Chapter 13

As soon asI drop her back off at school, I remain in my car and ring Tynan as she enters her dorm.

"Yeah?"

"How the hell do I get your sister out of this feckin' marriage?"

He laughs briskly. "Find someone more suitable before the wedding."

"I'm serious."

"Me too. My father cares about her protection. If you can find someone better suited, he may change his mind about Reynolds."

"I can protect her." The words come out instantly, and I close my eyes, realizing what I said and how it sounds.

Silence greets me. "What are you saying? Are you asking for her hand?"

Yes. I'm in love with her, and I have no idea how to stop it.

How the hell can I let her be with someone else? It makes me wanna rip out my own bloody heart. But how can I claim to be capable of keeping her safe? My past could be comin' for her at any moment. She would be safer away from me.

But no matter how many times I tell myself that, I can't seem to let her go.

"No. Of course not," I reply instead.

"Shit, for a second there I thought you were about to tell me you're in love with my baby sister." He chuckles like it's something unfathomable. I guess it would be, since I've known her since she was young.

Makes me an arsehole, doesn't it? But I can't help what I feel. What I'll always feel. She's written into my DNA. Like a code imprinted into my marrow. It's impossible to exist without her.

"Look," he goes on. "I don't like him either, but my father… You know how stubborn he is. He doesn't listen to me or Iseult. But if you can give him another option, someone powerful enough to keep her safe, then he might agree."

A deep guttural grunt rolls out of me. "I can't let this happen."

"What did he do?"

"He manhandled her, grabbed her wrist too hard on purpose. So I broke the bastard's finger."

"Good. Maybe it'll teach him a lesson to keep his hands to himself."

"Doubt it."

"We could kill him," Tynan says matter-of-factly. "But if Reynolds Senior finds out, it will get us into a war."

"You're serious."

"It's an option if you think she's not safe with him."

"She won't be. But give me a little time. I'm hopeful I can find something on him that will make your father decide to break this arrangement in case him being aggressive isn't enough."

"Okay. I'll talk to Iseult. I mean, you know her. She'd be ready to throw a dagger into his eye at a moment's notice."

I let out a laugh. She's one skilled assassin on a bad day. On a good day… Well, any son of a bitch who crosses her or those she loves should watch their back.

"You know…" he says. "It's too bad you never had those kinds of feelings for my sister."

"What?" My voice fills with shock. "What the hell are you bloody insinuating?"

"I'm just saying. My father loves you like a son. He'd be open to it."

Is he really saying this? He wouldn't be if he knew my past. The gang that could get his sister killed.

I can't be the one to ruin her life. I won't do it.

"I'm way too old for her, and I've got no connections like the Reynoldses and their kind do. I'm nothing."

"You underestimate yourself." He exhales a short breath. "Don't matter, anyway. It's a pointless conversation since you don"t feel like that about her, and what the hell do I know about relationships anyway? Never had one to begin with."

"Why is that?" I keep my vision on her dorm, making sure Mason doesn't decide to return.

"What are you, my fucking shrink?"

"No." I snicker. "Just asking a question. Isn't your father all about continuing the bloodline? He's gotta be demanding it."

"Fuck you, McHale," he mutters.

"I knew it. He's on your case to tie the knot and make a family, isn't he? We all know he's retiring soon and putting you in charge. You knew it was coming. We all did."

Patrick is getting older, and he wants everything in place before he retires. As the oldest, it would be Tynan's rightful place to lead the Quinn family.

"Yeah, yeah. How about you shut up and worry about your own fucking bloodline?"

"My bloodline would be best to die off with me." I let out a sigh. "No reason to bring a woman into my shite and ruin her damn life."

"Yeah… It's a lot to ask of a woman to marry into the kind of family we belong to. Unless she's getting something out of it, there's no way in hell someone would willingly sign up for this."

"Maybe if you're lucky, one would actually love your crazy arse."

"Yeah, right. Love. What the hell do you know about it?"

More than you realize.

My heart beats faster because it's her face that I see. Those green eyes glistening, that radiant smile. The ones that are all mine.

It's then my mind runs to dirtier corners, the night at the club. How nervous she was. The way she tasted on my tongue. How badly I wanted to rip that dress off her body and claim every untouched inch of her.

"Never getting married," he mutters, dragging me out of my illicit thoughts. "And love is nothing but a weakness."

A chuckle rolls out of me. "Your father's gonna want heirs. You've got no choice."

He groans. "I'm hoping once he retires and puts me in charge, he forgets all about it."

"Have you met your father? He won't forget shite, and you bloody well know it. So I suggest you start making a list of potential wives, or he may arrange a marriage for you."

"Don't joke like that." I swear that's the first time I've heard fear in this man's voice.

"I'm serious."

"Fuck off," he snaps. "Last thing I wanna do is mess things up even more for Brody. Bringing some random woman into the house when he barely even looks at me won't help. And I won't do anything that hurts him."

I immediately feel for the boy, and Tynan too. Brody is his cousin's kid, the one who was killed by Raph Marino when he thought the Quinns killed his wife. Tynan stepped up and adopted the eight-year-old child. Tynan and his cousin, Aiden, were close, and it broke everyone's heart when he died—including his wife's, who committed suicide, leaving poor Brody without parents.

The trauma caused Brody to stop talking. And no matter what Tynan and the family have tried, nothing has helped.

"Let me know if you find anything on Reynolds we can use." Tynan changes the subject. "I don't know what else you can get on him that we don't already know."

"There's always something a man like that is hiding, and I'm gonna be the one to find it."

As soon as I hang up with him, I dial a number I've never had a reason to dial. But Grant Westfield is a friend of Gio and Iseult, the best hacker around, so if there's anything to find on Mason, he'll be the one to do it.

Grant's a filthy billionaire. His company developed the best cellphone currently on the market, and he does some crazy stuff with AI too. I think he's developing robots or some shite.

His cell rings a few times before I hear his voice.

"Yes?"

"Grant, hey. You don't know me, but I'm Devlin M?—"

"I know who you are. How can I help you?"

"Need a favor. Not just for the Quinns, but for me personally."

"Any friend of Iseult's is a friend of mine. Now, how about you tell me what that favor might be?"

"I need everything you can get on a Mason Reynolds. I'll send you a photo."

"Come on, man. I don't need a photo." He chuckles. "How much dirt are you looking for?"

"Everything you can find on him. Every text. Every e-mail that he deleted. Every meeting he's had, every girl he's screwed. I want it all. Anything. And I mean anything. I don't care how small."

He blows a breath. "Wanna tell me what he did?"

"He's supposed to marry Eriu. And he's a feckin' arsehole, so I wanna stop it, but I need to find something on him first. Think you can have it to me in a week or two, tops?"

"Yeah, that's more than enough time."

"Alright. Thanks. I owe ya."

"No, you don't. I'll be in touch."

He ends the call, and I slip the phone back into my pocket, leaning my head against the headrest.

This has to work. If her father doesn't see what a big mistake he's making, then I'll do everything I can to protect her myself.

Except marry her.