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Julien’s expression softens. “I’ll treat her well. Hell, it will be entirely for show. Tell her… tell her it can be short-term. Tell her I’ll pay. I don’t know, and I don’t care. Tell her whatever you want, just please, Ronan. I need a wife.”
Well shit. I shake my head and have no idea what to say. I can tell Ronan’s struggling with the idea too. It seems absolutely insane on the face of it, but Julien’s completely earnest right now and I can tell he’s deeply embarrassed by this whole negotiation, which makes it feel that much more real.
I don’t know why he’d need a wife so bad. I can make some guesses, but really, I don’t know enough about Julien’s organizational structure to have any accurate ideas. And what does it matter why? This is what he wants, and Ronan needs his help.
“Get it all in writing,” I say, putting my hand on Ronan’s thigh to keep him from saying something stupid. As it is, he looks outraged. “Would you agree to that, Julien? You promise to pay the girl a certain amount of money and swear to divorce after… two years? It won’t be enforceable by a court, butwe’llmake sure you stick to your word.”
“Yes, I’ll put it in writing. Thank you for trusting me so much.” Julien’s jaw works. “Do we have a deal? I want drugs and I need a wife. You can provide both.”
Ronan shakes his head. He laughs bitterly and looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. But I squeeze his leg and nod once. “Do we have a deal, Ronan?” I ask him softly.
He groans and rubs his face. “I’m going to regret this. You realize we’re going to be family, right?”
Julien brightens and extends a hand. “I look forward to it.Cousin.”
Ronan shakes and looks like he’s going to have a heart attack.
Chapter 41
Ronan
That felt fucking wrong on so many levels.
The Hayes Group isn’t above making political marriages. During my father’s tenure, he sent off several female cousins to marry influential and important members of Chicago’s elite society. Those connections have been nothing but beneficial for the Group as a whole, and they’re big reasons why we can move our drugs all over the place without the cops breathing down our necks.
But normally, the people involved are vetted first. My father would sit down with the prospective bride and tell her everything about the groom in detail, and he’d make sure he got full consent from her and her family before moving forward with the deal. If one cousin didn’t want it, there’d be another—lucky for him, Irish Catholic families enjoy having lots and lots of kids. Meaning there’s a steady supply of bodies.
He’d also know why everyone involved wanted to go through with it. Female cousins could look forward to a rich husband and a big jump up in society plus security for their children and their immediate family. Potential grooms got a decent wife with somegood business connections and the knowledge that the Hayes Group will forever be a part of their family, especially after kids are involved.
With Julien, I have no fucking clue why he’d want to marry one of the Hayes girls, and that bothers me.
“You don’t look happy,” Valentina says to me later that night. She’s sitting on my couch with some wine while I pace around the kitchen, pretending to be busy but mostly just brooding.
“This is going to be a massive mistake.”
She watches me with those clever, beautiful eyes of hers. “Why’s that? Just because you don’t like Julien anymore?”
“Julien’s fine.” I wave away her concern. “We had a disagreement, but it’s cleared up. The problem is I don’t know why he wants to marry someone in my family, and without knowing that, I can’t get real informed consent from any of his potential matches.”
Valentina’s lips pull into a frown. “You can just tell them that, right? And besides, you know why Julien wants it. This is always about business.”
“You already offered him a great deal on a steady product supply. The wife is something else, and I don’t understand it.” I grab a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and pour myself a drink. “It’s frustrating, that’s all.”
“Do you want me to do some digging and see if I can figure out what Julien’s up to?”
“I don’t want you in any more danger.” I sit next to her and put a hand on her thigh.
“I’m in the clear now, remember? Julien’s not trying to kill me anymore.” She licks her lips and looks away. “I could go home.”
I hesitate, hand still on her leg, and watch her carefully. “Is that something you want?” I ask, aware of the strange flutter in my heart.
“It wasn’t supposed to be forever when I came here, right? I don’t want to impose on you. I feel like I’ve already taken a lot.”
“You’ve given back plenty.” My grip on her leg tightens. All at once, emotions flood me. I picture my house without her: quiet, cold, and empty. I don’t want that, not even a little bit.
And it’s not just about having another person here. If I needed any company, I’d get a fucking roommate. It’s abouther, about waking up with her in my bed, going to sleep with her at night, laughing at her jokes and teasing her until she gets all mad then making her make up with me afterward. It’s about the sex, but also about the way I can tell her anything without feeling like I’m burdening her. It’s about wanting her to burden me with all her problems, just so I can make her feel a little bit lighter.
“I don’t know. I’m scared about this Cormac stuff. I don’t like that we had to get Julien involved, and I’m just—I’m afraid for you, Ronan.”
