I watch as Wesley reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a picture. I take it when he offers it too me. My muscles lock and my vision focuses on the image. Seamus is in the background. But it’s the bullseye over my beauty and the fact the photo reminds me of some I’ve received in the past that holds my attention. It’s too late, he’s found her. But is it because of me or because of Mikayla?
"Shane, get Lex," I growl at him over my shoulder. I hold the picture in my palm and curl it as I close my eyes, reality hitting me hard. She needs protection and taken in, now. I look over their shoulders and make eye contact with the deadliest man in the room. I nod slightly and he knows what to do. He’s telling her it’s time to leave, and her panic filled eyes find mine. I vow I will never see that look again in them. As she moves with Seamus toward the entrance, Andrew moves to stop them. Seamus doesn’t waste a moment. He flips Andrew instantly to his back on the floor, doing what I asked him to do. Protect Fiona with his very body. I don’t care that everyone starts to panic. I only care about the most important person to me in this room. The reality that she is that important to me already should make me angry, but all it does is cause my gut to clench with worry. I should push her away. I should walk away from her.
"Tell your man to stand down before she's injured." I turn toward Wesley. My hand slips behind my back, preparing to pull my blade. My brothers tense, knowing what I’m preparing to do.
"You'd hurt her?" Mikayla’s eyes flash to me and her voice raises in panic.
"I'd never hurt her. Seamus is taking her home." I don’t say that home will be my place.
"She's staying with us." Wesley moves so he's between me and Mikayla, thinking I’m going for her.
"I'm not trying to hurt either of these women. But this isn't good." I hold the picture up between us.
"Really? That's why we are talking to you. What is your man doing following Fiona?” he asks, and that’s when I realize they don’t understand the true significance of this image.
"He's protecting her."
"Why?"
I take a moment before I answer them. I hear Wesley telling Andrew to bring Fiona to them instead. In protecting her, I don’t want her to know that this is because of me or what I truly am. Because when she learns what kind of man I really am, she will run and I might not ever find her again. A part of me knows that’s what she needs to do. I can’t jeopardize her like my father did with my mum.
"Ms. Griffin doesn't need to be a part of this conversation." I grit out her name as I watch the fear in her eyes morph and her body tremble as she looks around. I nod to Seamus again so he’ll allow her to move toward us instead of stopping her like I want. The makeup covered it up earlier, but as she moves closer to us, I see the dark circles under her eyes. Something is bothering her. She is meant to be protected, not a part of the darkness that follows all of us.
Lex joins us and I hand him the picture as Fiona joins our group. She can’t see the photo. Seamus moves to the side between all the parties.
"Hey, Sea, you got busted." Lex chuckles, but I know him well enough to know he is concerned about the image too. His eyes flick to mine briefly and he nods before he walks off with the picture.
"Why did you just give it to him?" Wesley demands.
"That is a colleague, Lex. He’ll check it out." I assure them.
"He's the hacker," Wesley says.
"Among many things.” I nod. “He'll do some research. Maybe you should take the ladies home for the evening." I pray they can protect her because I’ll have her at my compound before the sun rises if they can’t.
"Yeah, we'll do that." I hear the sarcasm in Wesley’s voice, but I don’t address it.
As Andrew turns to Seamus, he shoulder checks him, barely moving him. Andrew has a good six inches on Seamus, but they are both solid muscle, and Seamus doesn’t move unless he has to or chooses to. He’s not bulky muscle, but long and lean and deadly trained.
"Next time you'll be picking your own ass up off the floor, fucker," Andrew says as they lead the women from the ballroom.
“Seamus, you and Grady are switching off and on now. She will have twenty-four-hour protection. I won’t let the Hierarchy get their hands on her.”
“Is that really necessary?” Brody asks, and I turn to him.
“She will not face the same fate as our mum. She is innocent and pure. She doesn’t deserve that sentence because I’m not strong enough to stay away from her,” I growl.
“You think Da ever thought it was a death sentence for Mum? Do you think she would have changed it if she thought she would die?” His words hit me hard because I know my parents really loved each other, and Mum would have never regretted it. I shake my head slightly.
“I like her. I don’t think you should bring more attention to her,” Seamus says, and I turn, not even thinking about what I’m doing. My knife is out of the sheath and pressed to his throat. I feel the other guys moving around us, blocking us from view.
“She is mine,” I growl. A man I’ve known most of my life has my deadly knife at his throat. My other hand bunched in his tuxedo, holding him from moving. He could disarm me before I kill him, but I would still get a good slice on him. He doesn’t pull back though, instead he stares me down.
He tips his head, not afraid of me. “Bruv, I know. I like her because she’s not afraid of us. Of me in particular. She’d make a perfect match for you, but you and I both know you won’t claim her. You won’t make a move because you’re afraid.”
“The feck you say.” I raise my voice. “I don’t want her. I don’t want her exposed to our fecked-up world, but I can’t stop it now. You didn’t see those pictures.”
“Do what you must, but if you hurt her, you’ll go against me,” he says and pulls away from me. We’ve never been at each other before. He was there when my mum was killed; her murderer was his first kill. I trust him more than any man that works for me. He just claimed he’d protect her over me, and that’s what I want. I want the woman who would stand at my side, if I ever chose one, to be protected by my men. To have the loyalty of my men just as I do.
