they’re being extra cagey with the information they have on the PLA.

“We’re not going to get anywhere,” Lorcan growls. “If you can’t be more open with what you know.”

The men exchange uneasy glances.

“I’ve given you my word.” He presses his hands into the table.

Thomas squints at Lorcan and then nods at his brothers.

“Shanghai and Russia were the two main places of discussion between us and the PLA.” Thomas sticks pins in those areas.

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