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“Cara O’Malley, will you marry me?”
The tears are streaming down my face, and I don’t think I can form a complete word, so I just nod emphatically. He grins and throws himself at me, picking me up and spinning me around.
He places me back on the floor then grabs my hand, sliding the ring on my finger, and then he slams his lips onto mine, giving me a bruising kiss.
“I love you, Finn.”
“Wait… you do?”
“Yes. I have for so long. I’m so happy, Finn, I really am. I never thought that you would ever feel anything for me, not like this.”
He shakes his head and smiles. “I love you, Cara. I love you with every breath in my body and every fibre of my being, and I promise that I will love you even in death.”
Chapter 24
Hearing her say she loved me made my heart skip a fucking beat. I never thought she loved me. I knew she liked me, but to actually love me, I’ve never felt so fucking happy.
Knowing she loves me and having her arms wrapped around me while I travel down the road back home settles my demon––it settles my soul.
Pulling into my garage, I see Connor’s bike already back and locked down for the night. I’d originally planned to stay at Killian’s and for the women to stay here, but we didn’t think it was safe knowing that Cara’s Da knows she’s here. We know we have the security team, we know they are more than capable, but the truth is we don’t want to leave them, if something were to happen at least we’d be here.
We enter the kitchen from the side door leading to the garage, when we hear everyone chatting, and the smell of Chinese food has my stomach grumbling. I place a hand on her lower back to guide her inside, when she stops and turns to me. “Is everyone here?”
I give her a gentle push, encouraging her to keep walking. “Yeah, princess, it’s safer if we all stay here together.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her apology stuns us all, and everyone turns to look at her. I see her cheeks pink up from having so much attention on her. “What are you sorry for?”
“Everything.” She walks over to the counter, hopping up onto a stool and placing her head in her hands. “You’re all stuck here tonight because of my father. Everyone is in danger because of my father and the man he made a deal with. This isn’t fair on you all, and I’m sorry for the trouble that I am causing.”
I look around the room, and everyone is just as confused as I am. She’s instantly gone into fucking blaming herself, and it’s pissing me off. I walk towards her, ready to set her straight, when Killian speaks up. “You’re here because my brother was stupid and couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”
“Hey,” Ronan yells at Killian and nods toward Maddie sitting on the counter, placing food on her plate with the help of Niamh. The kid giggles but doesn’t take her eyes off her plate. Killian holds up his hands in defence.
“Sorry, bro… My point is, Cara, that this isn’t on you. You are not to blame for the actions of others. Your Da chose to make a shitty deal––a deal that puts you at risk. You and Finn love one another, and even if you didn’t, even if you weren’t getting married, we’d still be here protecting you. You’re carrying our blood, and that means we protect you without you even having to ask.”
During his speech, he filled a plate with a variety of Chinese food––I thought it was for him until he walked over and placed it in front of Cara, giving her a smile and pulling her in for a side hug before going back and fixing another plate.
I’m not sure why, but his speech is the one that pulls her out of her little slump. She relaxes into her seat, about to tuck into her food, when Alex and Bella surround her, asking about the ring. Everyone knew what I had planned tonight, I hadn’t kept it a secret. The only thing that I had kept secret was the ring. Well, from everyone aside from Killian––he’d gone with me when I went to choose it.
We spent the rest of the night just sitting, chatting, eating and drinking. Cara fell asleep before midnight and I carried her up to our bedroom, but I was swiftly kicked out by the rest of the women. They were already pissed that we had stayed at the house but understood why we needed to. However, they wouldn’t compromise on me staying with her through the night, so I spent the night in my office, on the chair, until Kill came and woke me up at six to head to the gym before getting ready at his.
* * *
I’m a bundle of nerves standing up front, waiting on her, checking my watch for the fifth time. I shake my head when I realise I still have twenty minutes to go.
“Relax, baby brother, she’s still getting ready.” Kill places his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm my nerves.
“Can’t help it, man. I know this is a done deal, but what if she changes her mind at the last minute? What if she just decides she doesn’t want this and takes off?”
I look behind him when I hear my brother laugh. “She won’t change her mind. That woman loves you, and I mean genuinely loves you.”
I know he’s right, but I still can’t help the way I feel. For the next twenty minutes, they distract me by talking utter shit. I look up and realise that Kill is looking at the back of the church, and checking my watch again, I realise that it’s now fifteen after ten. Fuck, she’s late. Panic sets in, and I look to Kill for answers I know he won’t have. “Give her a couple more minutes, man. She’s probably just nervous. The women will let us know if there is a problem.”
I wait anxiously at the front of the church, checking my watch every couple of minutes, and when it hits ten thirty, I’m done. Taking off to the back of the church, with my brothers hot on my heels, we make it out into the main area when Alex comes running toward us. “Guys, come quickly, her dad is in there and he’s trying to take her away. The others are trying to stop him, but he hit Niamh…”
I race past them all, bursting through the door of the room my woman is getting ready in, when I see her Da. His hands are gripped around her wrist as he tries to drag her towards the door. Seamus is sitting Niamh down and losing his shit, yelling at his Da, and that’s when I see it, the red handprint across my woman’s face, and the tears streaming down her cheeks. I lose all rational thought and launch myself at her Da, grabbing his free arm and twisting it around his back. He yells and lets go in surprise, and that’s when I grab him by the throat and throw him across the room, right into the waiting arms of Ronan and Killian.
