Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Ciaran
As I walked into the breakfast room the next morning, I sensed the hostility radiating from my sister who was sitting at the table with Sean and Will. Last night, I’d told my brothers that I was keeping Annie here. They needed to be aware because her stay required us to enhance our security measures. From the scowl on Emily’s face, it was obvious one of them had told her my intentions. Predictably, she was pissed.
“What the fuck, Ciaran?” she demanded, leaning forward to glower at me across the table. “You’re holding Annie prisoner?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. After another restless night, I was weary and in no mood for a fight. A certain pretty Scot was wreaking havoc on my sleep. My decision to lock her in the guest bedroom had been a split-second one. I hadn’t wanted to be so heavy-handed with her, but she’d left me no choice. A credible threat had been made against her. Though she didn’t understand it yet, her safety came first.
“Annie’s not a prisoner. She’s here so I can protect her.”
Emily snorted derisively. She’d often railed against the measures our brothers and I took to keep her safe. Though we didn’t drag innocent women into our business, some of our rivals, Danny Mulhearn included, were less scrupulous.
“And you had to lock her up to do that?”
I blew out a breath, my impatience already wearing thin. I hated it when my siblings questioned my judgement. All of them pushed me occasionally, and I allowed it to an extent, but they knew better than to interfere in my personal life.
“I’m going to let her out this morning. She can have the run of the house.”
“The run of the house? You’re talking about the girl like she’s your pet.”
Surprisingly, that comment came from Sean. I’d have expected Will to be Annie’s champion, but not our brother. Sean usually didn’t give a shit about how anyone treated a woman as long as he wasn’t abusing her.
“She’s not a pet. She’s a cherished guest.”
“Yeah, sure, Ciaran.” Will added his two cents’ worth. “A cherished guest who can’t come and go of her own free will.”
The way all three of my siblings were ganging up on me was unusual. It was an indication of how much they liked Annie. She’d fit right in with us at dinner last night. Sure. She’d been nervous at first, but she soon relaxed and joined in the conversation. Emily had been disappointed when I insisted on staying home rather than joining them at the club. She wanted Annie around as much as I did.
“It’s for her own good. Danny Mulhearn is looking for her. If he got hold of her…”
Shaking my head, I left the others to fill in the blanks. My brothers had seen firsthand what Mulhearn was capable of, and my sister had a vivid enough imagination to work it out.
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “Are you sure you haven’t manufactured a crisis as an excuse to make Annie stay?”
Was I exaggerating the risk? I considered for a moment and dismissed the idea. Mulhearn had a lot to gain by backing me into a corner and he could use Annie to do it. I’d been careless when I showed interest in her at Lola’s . I should never have kissed her so publicly. Sending her to the spa only made things worse. I’d never done something like that for a woman, and Lisa Sullivan had clearly realized Annie was important to me. The spa manager would pay for selling me out to Mulhearn when Jace finally tracked her down.
“No, the threat is real.”
“Did you explain it to her?” Emily asked.
“I told her she was in danger.”
My sister pursed her lips. She looked so like our mother when she was annoyed, it was uncanny. “Okay, but did you explain why? Did you tell her the type of man Danny Mulhearn is and what he’s capable of, or did you just issue one of your decrees?”
My shoulders slumped as I acknowledged internally that I could have handled things with Annie a lot better than I did. I wasn’t accustomed to having my authority questioned and my fear that she could be used as a pawn against me had made me act rashly.
“Do you want me to bring her some breakfast?” Emily asked, apparently gathering the answer from my lack of response.
“No, I’ll do it.”
I moved over to the table at the side of the room to fill a plate. Despite us employing a full-time housekeeper, Emily insisted on preparing all our food herself. She was one of those people who showed her love through cooking. I selected a couple of pastries and some fruit for Annie. Then I poured a cup of coffee. Not knowing how Annie liked it, I added a splash of cream and hoped for the best.
As I headed upstairs, I wondered whether Annie had slept as poorly as I had. I stopped outside the bedroom and balanced the plate on top of the cup as I unlocked the door.
When I walked into the room, I found Annie sitting on the bed, her back to the wall. The covers were pulled up to conceal her beautiful body from me. The ferocity of her glare told me everything I needed to know about her mood this morning. She wasn’t happy.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” My greeting was met with the stony silence it no doubt deserved. “I brought you some breakfast.”
