Page 20 of Savage Promises
My brotherisin trouble. Shane is either here to defend him or insist on a harsher punishment. Insiders are held to a higher standard.
His presence is a gut punch, taking away all the air in the room. It’s impossible for me to look anywhere else. He’s wearing a suit, tailored to perfection. I swear he gottaller. For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe and fear snakes up my spine.
Shane says something I can’t make out and next, he... He takes out a knife and hurls it at my father. I don’t have time to react, it’s so quick, but when he yanks the blade out of Dad’s favorite painting, I gasp.
Shane spins around, holding the knife, his eyes on me.
Under his gaze, I tremble. His eyes are just as blue and devastating, but colder than I remember.
“Lennox!” My father’s scraggly voice pulls my gaze from Shane’s piercing stare. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I drove Neve home,” I shoot back. “Did you even realize she wasn’t here?”
“She said she was staying over at a friend’s house.” My father attempts to look like a doting parent.
“Well, she wasn’t.” I don’t say she was in my club, not with the agitated state my father is in. I don’t trust him. “What’s going on here? Why is Garrett beat up?”
I address this to the Quinlans, assuming my brother’s condition wasn’t my father’s doing.
When all eyes center on Shane, it’s he who speaks. Like he’s owning up to some kind of sin.
“A deal’s been made.” His deep voice is silkier than I remember.
I clutch my throat. “Whatkind ofdeal?”
The silence that follows thins my nerves. A heavy weight of impending terrible news crushes my chest like a boulder.
Finally, my father straightens his cheap tie and says, “For Neve and Shane to be married.”
The blood drains from my face as I grasp the doorframe. “Neveand Shane? M... Married?”
“In three months,” Dad explains further. “It’s necessary. To settle a misunderstanding.”
I stare at Garrett, but he looks away. This surprise twists in my brain, refusing to sink in. “No. Neve is stillin high school. She’s going to college next year. She’s got her volleyball and—”
“It’s already done, Lennox,” my father cuts me off. Cold and final.
My spine turns to steel. “I’m sorry. You can’t have Neve. She’s just a kid. Figure out something else.”
“Neve will be an adult when they get married,” my father barks.
Shane’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t say anything.
“And what will a match with the Quinlans buy you on the streets, Dad?” My voice cracks.
“Watch your tongue with me, daughter. This is none of your business.” My father retakes a seat at his desk. “It’s late. Go home to the apartment yourfiancégave you.”
Shane goes rigid, hearing I’m engaged. My face burns with embarrassment. How positively humiliating my father’s words are. That I need a man to pay for my apartment. He doesn’t mention thatheis bleeding me dry at the club, and I can’t afford one on my own right now.
I wanted the hell out of this house, and Rafael offered me an apartment in Brooklyn after he proposed. I live there alone with my gray rescue cat, Hawk.He’sthe only guy keeping me warm at night. Now Shane thinks I’m no longer pure. I’ve only had a handful of kisses before Rafael and not many since, never wantinganyoneelse’s mouth on mine.
I stupidly waited for Shane and settled for Rafael who hasn’t shown much interest in me physically. I’ve blamed my weight. I’ve blamed myself. As usual.
Not looking at Shane, I stand my ground. “I won’t allow Neve to be used like this.”
How can I possibly sit idly by and watch my little sister marry the man I’ve never gotten over?
Shane’s hard and assessing gaze catalogs my armor for hairline cracks. I hope he doesn’t see straight through my anger to the heartache beneath. The heartache of his rejection so long ago.
