Richard breaks into my thoughts. “Let’s talk in my office.”
“Rhys, stay with Garrett,” Griffin orders.
“Aye, cousin.” He roughly sits Garrett down on the sofa, a gun pointed at his head.
Richard seems to bristle at his son being left in the hands of a Quinlan assassin. But he doesn’t have much of a choice.
We follow old man Donnelly down a dimly lit paneled hallway. More family photos hang on the wall in a random order. I don’t look at them, not wanting to see any more reminders of Lennox.
The office is small and messy as hell. Richard immediately starts pouring whiskeys. Griffin takes one. I refuse. Connor waits for one and shakes his head when he’s not offered. I drove myself here in my Corvette and plan to drive myself the fuck out of here as soon as I can.
I consider coming back later to kill Richard. Only,these fucking capos have suicide pacts. Our reign is new. We’re still getting a handle on things.
Richard sits at an old chipped desk and leans back in his cracked leather chair with ease. Inconsistent with the corner he’s drawn himself into. He swirls the pungent amber liquid in his glass, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling mixture of charm and menace.
“You know there’s nothing more precious to a father than his daughter?” he begins, his voice smooth with the unmistakable edge of authority. “We’re both old blood. Old money in this city.”
“Unless you want yourold bloodspilled on this carpet, make Garrett tell us where the Albanian armory is,” Griffin says, his eyes blades of anger. He sits down across from Richard and drags me into the seat next to him.
“They’ve been stealing from everyone, there’s quite a bounty there, I’m sure,” I add. “Weapons that keepold moneysafe.”
“You’ll get that information on your wedding day, Shane,” Richard says, looking right at me. “In three months, when Neve turns eighteen.”
Griffin, Connor, and I exchange glances. I swear the room just got colder. The offer of an alliance that will keep our legacy pure is being forged in ice instead of warm blood.
Griffin looks at me. Waiting for my reaction. He knows I don’t want this. I don’t want to marry Neve.
“Are you protecting Garrett or Neve?” I ask.
“Both. They’re both my children.” Richard shakes his head bitterly, like he’s acknowledging how Garrett’s foolishness cost him credibility in the ranks.
I cramp my fingers into fists, pissed that he doesn’t mention Lennox. Maybe it’s best if she’s not part of this. If Richard gets addicted to power, he might kill Rafael Marchant and try to hand Lennox over to someone elsenext.
“Do we have a deal?” Richard sits forward, tenting his fingers. “It’s what your father wanted, Griffin.”
My brother voices his steely threat. “We want that Albanian armory information before sunrise.”
“You get it as soon as Shane and Neve are married.” Richard wants insurance that I’ll go through with the wedding.
But we have to wait three months until Neve turns eighteen. Which I appreciate. I’m not marrying a fucking seventeen-year-old. And despite what the hell anyone thinks my marriage to her will be like, I’m not fucking an eighteen-year-old either.
“Shane?” Griffin turns to me, wanting to make it seem like I’m agreeing and not being ordered around like an underling. Even when I am.
“Aye.” I can’t fucking believe this is happening.
Richard raises his glass in a toast. “Here’s to making the right choice, Griffin. And you as well, Shane.”
I glance at Connor, whose expression is hidden in the wake of being called an animal and not good enough to marry Neve. But heisraw, brutal, and primal. Fuck, Richard had me pegged all along as a better symbol of the combined power. With his daughter as my wife.
Richard’s unsaid promise screams that if I’m married to Neve, he and Garrett will clean up their fucking act. Richard knows what Garrett did would have gotten anyone else a death sentence.
My gaze locks on Richard. This isn’t loyalty. This is a game of survival. I don’t trust him. Deep down, I know one thing: Donnelly isn’t just offering an alliance. He’s offering a tightrope where his grimy hands hold the end—an end he thinks he can overturn at any time.
And bring Quinlan Empire crashing to the ground.
Richard continues with a raised glass. “And so, theempire unites. No more bad blood between us.”
“You think what you got here is an empire?” Connor waves his hands around.