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“We’re partners, Viktor, and we’ve been through hell and back. I won’t do secrets and lies. I thought we were past this?”
I take her hand. “I’m not lying. Everything is a done deal.”
“There are still the Irish and men who were loyal to your father out there. They need to be handled before we can step forward.” I smile, stopping her mid-rant. “What?”
“Nothing. You just take my breath away.”
“Our marriage will continue to work as long as we communicate well. I’ll go through fire with you and for you. There’s nothing more important than my family. I just don’t want us to make the same mistakes.”
I kiss her. She doesn’t pull away until we’re nearly out of air.
“I love you so much,” I announce as my forehead touches hers.
“I love you, too, but we need to get going.” When she strolls toward the bedroom door, I capture her hand in mine. She stops and stares at me.
“You complete me, baby girl.”
She smiles in a way that takes my breath away.”Finish getting dressed. I’m going to check on our kids.”
When she leaves, I dress and think about how life will change now that my father is dead. As the heir, I have to run the Clan. But after everything that has happened, I’m not sure I want to. Ava and the kids have changed my outlook on life. But the Manarch blood runs through me, so it’s my responsibility.
“Knock, knock,” Oliver greets from the door.
“Hey.” I watch him in the mirror as I do up my tie. “What’s up?”
“How are you doing?”
Once my tie is in place, I spin to face him. “Last check, I was fine. How about you?”
“Fine.” Something in his tone tells me he wants to talk about something that makes him uncomfortable.
“Spit it out, Oliver.” I turn back to the mirror.
“We haven’t had the chance to talk about what happened the night our father died. Well, the night I killed him.”
“What is there to talk about?”
I sit on the bed to put my shoes on.
“I had to kill him. He didn’t give any other choice.”
I gaze at him. “Do you think I blame you for it? The man was going to die one way or another. I told you it would come down to you or me to pull the trigger. He’s dead and can’t hurt anyone. We have other matters to focus on instead of dwelling on his death.”
“The Irish.”
“Exactly. They might be laying low now, but we know it won’t last. We have to eradicate them.” I slip on my other shoe, then stand next to him, so we’re shoulder to shoulder. “Have you heard anything about Bobby or Junior?” Junior escaped in the chaos, and Bobby disappeared after word spread of my father’s death.
“Nothing.” He changes the course of our conversation. “You need to be sworn in as the Clan leader.”
“Forgot about all that. To be honest, I’m not sure if that’s what I want.” I head to the dresser to get my watch.
“You don’t want to run the Clan?” Oliver glares at me. Confusion is written all over his face.
“I don’t know. This is a new era and uncharted territory. Manarch Industries and House of Beauty have taken off. I don’t want to run the day-to-day of the Clan. Ava and the kids must come first.” As I put my watch on, it hits me. “I want you to run it.”
“The Clan?” Oliver gulps. “No way. I wasn’t born for it.”
“You’re more than capable of it. The men respect you. I will take a step back while you run the day-to-day. I want the Clan to be different, not a dictatorship anymore. The Manarch Clan is supposed to be a family. It’s time to return to our roots.”
