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“We’ve had proof of it for a very long time,” Seamus told me. “We can show you everything. His deals run deep, Bailey. From embezzlement of charity funds to gunrunning. Even human trafficking and drug distribution.”
Human trafficking and drug distribution.
My father would never be involved in any of that. These people were tainting his name, trying to get me to turn against the man who’d taken me in. The man who’d kept me when he could have given me away. Even if I wasn’t known as his biological daughter, he had still adopted me. Claimed me.
“Tell us about his deal with Magnus Knight,” Kiernan urged. “Help us and we can help you.”
I lifted my gaze from where it had been focused on the table to his darkened gaze. He wasn’t pleading. Wasn’t begging. His eyes were hard, but there was something I didn’t recognize behind that stern façade. Something that made my gut churn with butterflies. Something I refused to name.
Fuck this.
Two simple words that I hadn’t realized I’d uttered aloud until Ava gasped in surprise and Kiernan’s gaze darkened murderously. He reached for me, and in that moment of panic, I did the only thing I could think of.
I hit him with my empty coffee mug and ran.
12
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Kiernan’s heavy footsteps echoed ominously against the wooden floor as he stalked after me. His father’s voice called after him, a stern warning, but he ignored it as he continued on his mission. I turned, just barely, to glance back at the monster who haunted my footsteps. His emerald eyes were cold, darkness surging through their crystalline depths.
With frenzied hands, I pressed at the button of the elevator, willing it with all my might to open. Maybe if I was lucky, it would let me down to the main floor without needing a fingerprint.
Fuck. Why wasn’t it opening?
“Mo fraochÚn beag.” His voice was thick with anger, his accent slightly harsher when he uttered the familiar Gaelic words that were still a mystery to me.He’s probably calling me his sex slave or some shit.Panicked, my eyes bulged as his broad, muscled frame strode toward me with determined steps. Backing away from the elevator, I held my hands up in surrender.
“Wait…” I stammered. “Please. I’m sorry…”
Kiernan’s silence frightened me more than if he were to threaten me. He took another long step and then another, closing the distance between us with ease. Before I could think to dart away, he bent down and pressed his shoulder into my stomach, lifting me.
The world turned topsy-turvy, my hair falling around my face like a curtain.
“Put me down,” I cried out, my fists pounding on his muscled back. Not that it did any good. The man was built like a linebacker. How many hours did he spend in the gym to get like this? “Ow.” His hand came down harshly on the curve of my ass.
Even through the material of my leggings, it burned. Tears blurred my vision, threatening to flow. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. He didn’t get my tears. Not when he was the one acting like a brute.
His hand reached out to press the button of the elevator. It immediately opened with a small chime of a bell.
What the fuck?
He really did have magic fingers.
“Kiernan,” I pleaded with him, hoping to soften him toward me. “I’m sorry. I was just upset.”
More silence. Blood boiled in my veins at his silent treatment. At least I was attempting an olive branch. My hands continued to beat uselessly against his back as he lugged me out of the elevator. “Let go of me, you asshole,” I swore at him, my frustration mounting until it snapped. “You can’t do this. Put me down, Kiernan.”
“I love it when you say my name,mo fraochÚn beag.” He chuckled darkly. “But I like it more when you scream it. Why do you think I call youmy little whore?”
“Fuck you,” I sneered. “If you think I’m going to be screaming your name, you’re dead fucking wrong.”
The man had the nerve to just laugh, as if I had uttered something funny. I couldn’t deny, however, that the sound was dark and delicious. It emanated from deep in his chest, the vibrations traveling through my body, causing my thighs to clench together tightly. Kiernan’s hand came up to swat my ass again, causing a gasp to fall from my lips as he continued to stride toward our room.
Our room?Why had I saidour? Jesus, talk about Stockholm syndrome. I’d been a captive for less than a day. Fucking wonderful.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Opening the door to the room, he slid us in, mindful of my head, and kicked it shut behind him. “I promise you will be screaming my name. Whether it’s in pain or ecstasy is going to be up to you.”
“You think your father will just let you beat me?” I snarled. Another chuckle from below me.
