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Her words hit me like an arrow to the heart. Because now I can hear the truth behind them. The fact is that both of her marriages were attempts to remove herself from a bad situation. Nothing more, nothing less.
She needed me to protect Gabby. She married me to stay alive.
And there’s no denying we have chemistry; Mel might think differently about our contract once the danger has passed.
Soul-crushing agony batters my chest. It feels as though someone’s knocked the wind from me, and my ears ring as my body rebels against the cold, hard truth.
Mel is not mine to keep.
I knew it from the start. I’ve told myself that a hundred times. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of it. I let down my guard. I surrendered my heart. And now it’s come back to haunt me.
Painful as it might be, if we both make it out of this alive, I will need to be strong enough to give Mel space. Room to make her own decision. Because I know what I want.
I want Mel.
I want all of her. Forever.
But I only want to keep her if that’s what she wants too.
Keoghan’s voice slices through the brassy ringing in my ears, and I realize then that I missed what he said to Mel. But he’s not done talking. He turns to Vinny now, and I don’t just see the fury on his face. I can feel it radiating off him like a heatwave.
“You’ve been abusing your position, cousin,” he states coldly. “You’ve misused my men. And from the sound of it, you’re responsible for one of them disappearing.”
“No, I didn’t—” Vinny sputters, her face turning tomato red. “It was him?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Keoghan commands. And his authority is so iron-clad, Vinny’s mouth snaps closed, seemingly of its own accord. “You will be severely punished for using men I pay for to handle a petty case of jealousy. And in the meantime, you’ll let Miss O’Mara go. Is that clear?”
Shaking with frustration, Vinny flashes me a spiteful glare. Then he turns his eyes back to Keoghan as he mutters, “Crystal.”
“Good. And if I hear even a whisper of you trying to find her again, you’ll wish you’d never been born.”
Vinny crumples, his face draining of color as he finally seems to grasp the thin ice he’s on.
Keoghan’s eyes flash to the men behind me, and after he gives the subtlest of gestures, they lower their guns. Then he turns his gaze to me.
“You’re free to go. And take Mel with you,” he states evenly.
It’s like his words have released me from invisible restraints, and my feet carry me forward without hesitation. I don’t even bother looking at Vinny as his hand falls from Mel’s wrist.
Instead, I lightly grasp her elbow to turn her, and I wrap my arm around her waist.
I guide her toward the office doors with a single-minded purpose. Leon and Mishka open them for us, their expressions fluctuating between stunned and disturbed.
“Oh, and, Gleb?”
Adrenaline trickles into my veins at the suddenly casual lilt to the Irishman’s tone. Mel stiffens beside me as I bring her to a stop in the doorway. Slowly, we turn to face Keoghan once again.
“It hasn’t escaped my notice that you took one of my prized warriors with you when you left town a few months back,” he says lightly, the hint of a smirk curling one corner of his lips. “And while I might be willing to lend Sascha out because you two are family, you shouldn’t expect me to be so generous forever. I pay well for the Lycaon brothers who work for me, and I don’t consider them free men to come and go as they please.”
My hackles rise at the subtle threat in his warning. And the urge to protect my younger brother threatens to overwhelm my survival instincts. But I still need to get Mel to safety. So I can’t kill the crazy Irish bastard where he stands.
Instead, I eye him calmly, funneling all my carefully concealed fury into a cool reply. “I lost two of my best men because of your idiot cousin, so as far as I’m concerned, we’re square.”
Then I turn around and steer Mel from the club without a backward glance.
32
MEL
