Page 125 of Brutal Collateral

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Griffin – July

The Sterling hotelsits on Fifth Avenue and is owned by the Hart brothers, who inherited their billionsandthis hotel from their father. They didn’t have to spill blood to get their wealth or their status as New York City royalty.

Yet five years ago, my brothers and I came to this hotel looking to spill blood. Right here in the lobby.

Good times...

I consider how far we’ve come. How savage we were, wanting to hurt a man who we thought took advantage of our sister.

“Why is your marriage license crumbled?” Shane asks me as I dress in the villa Sabine gave us for the wedding. “Is that...mud?”

I turn to him. “How do I look?”

“I don’t get why you didn’t go for a tux. This is a fancy hotel.” Shane adjusts his tie. “And you didn’t answer me.”

Because I’m appalled at myself for what I did to Ava. But she’s slept in my bed every night without so much as a pillow between us. And when I wake up in the middle of the night, she’s curled into me, her hand on my chest.

When I tell Shane that after I forced Ava to marry me in City Hall at gunpoint, she tried to scale the wall in my backyard and fell into a mud pit, he stares at me, agog.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He smacks me with the marriage license. “Ma didn’t raise you or any of us to treat a woman like that.”

“Ma hadn’t met Ava, or she’d have adjusted her expectations.” I search for the cart of alcohol someone wheeled into the villa earlier.

“Doing a shot for the ceremony?” Shane taunts me.

“Did Ma kick the bucket and leave you in charge?” I bring the bottle of Maker’s Mark to my lips, but freeze, my gaze locked on the doorway.

My sister strides into the bedroom wearing a pale green satin pantsuit and cream-colored jeweled flats. Her copper hair, darker and richer than mine, sits on her shoulders in soft waves. For a split second, I see what my daughter would look like if I had one.

Good Christ...

“Sabine...” I choke up, gazing at her.

“I agree with Shane,” she says, her accent somehow stronger than ours. And she’s been living with these Yankees for the past five years. “But I can’t help it. We’re twins.”

I kiss her cheek. “You look radiant, lass. And healthy.”

“I feel great.” She swipes a hand across her tummy. “These arrived for you.” From behind her, she swings out a white garment bag I didn’t notice.

“What is that?” Shane asks, standing abreast of his twin.

“None of your business,” I snap at him.

Shane turns to Sabine. “Who delivered that? How do we know it’s not some kind of explosive?”

“Give me some credit.” She folds her arms. “Of course I checked it. My brother-in-law Luke is just starting to like me. I don’t want to set things back by blowing up his hotel.”

“It’s not a bomb.” I smile, checking my suit one last time.

I pass through the villa’s living room and stop, seeing Ewan, Darcy, the girls, and Connor snack on a tray of food the event manager sent up. Darcy’s parents are here, too. Her father is my half-brother Rian, who’s been driving for us. He, Trace, and Rhys are handing the security downstairs.

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