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“Is there anything we can do?” Fergus asks. “I know you, and you’re not going to let someone just get away with killing our parents.”
“I already stated what I needed from all you. Nothing! Carry on like you have been. I only shared this information so you could understand the need for the security.”
“We can do that,” Flynn assures. The group of them nods in agreement.
“Remember. After tonight, don’t even discuss this among each other. The conversation needs to be dead.”
“We understand,” Flynn says, answering for everyone again.
I have one more piece of business to handle. I discussed it briefly with Kai so he is aware, and we’re on the same page. “Aisling, you and I need to talk. Let’s head into the house.”
She looks at her brothers but doesn’t hesitate to get up. I nod to Kai, ensuring he knows not to let anyone else in the house. She follows me into the formal living room in the front area of the house. Her fingers interlock the way they do when she’s nervous. Good to know I can still read her tells. It makes it easier to decipher whether she is lying to me.
“Sit,” I order.
She tucks her belted, dark-green dress beneath her as she sits, crossing her legs at the ankle. My sister is the epitome of elegance and grace. My father saw to it. She has been groomed to be the perfect wife from birth, but I can’t think of a single man worthy of her.
“What did you need to talk to me about?” She is still fidgeting.
“Are you still pure?” I ask, getting straight to the point. This isn’t the conversation I want to be having with my sister, but it’s necessary.
“If you’re asking if I’m still a virgin, the answer is yes. I know the rules.”
“Not just a virgin, Aisling. I mean pure in every way. You and I both know there are things that men and women can do besides vaginal penetration—anal, oral, any of it.”
“I know the rules, Lennon. Father has already given me this spiel. He explained the time would come for me to marry someone of his choosing. And that I needed to remain pure for my husband. I know the job is now yours to choose, so you don’t have to worry that I will forget my duty now that our father is dead.”
She tilts her head down to hide from me. I fucking hate the guilt that gnaws at me because she is absolutely right. The duty to arrange her marriage is now mine, yet I don’t want her to continue to be caged the way she has been—the way Aurora was.
“Look at me, Aisling. Can I trust you to honor that commitment?”
She looks up at me, and the tears threaten to fall. The heart that I thought was long frozen aches. This softness is reserved only for my family, but I still fucking hate it. I thrive with my usual numbness.
“Of course, brother. I know what is at stake. I’ve never given this family a reason not to trust me, yet I’m not allowed to be in public on my own— not allowed to make friends. It’s a lonely existence.”
I sit beside her and run several hands through my hair— unsettled by the doubt coursing through me. I said that I was going to be my own man. That means choosing how I’m going to lead. I’m not obligated to honor the same traditions and rules as my father. He wanted this family to rise to power with me at the helm, and I get to decide what that looks like. I do trust my sister. It’s just the other fuckers in this world who I don’t trust.
“Okay,” I answer finally.
“Okay?” She turns to me confused.
“I trust you, Aisling, so I’m willing to make some changes, but it won’t come without a sacrifice on your part.”
“What are the changes? And what do I have to do?”
“From this moment on, you will be free. Free to come and go as you please just like Fergus and Flynn. This means you’re free to make friends, go shopping, dinner, whatever you want to experience. You can even get your own place if you want.”
“What’s the catch?” she asks, hesitatingly. “That all sounds too good to be true.”
“I do have conditions,” I admit. “In addition to the security detail, you will have a bodyguard.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The security detail will mostly stay out of the way, only intervening when needed. They protect from the shadows, keeping a safe but enough distance not to impede with your life. The bodyguard assigned to you will damn near be attached at your hip. He will be an inconvenience because he will never be more than an arm’s length from you. He will be privy to every conversation and every interaction.”
“It’s the sacrifice part you were talking about.”
“Yes. But I have a few more conditions,” I add. “No boyfriends, and I require that you learn household chores. You may never be expected to do them as a wife, but I want you to at least know how.”
