Page 50 of Hook

I nod once. “Fine.”

He sighs heavily. “Come on, we need to make the rounds. Start acting like a bride who is happy on her wedding day.”

Tilly’s words repeat in my mind.

Not by choice, which means we can still get you out.

She believes that I can escape, which gives me hope. Hope that this fight isn’t over.

“Andrea,” Cillian says, walking over to a middle-aged woman on the arm of an older, graying haired man. “It’s been a long time.”

She turns around and gives him a tight smile. “Cillian. Yes, I was surprised to recieve an invite.”

I wonder who this woman is, as she isn’t thrilled to be here.

“I thought it was about time we rekindled our business relationship.”

Her eyes narrow. “To what end?”

“I’m married now and The Rogues are doing better than ever. Why not reconsider the offer I made you two years ago?”

“What offer?” the man asks, taking the question I was too afraid to ask right out of my mouth.

His wife glares at him. “It’s not important.” She returns her gaze to Cillian and passes him her card. “Call me and we’ll schedule a meeting.”

Cillian takes the card, and I catch a glimpse of it. She’s the police commissioner of the San Diego PD. Whatever faith I had in law enforcement is eradicated then and there. This woman should be bringing the cavalry in to shut this man’s operations down, instead she’s considering offers from him.

My dad has always kept me blind to the way his business operates, but I’m sure it’s similar to the way Cillian operates. He probably bribes police officers, too.

“Perfect, I’ll be in touch,” Cillian says.

“It was nice to meet you,” I say, giving them a false smile.

The man nods. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Cillian guides me away.

“How corrupt is this city? The police commissioner is considering doing a deal with you?”

He smirks. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t already know. Your father has more cops in his pocket than I do.”

“If that’s the case, why’s the police commissioner attending a forced wedding involving his daughter?”

“Because he hasn’t got her on his side yet, and I want to get her first.”

“Does she know this wedding was forced?” I ask.

He tilts his head. “What’s your obsession with the police commissioner?”

“Nothing. I’m trying to work out how corrupt this city is.”

“It runs deep. Let’s leave it at that.” He leans toward my ear. “And I think it’s common knowledge that this wasn’t a consensual match.”

I straighten and glare at him. “If that’s true, why does it matter if I cause a scene or not?”

“Appearances, Gwendolyne. They’re important and if you made a scene, it would appear like I can’t control my woman. And if I can’t control my woman, how can I control a hoard of criminals?”

I sigh heavily as his logic makes sense. “What now?”

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