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“Pass.”
My father slams his teeth together. “I wasn't asking. You are to meet them in an hour for lunch.”
More invisible shackles clamp around my wrists at his words. I have no doubt I am a prisoner, even if I’m not locked up. Nothing I do is of my own free will. I am under the control of first my father and soon my husband. It makes me want to scream.
That won’t get me anywhere though, so I try a different tact. “Is that a good idea? I already have a target on my back because of the fact I’m marrying Kane Fraser. There are people within the criminal underbelly who would prefer this wedding didn't take place. I'd rather not have my brain splattered all over the pavement because my father thought it was important for me to meet people I could not give two fucks about.”
Hamish grinds his teeth together. I’m pissing him off. “Charlotte wants it, and if you haven't noticed, what that woman wants she fucking gets. She’s sending over one of her bodyguards to take you, a man called Parker Weston. He'll be here in fifteen minutes. I suggest you use the time to get changed.”
I glare at my father. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me, but you don’t get to control how I look too.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll be glad when you become Kane Fraser’s problem and not mine.”
A tingle of anxiety runs through me at his words. I know what kind of beast my father is and how far I can push him. Kane is uncharted territory and that scares the shit out of me.
I wait in the hallway for Parker Weston to come and pick me up. He’s not what I expect. He’s maybe in his late forties, early fifties, and he’s built like a tank. His dark hair is salted with white in places, but it doesn’t make him look old. He looks like he could destroy me with a word.
He ushers me out to the car. I get in the back while he takes the front passenger seat, ready for anything. The driver pulls the vehicle down my father’s driveway, leaving me to sink back in my seat and think about what I might face.
By the time the car pulls up outside a small restaurant, I’m debating asking him to turn around and go home, but I doubt I’d be allowed. Parker Weston does not work for me.
The back door is opened for me, and Weston guides me inside, his eyes everywhere. The threat to my life is not over-exaggerated. There are people who would kill me just to stop my marriage to Kane. My joining with him will keep me safe, as well as my family.
As soon as I walk into the restaurant behind Weston, my gaze starts to scan the room. My experience of mob wives is they usually look like they enjoy spending their husbands’ money. Expensive jewellery, flawless makeup, and perfectly pristine garments.
I spot a table I think could be the women, but Weston leads me to a different one. I stumble after him, uncertain and on edge as I’m pushed into a seat in front of three women—a redhead, a blonde, and a dark-haired woman. They smile at me, which puts me on edge.
The redhead leans forwards over the table and places a glass of something in front of me. “We already started drinking. You’ll have to play catch up. I’m Bailey, by the way. I’m married to Zeke.” She points to the blonde. “She’s Sariah, and Lucas is her husband, and this—” she gestures to the dark-haired woman, “is Aurelia. She’s Kane’s sister.”
I didn’t expect smiles or pleasantries. I reach for the glass, taking a moment to collect myself and readjust my expectations. One sip tells me it’s gin. I take a long sip, needing all the courage it will give me.
“So, you’re marrying Kane,” Bailey says. She doesn’t hold back, which I find refreshing. My life has always been shrouded by secrets. I prefer this approach.
I haven’t met Zeke, but if he’s anything like Kane I can’t imagine how they are a good fit. She’s dressed like me, with smoky eyes and heavy red lipstick that makes her look amazing. She’s wearing an Untamed Sons MC sleeveless top that is moulded to her body. But it’s that sparkle in her eyes that intrigues me most. She strikes me as someone willing to push boundaries just to get a reaction. Maybe that’s something she learnt in the Sons. They have a reputation in London, a motorcycle club that is heavily cemented in its illegal dealings. I’ve heard of them, as has everyone in the city. Their reputation is as dark as my own family’s.
“I’m marrying Kane,” I confirm. Saying the words makes a tendril of anxiety work through me.
“Poor you,” Aurelia says. Her words interest me, mostly because as his sister she’ll know the most about him.
“He doesn’t seem keen on the idea,” I say, swirling my glass so the gin moves around the bottom of it. I hate to admit that rejection hurts more than I want to say.
“He’ll come around.” Sariah surprises me by gripping my hand. “It’s not easy to marry a stranger, but sometimes it works out.”
“You and Lucas were strangers when you married?”
Her lips pull into a smile. “Sort of. I’d met him before and had a relationship with him, but I didn’t know who he was. You can imagine my surprise when I was bundled into the church after being abducted, and I realised it was him I was standing in front of.”
I cock my brow. This family is insane. “You were abducted?”
She takes a sip of her drink before sliding it back onto the table. “Oh yeah. I was on the way to marry another man, who I didnotwant to marry, when the Frasers pulled my car over and took me to the church where Luke was waiting. I had no idea what was going on until he was in front of me, asking me to marry him.”
She doesn’t sound wistful as she says it, just matter-of-fact, which tells me where her head was at when this was happening.
“And you just married him?”
“I wanted him to save me. The entire time I was on course to marry Jeremiah Wood, I wanted Luke to stop it. I don’t know how, but those wishes were made real.”
I heard about the failed marriage to Wood. There were very few people who hadn’t. He was murdered by the Frasers. I don’t know the ins and outs of what happened though. I had no idea Sariah was abducted by the Frasers.
