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“Make no mistake, Aurora. The well-being and future of family comes first. I already told you this. Why would I risk that for someone I don’t even know? Until recently, I didn’t know you either, but I do now, so I want to give you a chance to end this.” He lifts me off the floor. “I’ve only been honest with you. I could have let this play out, which would have resulted in you giving me your virginity as your feelings grew for me, or I could have taken it. I didn’t want to fuck you without you knowing the truth. That in itself says a fucking lot about how things have evolved between us.”
I have no words. I can only cry instead. “There is literally no way out without hurting Amerie, my family, or myself. I have no idea what I’ve done to deserve any of this.”
Lennon walks us over to the sofa and sits with me on his lap. “Don’t go playing helpless now, little bird. You’ve been a fucking fighter since the moment you were abducted. Your defiance was the sexiest thing about you. I’m offering you a life raft here. All you have to do is grab it.”
“How?” I sniffle. “Everything is so fucked up.”
“I can save her. Tell me that you’re ready to be with me, and I will make it happen.”
“But if my father has her …”
“You let me worry about that. Give me your word that you’re giving me the gift of you and fall in line with what we need to tell your father. In return, I will show you a glimpse of my power and my reach. I will save her without any harm coming to your father or your family.”
“And all I have to do is agree to everything you just said?”
“Agree and mean it. Because if you agree and then betray me, the consequences will be catastrophic for you and your family. You don’t want to experience my power and reach when it’s used against you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, what? I need to hear you say it. Nothing can be left open for interpretation.”
I know I have no choice but to give him what he’s asking for if I want him to save Amerie from any more torture. If I refuse him and he sells me off or worse, kills me, she will suffer the ultimate consequence. I don’t know what the rest of all of this will look like, but my time is up, and I’m choosing to fight another day.
“I agree to your plan. I’ll marry you and all that includes. I will give you my virginity.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lennon
It’s been a long thirteen hours of nonstop travel. We had to wait until nightfall to take our discreet limo and ride the five-and-a-half hours to Portland, Maine. We have no business connections there. Eoghan arranged for us to take his private jet from a private hangar in Maine, thus prohibiting anyone from tracking our exit from the country. The nonstop flight was six hours to Dublin, allowing me to get some sleep on the jet but not much. The five-hour time difference has us landing close to two in the afternoon, so sleep will have to wait. I have just enough time to check into the penthouse suite of the Four Seasons while my brother and Liam, the one bodyguard we brought along, check into suites a floor below me. Liam was one of our father’s bodyguards, but he wasn’t around when he was murdered. He’d taken some time off to be with his wife and the arrival of their new baby girl. He has been devastated over the loss of our father, but it wasn’t his fault. The decision to meet with that prostitute without personal protection wasn’t smart in hindsight, but the mission itself seemed simple enough. I still carry the burden of that joint decision, but Liam shouldn’t have to. When I reached out to him for a private job, he was not hesitant to accept. He didn’t ask questions other than the coordinates of where to meet. His primary role on this trip is to sit on Aurora and ensure she doesn’t do anything stupid. Although she and I came to a mutual agreement before we left, I have to take every precaution necessary to ensure she follows through.
I update Kai before we met up so that he could be kept in the loop as he has requested. He wasn’t a proponent of the information I shared with Aurora, but he is trusting my lead on this. I had to move things along. I wanted to break Aurora and in some aspects I did. I wanted her to give me her virginity on her own accord, but I can respect the fierce loyalty she has for her family. That loyalty and discipline negated the feelings she has for me and what her body so desperately craves. I needed to give her a reason to along with my plan and that meant appealing to her savior complex after all—the one route I didn’t want to take because I can be sure that any of it’s real. I can’t be sure that she won’t turn on me the moment she no longer has to worry about saving Amerie. Liam doesn’t know who she is, our arrangement, or why I brought her. He only knows enough to keep her from outside communication, including interacting with the hotel staff and leaving the penthouse.
I sat next to Aurora on the flight over, and she wasn’t particularly talkative. She opted to use the Bose wireless headphones I gave her along with my secondary iPhone with the restricted access to listen to music. I even downloaded a few games on there for her to play. I know I unloaded a lot on her, but she'll have to grow up quickly. I can’t baby her. I need a wife at my side who I can trust. I just hope her father is on the right side of this war I’m starting and doesn’t have any implications in our father’s murder.
Once I ensure Aurora’s settled into our penthouse, I tell her to be ready for me when I return. She has until I get back to get in the right headspace to let go of her virginity. I’m not a complete dick. While I can’t return the love she has for me, I want to give the romance of a first time. I don’t want the act to be transactional. She doesn’t deserve that. She will want for nothing as my wife and I will definitely give her a better life than she could have ever aspired to with Niccolò.
I meet Kai in the lobby as he is finishing a call. Kai and I both have an advanced special forces background— skills unmatched by any mobster. That gives us an edge when it comes to critical thinking and hand-to-hand combat. I’ve asked that he enlist the help of his old comrades to locate and rescue Amerie from confinement. My suspicion is that she never left Matteo’s home. He would want to keep her close to oversee her torture. The men’s mission is to gain entry as stealthily as possible without harming Matteo or his men—well without killing them. They can use whatever force is necessary, so a good arse kicking is not off-limits. They’re being paid handsomely for their discretion and to leave who hired them out of it. Once Amerie is freed, she will be taken down South to Texas, to get some distance from Matteo’s reach. The hired men will send evidence of her release into an old friend’s custody until I solidify marriage to Aurora. I promised her that Amerie could come work for us, and as long as she keeps her vow to me, I will honor that promise.
“Done,” he informs when he sees me. “My point of contact will let us know when the job is done, but it shouldn’t take long. This is child’s play compared to being behind enemy lines.”
“Good.”
We both head to the hired car that Eoghan has sent to drive us to him. Upon his suggestion, we’re meeting in the boardrooms of his legit businesses. It was interesting to learn that he was once part of the corporate world before taking over as Clan Chief for his clan. That’s quite the pivot. We arrive at a high-rise building and an escort meets us as soon as we step out of the car. We are guided past the building’s security and up to the twelfth floor. Eoghan waits for us at the head of the table, sipping on some fancy bottle of water. The room is two sided floor-to-ceiling windows, giving nearly a panoramic view of the entire city, including the mountain and sea in the distance. He immediately gets up to shake our hand when we enter. He stands at about six foot four but looks like an older version of the redheaded kid we used to play with. He definitely hit a growth spurt. His buttoned-up suit and tie appearance is at odds with being associated with crime, and I dig it. A wolf in sheep’s clothing— hiding in plain sight.
He shakes Kai’s hand first. “Good to finally see you again. We were wee lads when yer father moved to the States with you.” Yes. His accent is definitely distinct. “How was the flight over?”
He shakes my hand next before we all have a seat. “Good. Thanks for sending your jet to get us,” I reply.
I can tell Kai still has his guard up, but he is being cordial at least.
“Oh, don’t mention it. I know how important silent moves are. Hence why we’re meeting here and not back at my home.”
“Why is that?” Kai speaks up.
“Ah, I can feel the speculation, and I understand. Our families haven’t been able to work together in quite some time, but I want to rule differently. Our generation has an opportunity to lead a change, and we can decide together what that looks like. I don’t expect either of you to leave what you’re building or have built in the States, but at the very least, I’d like us to be united in power and strength. I want our reach to extend both ways.”
“But you haven’t run this by your higher-ranking clan, hence why we’re meeting here?” Kai pushes.
