Page 8 of The Preachers' Promise
Again, annoyingly, Dom isn't wrong. Her father would never let her be with us under those circumstances. Hell, he might prefer the cult getting her over letting the three of us have our way with her.
A plan forms in my mind. The other two aren't going to like it, but I think Roman will see sense. He usually does. The bigger question is whether I can get Mal to agree. Her parents know me. They know we were childhood friends and used to be incredibly close. If I tell them that Ophelia and I are in love, they will be more accepting of that than believing she’s in a relationship with the three of us.
Perhaps if I can make them see how much I care for her, I can persuade them to let her return to Verona Falls. I can explain that I live with two fellow students, in our own home, which will be guarded. My family is more powerful than Ophelia’s. I have the money to hire security and can get men here quickly enough. That might give them more confidence in her safety than imagining her alone in her dorm room every night.
My father is an asshole, but hell, hopefully he’d send me men if I asked for them. He might like to beat me, but he also wants his sons to have a tough image—something that’s nearly impossible with my brother’s disability—and if I wanted security to scare other people off, that’s something I imagine he’d approve of. The dean, however, might not be so keen on having my father’s men here.
I focus on Dom. “Do you think your father might be amenable to us having some men here?”
He shakes his head. “I highly doubt it.”
“Come on,” I cajole. “Just three or four, out here at the water tower. There’s over twenty men, dogs, and drones patrolling these grounds anyway, and we’d only want them for our own security here at the tower.”
Dom sighs. “You know if he lets you, he has to consider it for everyone who asks.”
“Everyone like Tino?” I say, remembering a time when he brought his father’s men onto the university grounds.
Dom opens his mouth and snaps it closed again.
“Ask him,” I continue. “I’m happy to pay more in fees, happy to keep it quiet from the rest of the college. Hardly any of the students come this way. You know they either fear us or think the water tower is haunted. No one would even need to know.”
Dom sighs. “I can ask. I can’t promise a damn thing.”
“Why are you helping?” Roman demands, his tone suspicious.
Dom smiles, and it’s not his usual smirk this time, but something a whole lot softer. “My lady is making my life hell about it because Camile is upset. It seems Camile and Mackenzie think Ophelia should get to choose for herself where she wants to be.”
“Exactly,” I push. “So, if Nataniele agrees, we can have a small number of armed men who help us and her. It’s about giving her somewhere secure, if she wants it.” I throw my arms up, gesturing around me. “We live in a water tower, not easy to breach. We all have weapons. She’d be safe.”
“I’ll do what I can, but no promises.” Dom gives us a terse nod and turns to leave.
If he does manage to come up with the goods, we’d be in a strong position, but her father can’t find out about the three of us being with her together. If he learns that information, we’ll never see her again.
I nurse the idea that we can convince her parents that being at Verona Falls is the best thing for her. If it doesn’t work, well, we’ll just have to damn well take her back. By force, if necessary.
I'll do anything I can to make sure she's okay, because the one fact I know for certain is we were the only thing that quieted that voice in her head.
Without us, she might start to truly unravel. That's not a risk we can take.
4
ROMAN
When Dom leaves,we stare at one another, the silence heavy and dark, like a shroud smothering all the air in the room.
“He's right,” Cain says. “Her father is not going to let her come back to be with the three of us. But I do have an idea.”
“Oh, yeah?” Malachi cocks his head and places his chin on his hand, his dark brows raised sarcastically, as if he can't wait to hear this.
“Just hear me out.” Cain crosses his arms over his massive chest and regards us both warily as he begins to speak. “I knew her when we were kids, right?”
I nod, but I’m already unsure about where this is going.
“Her parents know me—not who I am now, but they did back then. They knew my family, too. And while our families weren't exactly friendly, and there was a rivalry between us, theywereneighbors. Furthermore, my family is more powerful than theirs these days, and by a lot. We have made significantly more money in the years since I last saw her and consolidated much of the power we had in our area of business. Her father’s business kind of stagnated. No surprise there; he had lost his daughter. I think that would make anyone's business the last thing on their mind.”
He pauses to crack his knuckles, making me wince. I absolutely hate that habit, but I'm not going to tell him off for it, as I've got bigger things on my mind right now.
Cain pulls himself up to his full height. “I think the three of us should go to her family home, now we know that's where she is. But we shouldn't let them see that she's with all of us. We should play it off as if she's just with me, and you're my friends, and we live together in a big house with security.” He smiles. “Lots of security. We can get it one way or another, if the dean agrees to let us.”
