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“But?” Connor chuckles.
“If I, Deacon, or Isaiah were to lay a finger on Lola, how would you feel?”
“Murderous.”
Silence rains through the manor. I grip my hand tight, trying to cut off the pain signals skipping their merry way to my brain.
“Are you saying you have grown to have feelings for your little wife?”
“Yes,” Ronan hisses. “I watched you kill my father, and I welcomed it. Seeing you hurt her…hurts,” Ronan growls, and my heart gallops. With fear, love, and pain.
“I won’t touch her again.”
I blink at the severe vow from the Brayford boss, and before I’m caught, I rush away to the kitchen where Isaiah is chopping furiously. He looks up as I enter, and I only hold up my hand and whimper.
The knife clatters, and I blink back tears. I hate that I’m always crying. Using my shoulder, I wipe my cheek dry. “I broke my finger.”
“Connor broke her finger,” Ronan mutters, walking to lift me onto the island. “Why did you go to him?” he berates before twisting to instruct his friend to get something to set my finger with.
“I wanted to apologise.” I stare at his sweat-stained face. His wide chest bare as dark patterns swirl and knot together, defining the dense muscles on his body. “I wanted to show he can trust me,” I finish lamely.
“Trust doesn’t come easy to Connor. It will take years for him to trust you, and even then, it will be with an acceptance that you will likely betray him.”
“I feel like an outsider in this place, unwelcome, an inconvenience.” My eyes briefly meet Isaiah’s as he moves to stand beside my husband, placing items on the side.
“Until a short while ago, you were of a different family, a different set of rules. You lived to please your father. Opening ranks to allow someone in is like inviting a spy into camp. It’s a weakness we concede to for the simple gain of strength.” Isaiah speaks slowly as he straps my finger, careful to not hurt me. Ronan stands between my thighs. “Prove to us that you're not our weakness, but a strength, and you won’t feel like an outsider.” He packs up the small medic bag and resumes his chopping.
I stare at his back for a few seconds and turn to look up at Ronan. “I don’t know how to be your strength.”
Ronan cups my jaw and leans in to circle my ear with his lips. “I want to know why your sister is really here,” he whispers. I thought she was spying. I try to pull back, but he keeps me close. “Mention your attack. I want to know if dear old daddy is involved.”
He nips the lobe, then stands tall as a few men filter in. He lifts me to the floor before nodding me out of the room. I head upstairs, making a quick stop to get painkillers before I carry on to Shay’s room. Deacon stands outside her door, and as I near, he unlocks and holds it open for me to enter.
My sister is sitting in the window seat, staring out over the grounds. “He let you see me then,” she huffs, not even looking round.
Knowing how sensitive things are, I come right out and say it. “Things are a little tense here. I was attacked. They haven’t got the patience for our emotions.”
That gets her attention, and she spins round to face me. “When!”
“Just over a week ago.”
Her eyes do a quick sweep of me, then settle on my finger. “Is that?”
Shaking my head, I hold it up. “Connor doesn’t like to be interrupted,” I whisper.
“I'm so sorry.” Shay stands and walks quickly. “Daddy has been insufferable, and when Ronan kissed you, I was so angry at you for leaving me. I hate being there without you. Hate even more that you might like it here.” I open my arms for her to step into them.
“And this?” I touch the bruise under her eye.
“He was so humiliated, angry. He’s out for blood, Cara.”
“My blood? Because that attack was planned. They were waiting for me in our room.”
She physically jerks away. “No, he wants to hurt Connor. He’s not the same. I'm scared to go home.” Her voice breaks, and I hold her tight. I believe her for the most part, but something small and deep, a vicious thought, worries my mind. What if she is lying and is trying to gain our trust?
“They will never agree to let you stay if you don’t tell them why you’re really here.”
“I came to see you.”
