Jesus. The world is utterly fucked if I’m the voice of reason.
When did life get so fucked-up?
Oh, I know.
When fucking made men decided the only way they would ever put their guns down would be if they offered up their daughters as sacrifices instead.
Fuck.
“We can’t do this,” I mumble in defeat.
“We can, and we will. It was an order.”
“Fuck my brother’s orders.”
Colin growls.
“And stop with that shit, too. Stop growling at everything I say.”
“When you stop being an ass, I will.”
“Funny, motherfucker.”
This time I’m the one who growls.
Great.
I’m losing my damn mind.
I run my fingers through my hair again just as the elevator doors ding open. I should step out and go about my day, trying to forget what tomorrow is going to bring me. But I don’t move an inch. And neither does Colin.
“Tell me why you’re onboard with this hare-brained scheme?”
“I’ve upset them.”
“Who?”
He scowls at me.
“Okay, how then?” I fling my arms into the air, realizing he means Tiernan and Rosa.
“Rosa is upset with me for stealing that wretched painting I gave your Da. And the boss… well because I gave him an ultimatum the other day.”
“What kind of ultimatum?” I ask, honestly interested in his response since Colin has never once defied Tiernan in anything.
“She was lonely. Sad back at the hotel,” he mumbles, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
“And?”
“And I told him to take her home. And if he didn’t… then I would.”
“No shit,” I blurt out, impressed.
“Shit,” he mumbles in frustration. “Now he thinks my loyalty has been compromised. I can’t have that.”
“Hasn’t it?” I wiggle my brows at him.
“No,” he deadpans, stepping out of the elevator. “And I’ll prove it by doing what he’s asked of us. And so will you.”
“Right. Because that’s exactly how someone sane would show their loyalty. Fuck his wife while he watches you do it.” I scoff, trailing behind him and kicking the air at my feet.
Colin hurries his steps and only slows down when we pass through the main entrance’s doors to our building.
“Fuck this. I’ll go to Athair and tell him what Tiernan intends to do. If word got out and the other families learned about this, then I’m sure the treaty would be in jeopardy. Athair won’t want that, and he’ll talk Tiernan off this ledge he got us all on.”
Colin suddenly stops at the center of the public square outside our office building and turns to face me.
“No, he won’t.”
“Like hell, he won’t. Athair vowed on his life that no harm would come to Hernandez’s daughter. Having a threesome with men that aren’t her husband falls into that category, don’t you think?”
“You forgot about Iris,” he says cold-faced, sending an icy chill down my bones. “At this very minute she is fighting off three Volkovs. Three. And none of the families give a damn.”
“That’s different,” I seethe at the reminder.
“No, it’s not. The only difference is that Rosa accepted Tiernan’s terms of sharing her bed with us. Iris had no say in the matter.”
My hand instinctively goes to my dagger, as if the Bratva scum is right here in front of me.
“The least we can do is make this as painless as possible. Stop being selfish, Shay. And be a fucking man for once. She deserves that much from us.”
And with those words, he leaves me to stew in the middle of the square, right as St. Brandon opens up the floodgates, and lets the rain fall down on my body, washing my temper away.
She deserves that much from us.
And by she, Colin means both women who have sacrificed more than we ever will in our entire lives.
The following day, neither Tiernan nor Colin were surprised that I showed up at The Avalon at noon on the dot.
My brother takes his seat on the settee in the corner of the room, the perfect spot that would ensure he wouldn’t miss a single moment of this twisted affair.
For the first time in my life, I’m grasping at straws as to what Tiernan’s endgame is. Does he want to show Rosa that she can’t blackmail him into submission? Is this his way of holding some kind of dominance over his pretty bride? If so, there were a million other ways he could do it that wouldn’t have involved me or Colin.
Or is this some perverse game he’s playing to humiliate his wife?
To cause her just an ounce of the torment her family had put us through without laying his hands on her?
Whatever his goal, I’m not sure I’m a hundred percent onboard with his chosen theatrics.
Colin remains leaning against the bedroom door, almost like he’s waiting for his boss to give him the go-ahead to leave. But as I stare at my brother, I don’t see an ounce of hesitation in his eyes.
No one is leaving here until the deed is done.
When the bathroom door creaks open, my heart stops in my chest, and all thoughts of making a quick escape vanish from my mind.
Damnú.
Rosa really is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
In a white spaghetti-string nightgown that falls almost to her bare feet, she walks into the room, chin held high. She looks as if she’s about to bravely face a firing squad and wants to meet her maker with him knowing she never once flinched when facing sure death.
“Well, wife? You have us here. May I remind you this is your show? You give out the orders.”
But just as my brother looks resolved in seeing this through, so does Rosa.
She walks over to the bed, not sparing her husband another look as she directs her attention to me and Colin.
“Can you come closer?” she asks, her voice a soft caress.
“You’ll have to be more precise than that. Which one do you want?” Tiernan states, sounding bored.
Fucker.
Even with all the nerves of steel she’s trying to demonstrate she has, it’s obvious she’s nervous.
Fuck.
I’m nervous.
Tiernan’s mockery of her won’t lessen her nerves, nor will it ease the heavy air that hangs thick in the room.