Page 14 of Dangerous Silence
What would it be like to marry her? There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to fuck a young woman like Demi. And with the situation we were in, I could take exactly what I wanted from her. I could make her mine. I owed it to her father, and she would owe it to me.
Ron shuffled the paper in his hands, then continued: “Shep was ready to die, until he had something to live for.”
Thatsomethingwas Demi. I had to do what Shep wanted; I had to keep my promise and keep heralive. And then I had to make sure that she stayed as far away from me as possible. Until the war was over. Until she found real love. Because Demi put me on edge, like a clock that couldn’t catch up to the exact time. She was so damn sure of everything and she had barely even lived. How could anyone be confident in anything, even our next breath?
“Everything changed after he started a family. I admit I didn’t care for the transformation at first, but eventually, it made me respect him more,” Ron said. He took a breath, then looked out at the crowd, concentrating on the final words. “Because Shep showed me that there were just as many reasons to die as there were to live.”
And that lesson stuck with me now. A reason to live. I had never had to protect anyone before. Watching over Demi was new to me.
“And I know that I will never forget that lesson,” Ron said, then left the podium.
A murmur sounded through the crowd. A few people politely clapped too. Ron put his hand on my shoulder, then stood beside me. He was one of my top enforcers, and I trusted him as much as I trusted anyone.
“Thanks,” I whispered. He nodded in response.
Once the ceremony was over, a few people swarmed Demi, some of which I recognized, which meant they worked for my family. I broke through the group. Demi’s eyes peered up at me, gray and glassy, like her father’s. I put an arm around her shoulder, guiding her small body through the house.
“What were they saying to you?” I asked.
“They were asking about his butcher shop,” she said. “Whether I was going to take it over or not. They didn’t know he had shut it down years ago.”
Those were the small details that would reveal Shep’s link to the Adler mafia. I pulled her through the backyard until we went inside the kitchen.
“You need to eat,” I said.
She gazed at the food, then shook her head.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Youarehungry,” I said. She had eaten half of a sandwich the day before, but that was it. “You need to eat, Demi.”
A few people crossed in front of the window, and my eyes flashed to the view of the woods. I needed to keep her away from the people who knew about Shep’s background in the mafia, but I also needed to watch the woods for intruders.
“Stay in here,” I said.
I slipped outside, watching the scene, but nothing had changed. If it weren’t for the black clothing, the event would have looked like a wedding or college graduation. Derek came by, saying he was sorry about Shep, and Wil came by again too, this time with his fiancée, Ellie. I shook hands with both of them, though I had nothing to say.
A hand grabbed my arm. I turned; Demi looked up at me. Her hair was tucked into a low ponytail, the waves of color washing down her back. Her skin was pale under the moonlight, her gray eyes bloodshot and tired.
“We’ve got to figure this out,” she said. “I know you promised my dad that you’d marry and provide for me, but I can’t do this.” She sighed deeply. “I know my dad wants what’s best for me, but all I’ve craved for the last eighteen years is freedom. And I’m not going to get that through being your wife.” She crossed her arms. “We need to solve this. Like a practical matter. Not like some silly promise we both made to a ghost.”
“A practical matter,” I repeated. As in, an incident that could be dismissed.
“I want to go back to college. I want to study criminal justice. I want to help people,” she sighed, “And I want to live my life. I can’t keep letting him control me from beyond the grave.”
I nodded again. I understood that.
“Do you think we can figure out a way for both of us to keep that promise, without getting hitched?” Demi asked.
Her cold eyes stared at me, begging for an answer. It would break Demi to know who her father was, and ruin her entire world view to learn those truths from me. I had to keep her alive, but I knew that didn’t have to be through marriage. In the end, Shep would understand. It was the best option for Demi.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said.
“Really?” she asked, her eyes lighting up, full of misty clouds. “You’re not going to tell me that I’m wrong?”
It was as if she expected to be denied every single time, as if she could never stop fighting for what she wanted. How hard had Shep been on her?
“Shep’s house too,” I said. “I’ll help you sell it.”
