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Asher nodded. “You did the next best thing you could think of to protect her, which was to marry her.”
“I knew it would buy her time, which is what she needed. And obviously, she's under my protection.”
“Why do I feel like there's a but coming?” Ethan asked.
“I didn’t touch her for a month,” I admitted. “She kept asking, believing that if I left her untouched and annulled the marriage when I thought she was safe, that she'd still be considered a valuable asset to her family. That they’d wait us out. I kept trying to convince her that I was going to find a way out of this where I didn't have to do that, but I haven't found it yet, and it doesn't matter anymore.”
“Fuck,” Wes groaned.
“Yeah,” I said. “What started out as a simple plan to keep her safe has gotten a whole hell of a lot more complicated. I don't deserve her in any way, shape, or form, but we fit. For now, she wants to keep me, and I'm the selfish bastard who’s agreeing to it. I like her too damn much. And not just in my bed, but in all the ways you assholes have kept talking about the last few years.” I cut my eyes to Crossland, smirking slightly. “Goddamn epidemic. Just like you said.”
Crossland gave me a shit-eating grin, then reached out his hand. I clapped mine in his, shaking it. “Welcome to the club, brother,” he said.
“We have to triple our efforts in getting Doyle out of the game,” I said, finally coming to the point.
Western scoffed. “Like we haven't been trying to convince him since the moment he came in. Although, I guess we're happy we didn't succeed, considering your situation now.”
“Right,” I said. “I just can't let this become a monthly torture for Serenity, and I'm not going to leave her behind unless she asks me to. It was hard enough for me to allow her to stay in one of the villas with Brynn, Daisy, Aspen, and Alex, as it is.”
“Allow her?” Ethan asked. “Like you're her keeper now?” His words were playful, but I cocked a brow at him nonetheless.
“I'm certainly not her keeper,” I explained. “But right now, things are tumultuous. Every second we remain married, O’Brien’s family and connections are trying to figure out a way to break us apart. Some of those ways include dangers a lot of you have likely never had to think about, and I'm not saying that's your fault, but we just think differently. We were raised inherently differently.”
“Hence, the four security guards currently standing outside of my villa?” Asher asked.
I nodded. “The only difference between my guards and O’Brien’s are that they're good. Not only will they keep her safe or die trying, but they won't be assholes. If she wants to leave, they'll shadow her. They won't try to stop her. The days of her being a prisoner are over.”
Crossland blew out of breath. “Are our women in danger too?” he asked. “Not accusing, just genuinely concerned.”
Weston pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ethan looked ready to punch somebody despite all his anger management training, and Asher just looked at me with that genius-like calculation only he was capable of.
“No,” I assured him, assured them all. “Doyle is an idiot, but he’s not stupid enough to incite all of your wrath by making a threat against them.”
“Do you have a plan to get him out of the game? I know it's step one on a long list,” Asher continued. “But you know we have your back. We may not be well-versed in the methods of your past, but you have some of the wealthiest people in the world at your disposal.”
“Thank you,” I said, and fucking meant it. This inner circle that had been born of me shedding the ways of my own life meant more to me than some of my own blood. “I don't want to ask you to do anything that's going to put you or your women in danger. Getting him out of the game has always been a priority, but up until now, we’ve been soft about it. It's time to take the gloves off.”
They all nodded, waiting.
“Every bet has to be about him losing his seat. Every single hand he's in has to be about him forfeiting his right to that chair. No other bets exist. Even if he has a lucky streak, he will lose by the end of the night.”
“Oh, that's fucking genius,” Crossland said, glancing at Asher for confirmation. “There's nothing in our contract that states we can't do that, right?”
Asher, who possessed an eidetic memory, took a moment, his eyes going distant like he needed to mentally pull up the contract and read through it. He shook his head. “The only thing in our contract upon entering the game regarding losing your seat is that you cannot gift it to anyone or sell it to anyone, not without full approval of the group. There’s nothing about betting with a seat. Clearly, or he wouldn't have even made it into our game in the first place.”
All eyes fell on Weston, but he shrugged. “I'm no longer apologizing for that,” he said with confidence before nodding to me. “Especially not after this outcome. Look at him. Normally, he looks ready to break someone's jaw, but he’s all happy and smiling.”
I pinched my brow, checking myself to see if I was smiling.
I wasn't.
Weston rolled his eyes. “Your mouth may not be selling it, but your eyes are. After all our years together, we can all tell the difference.”
I glanced at my other friends, who nodded.
I let out a rough laugh and shrugged. “I won't deny that she brings me happiness. But I also know that she’s in a very precarious position. If at any time she decides she wants to leave, that she needs space to heal to figure out what she really wants, I'm not going to hold her prisoner. But for now, she's mine. And I know you all understand this. I'll do anything to protect what's mine. Just like any one of you would do for yours. Will you help me get him out of the game?”
