Page 84 of Ruined By a Devil

I blink, waiting for Malachi to shut him down, to say we don’t separate. The realization that Malachi is considering his brother’s proposal is more terrifying than finding out Nolan has been tracking my every move.

“No!” I say, everyone at the table turning to look at me. “I’m not leaving.”

“Jade,” Malachi speaks, his voice calm. “I told you earlier that the most important thing for me in this is for you to stay alive.”

“But…”

I don’t want to leave you.

“Set up the flight,” Malachi turns back to face his brothers.

“I’ll have the jet fueled and ready," Elijah says.

“Good,” Malachi nods before turning his eyes to me once again. “You should start packing.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I say, dropping my glass wine back on the table.

Malachi’s jaw tightens. “Nolan is hunting you. You are a liability in this city right now and the only option to keep you safe right now is for you to go Ireland.”

“I’m your wife, Malachi,” I say, keeping my voice completely level, refusing to let it shake, even as my chest burns. “I’m not a piece of luggage you ship out of the country the second the water gets rough.”

“It’s a chess game, Jade,” Zeke says, his tone completely calm. “If hiding the queen will protect you, you do that.”

“Hiding the queen in chess is cheating,” I snap back.

“Not in the game that I’m playing.”

“So that’s how it’s going to be?” I continue. “My father treated me like a physical asset and used me as collateral to save his fucking ass, and now you do the same thing.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Malachi plants his hands flat on the edge of the table. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”

“By locking me away halfway across the world!” I push my chair back and stand up, the wood scraping harshly against the floorboards. “I walked into the Eden with you. I sat at a table with my father to cut him out of our lives. I did not marry into this family just to be shoved on a plane and hidden in a fortress the moment someone pulls a gun.”

The room goes dead quiet and I don’t care how everyone is staring at us right now, probably judging me for behaving this way and Malachi for marrying someone like me instead of a woman who obeys each and every order that comes from his mouth.

Malachi stands up slowly. He is taller, broader, his entire frame radiating the cold, unyielding authority he uses to break his men.

“You’re going to Ireland,” he says, no place left for argument in his voice. “The discussion is over.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Jade

My blood is still boiling as I watch the red taillights of Zeke’s car disappear into the dark tree line. The heavy wooden door of the cabin clicks shut and Malachi slides the iron deadbolt into place sharply, the sound echoing in the empty room.

I clench my fists as Malachi walks straight toward the kitchen, rolling his sleeves up his forearms.

He looks too calm.

“Don’t do that,” I say but he doesn’t stop and he doesn’t turn around. “Don’t shut me out and act like we’re just going to pack my bags in the morning,” I tell his back, my voice shaking in the quiet space. “Look at me, Malachi.”

He exhales slowly, turning on his heel, the look in his eyes completely exhausted, the shadows under them a clear mark of three sleepless nights, but the unyielding stone of his jaw hasn’t shifted an inch.

“The decision is made, Jade,” he says, his voice flat.

“You don’t get to make it alone,” I cross the room until I am standing just an arm’s length away from him. “You put a ring on my finger. You stood in a room with my father and claimed me. You brought me into this family, knowing exactly who your enemies were, and you expected me to survive it. I did.”

I step closer, my chest tightening, a hard, burning knot sitting right under my ribs.