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He times his words to be overheard by Jordan, who simply raises his brow. “If you’re insinuating my niece is a whore, then she’s been called worse things than that by her own father. Layla loves hard, and who she chooses to share her body with is absolutely none of your concern. Don’t you have better things to do than attempt to bait me?”
Jordan sits next to Líadan without another word, and her mouth drops as she looks between him and Layla.
“You can see the family resemblance, can’t you, daughter?” Seán grunts. “The only reason both of them aren’t dead yet is because I also like them.”
“Please threaten to kill me again,” Layla surprises me by saying, baring her teeth. “I don’t have the patience to deal with small minded people tonight.”
Seán merely smiles at her as if she’s an errant toddler. “I’m not even the most dangerous person in the room tonight, girlie. A little chit like you doesn’t scare me. I have an announcement to make, and I’ll be keeping your manager with me while you perform,” he says.
I simply stare at Seán, unimpressed by his posturing. I’ll stay with him, but I somehow don’t think I’m his target tonight. There are way too many people staring at Layla, undressing her with their eyes.
These people clearly don’t care about the value of human life. Another man has a woman sucking him off roughly in the next row, and Seán is carefully ignoring them. A whisper of unease moves through me as I agree with him about one thing: he’s not completely in control here.
“You don’t need me right now, and I want the best seat in the house,” I murmur when Layla meets my gaze. We’ve never needed words when it’s important and she shifts her eyes to the man face fucking the girl with his cock.
Grabbing her hand, I tug her to me. There’s a warning in her eyes, and I simply smile to reassure her. I can see the weapons in her hair as I look down at her. Seán is an idiot for not seeing the truth of Layla Campbell.
She won’t be taking him at his word about being safe, and my little flower isn’t going to make whatever he’s planning easy.
“Love you,” Layla mouths before Mav and Atlas escort her by walking on either side of her toward the stage. Draven follows behind her, snarling at anyone who moves too close to her. The guests keep wanting to touch her dress, and my lip curls at the disgusting company Seán invited.
“Don't look at them like that,” Jordan hisses. “They bite back. Sit down.”
Moving into the seat next to him almost without looking, my eyes stay glued to Layla. Derek and Turner should be finishing up the setup, and I’m hoping they’ll be allowed to lurk behind the scenes. I really don’t like the greed behind these people’s eyes.
“They’re mostly harmless as long as you throw a treat their way or two,” Líadan says in a bored tone as several women dressed in nothing but pearls move down the aisle. “They’re for hire tonight of their own free will, and will help keep the bloodshed to a minimum, I think. I suggested it to Daddy.”
The idea that prostitution will mellow out this crowd is laughable. Cormac pats one of the girls on the head and nods for her to move on, standing behind Seán. I’m not a threat to him, though I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if I was in a position to.
Standing, Seán clears his throat. The room immediately quiets outside of the occasional gag as a man shoves his cock down his plaything’s throat. Yep, this is a classy event alright.
“Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I know you’ve all been anxiously waiting for me to announce my heir, and I am proud to tell you. Directly after this, we will have a private performance byThe Midnight Lights.Layla is bound to me by a debt, so she was more than willing to attend tonight,” Seán begins.
There are way too many people who look over their shoulders as my blonde, blue eyed flower disappears behind the curtain.
Fuck, there’s going to be a lot of blood spilled tonight.The curtain next to the stage flicks to the side, allowing me to see Derek’s dark hair as he looks out at the audience. His almost black eyes meet mine for a moment before he disappears again. It helps settle me a bit, knowing Layla has back up who will kill for her.
Forcing myself to pay attention to Seán, I catch him in the middle of his speech. “….future of the O’Brien family will lay in the capable hands of my daughter, Líadan. She will be taking a husband soon who will be her right hand as she navigates a world she was born into. I hope everyone will accept her, but know she will need to earn her place,” he says.
There’s a mixed reaction as everyone takes in the news, but none of it is positive. A part of me wants to shift closer toward a woman I don’t even know, despite who her father is and what he’s done.
I’m naturally a protector, but never have I had such a strong reaction toward a virtual stranger. The predatory looks they give Líadan, as they watch her, as she stands in a black dress next to her father is worrisome.
A part of me wonders how long she’ll survive after being named heir.
Jordan watches everyone carefully, I notice, noting how they’re reacting. He’s always been good at reading a room, and this is no different. I can see why Seán doesn’t want to cut him loose, but he is not part of their world.
Jordan Miles doesn’t belong here.
Jordan’s face is a perfect mask as Líadan steps forward. “My father has been careful to have me avoid parties since I was a little girl and someone tried to assassinate me,” she says, meeting the eyes of what I assume are key players in the room.
Some of them snarl at her, while she blows them a kiss. “While I have been training in the wake of my brothers’ deaths, I know I will need to take a husband to help me navigate this world. It is not because I am weak, but because this is how you all believe it should be done, so I will bow to our traditions. It is the only time I’ll bow, so don’t get used to it.”
Líadan tosses her straight, shiny black hair over her shoulder, and I relax seeing she’s just as much of a predator.This girl doesn’t need protection, at least not from me. I can see Jordan thinks differently though as he sits rigidly next to her as she resumes her seat.
“It is time for the entertainment and auction part of our evening,” Seán says smoothly. My brain starts to catch up as I start to put together everything I’ve seen tonight so far. I’m too slow. Fuck. “The blonde will make a beautiful addition to anyone’s human menagerie as their personal songbird and fill my coffers with the money from the blood debt she owes me. Your bids will be collected by the men on the ends of each row.”
I can feel my blood pressure rising as the men assigned for this task move to stand at the end of each row of people. That’s an awful lot of manpower, and it makes me grit my teeth in annoyance. My eyes find Lennon and Roark for a moment closer to the stage before moving on, not wanting anyone to notice that I know them.
