Page 49 of Four Fiances & I

“See this!” Christian roars. “This is what will happen to anyone who thinks they can try and attack any member of our family. O’Reillys are not weak! We have not forgotten who we are! And we will kill to protect our future wife and each other!” He looks at the guys still tied up before returning to our guests. “Remember that before you leave here today! Tommy O’Reilly may have hidden behind us, but we hide behind no one! No O’Reilly will ever back down to idol threats, and we do not let those who attack our family live!”

ChapterEighteen

MAXIMUS

The car journey home is much more sombre than the one to the club. Each of us has had to do shit we don’t like tonight after we were left with no choice.

After Christian killed that prick, we had the rest of the arseholes to deal with. Thankfully, after they saw what Christian did to their little friend, most played ball, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t forced to play the arseholes and beat the shit out of them. Two tried to fight back, and Jason took one out whilst I was forced to break the neck of the other. I hate killing, especially when it’s hands-on. When you pull a trigger, you can switch it off to a point. But breaking someone’s neck is personal, and you feel the moment you send them to hell.

I look at Sean sitting with his eyes closed and his head resting on the back of the seat. Tonight, when I saw that arsehole pull a knife on my twin, I lost it. I would have killed him for having the nerve even to consider hurting him. I love my brothers, each of them, but they aren’t wrong when they say twins are closer because we are. We know each other inside and out. He knows if I’m hurting or need him, no matter where I am. It’s the same with me; I can tell when he is in trouble without having to be there. It comes in handy at times, for example, tonight. I was on the other side of the room to Sean, but I just felt that I had to find him and managed to do it before he found himself in real danger.

“So what's the plan now?” His voice drags me out of the dark place.

“Well, now we know that I haven’t been paranoid and our enemies are trying to rise above us; we need to devise a game plan,” Christian answers as he rubs his knuckles absent-mindedly. It's not surprising they hurt, given the mess he left of that guy’s face or what was left of it. He deserved everything he got and should have suffered more. Hearing that he was there when Jasmine was assaulted and how she screamed in pain made the red mist descend. If Christian hadn’t killed him, I would have.

“We can deal with all of that later,” Jason declares, sipping from his glass. “All I want to do right now is collapse into bed and pretend for a few hours that tonight never happened.” He finishes his drink before pouring another big one. Jason has his demons, which he fights with daily, and I can see he’s fighting them now.

Christian looks at Jason, and for a moment, Christian looks furious. He looks like there is more he wants to say, but instead, he shakes his head, downs his drink and pours another one.

We continue to travel in silence for the rest of the journey. The tension surrounding us doesn’t improve; if anything, it’s worsening. I don’t miss how Christian's jaw clenches whenever he glances at Jason. I try to think what could have happened to make Christian pissed at him. It must have been one of the times the rest of us were removing the bodies or cleaning up the mess. Usually, we leave that to Terry’s team, but with them being a few guys down, Christian demanded we all stay and help. It was the last thing any of us wanted to do, but it needed to be done properly.

The car stops, and I realise we are finally home. Climbing out one by one, we make our way to the back door, where a member of security is waiting for us.

“Any issues?” Christian asks.

“No, sir. Whatever happened there wasn’t planned for here as well. But it helped to have the two extra staff members to watch the perimeter,” the security guy says. Christian nods and tells them to stay on duty until their relief comes in the morning.

“Hopefully, we dealt with everything, but I want everyone to be on alert for a few days to be sure. I will be holding a staff meeting at midday. I will send a message out now, letting everyone know. I don’t expect you three to be there, but I will ensure you are informed of what's said.”

The security guard nods before stepping back and out of Christian’s way.

“We will be there, sir.”

Christian nods, and the four of us head out of the kitchen and straight for the stairs.

As we walk into the hallway, I spot the clock and realise it’s three AM. I was convinced it would be later. I haven’t checked my phone in hours as I didn’t want to see any messages from Shorty, as it would make the guilt I feel from what I have done tonight worse.

“Everyone, head to bed. I want to meet in the office at ten to discuss what we learned tonight,” Christian declares. We all agree through various types of grunts. I'm too tired to speak.

“I’m going to sleep in with Shorty,” I mumble as I head to her room. I’m stopped by someone grabbing my arm. I look up to see it’s Christian stopping me.

“No, you’re not, let her sleep. Go to your room.”

“Excuse me?” I snap, pulling my arm from his grip as my eyebrows disappear into my hair. “Since when do you tell me what I can and cannot do with my own fiancée?” I demand, turning to look at him.

“When it’s for her own good. She will know something’s wrong when she wakes up and sees you with a bruised cheek,” he answers.

“She will know when she wakes up alone,” Jason points out. “At least if Maximus is in there, he can distract her enough for everyone to get their story straight since you won’t let us tell her the truth about what happened tonight.”

Christian turns his attention to Jason, and I see the rage he was trying to hide when in the car.

“I told you why I want to do that,” he snaps.

“Fine, you know best as always. But that still doesn’t give you a right to dictate what we do when it comes to Jazzy. If Maximus wants to sleep in with his fiancée and isn’t interrupting any of our alone time with her, then he can.”

“And you think you should have any right to make decisions when it comes to Jasmine?” Christian asks through gritted teeth. Jason looks at him, shocked for a second, before frowning.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

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