I held up the plate to show her, then set it down on the nightstand by the bed.
“What time is it?” Her tone was sullen.
Glancing at my watch, I replied. “Seven thirty.”
A hopeful look spread across her face. “I can still make my flight.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, and Annie inched away from me. “No, sweetheart, we’ve been through this. You’re staying here.”
“In this room?”
“No, you can leave the room whenever you want.”
Her jaw worked furiously as she tried to contain her anger. “But not the house?”
“No.” I spoke softly, hoping she would hear that I didn’t want things to be this way. “My guards have instructions to stop you if you try to leave.”
Annie shook her head. “This is insane.”
I reached over and laid my land on hers, but she quickly pulled it away. She needed time to accept how things were going to be, so I let her withdraw. For now.
“Am I really in danger?” Annie asked.
“Yes. That phone call I took at dinner last night was about you. Our informants told us Danny Mulhearn will try to use you to get to me.”
“Use me how?”
“I believe he’d threaten to kill you unless I gave up territory to him.”
Annie narrowed her eyes. “What sort of business are you in, exactly?”
“The type of business where people get killed if they cross the wrong person.”
The corners of her mouth turned down. “Mafia business.” Her tone was flat.
“I’m a powerful man, sweetheart.” I neither confirmed nor denied the conclusion she’d drawn. “People will do anything to hurt my family, to take what’s mine.”
Annie stared at me long and hard. I could almost hear the thoughts racing through her mind.
“Okay. Suppose I am in danger because of your business?” It was impossible to miss the disdain in her voice. “Wouldn’t I be safer if I went home?”
It had occurred to me that if I sent her away, Danny might assume I was no longer interested in her, but the stakes were too high to take the risk.
“No. a man like him can get to you anywhere.”
Her face blanched. She stared at the bed for a moment and then looked up at me, determination clear in the clenching of her jaw.
“I’ll take my chances. Let me go home. If I feel like I’m in danger, I’ll call the police.”
“You don’t know the type of men Mulhearn has working for him. They’d have you bound and drugged before you could even reach for the phone.”
Annie threw her hands up in despair. “Am I supposed to take your word for all this? I don’t trust you, Ciaran. As far as I can see, you’re the bad guy. You’re the one who had me dragged off the street and brought to your apartment. You’re the one who locked me in a room when I wouldn’t give you what you wanted.”
Frustrated, I shoved my fingers through my hair. “All I’ve done is try to protect you from a man who’d have no qualms about slitting your throat. I hate to say it, but from the moment I kissed you at Lola’s , you became a target.”
“But we’ve only just met. Surely using me to hurt you would be pointless.”
“Are you suggesting I don’t care enough to hand over everything I own to save your life?”
My declaration startled Annie. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “You can’t possibly feel so strongly about me already.”
“I can assure you, I do.” The truth of that pressed down on my chest. “I couldn’t bear to see you hurt. I’d kill any man who tried.”
Annie sighed. “But you’re hurting me by keeping me here.”
I shook my head. This was going nowhere. “Look, Annie, you’re staying here whether you like it or not. It’s up to you if you enjoy it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you can either sulk in this room or you can enjoy the swimming pool, the gym, the library. You can spend time with my family, get to know them.”
She gestured toward her body with her hand. “How am I meant to do that without clothes?”
“I’ll have your luggage brought to you.”
Her face darkened. “You have my luggage?”
“Yes, I had it brought here last night.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
I stood up from the bed. “What’s it to be, Annie? Are you a prisoner locked in this room or a guest with the run of the house?”
“It seems I’ve no choice. I’ll accept your hospitality, but I don’t want to see you or speak to you until you come to tell me I can go home.”
I bowed my head, resigned. “If that’s how you want it.”
She pursed her lips and turned away. It seemed the silent treatment would begin immediately.
“I’ll get your things brought to you straight away. When you’re dressed, come downstairs. Emily will show you around.”
She didn’t even nod in response. Deflated by our encounter, I headed back downstairs to find my sister hovering in the hallway.
“How did it go?”
“She’s upset with me.”
I expected Emily to tell me it’s what I deserved, but instead, she put a hand on my arm in a gesture of reassurance. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“I do.” Though I barely knew Annie, my gut told me we were meant to be. “I’ve told her she can go wherever she wants inside the house. When she comes down, can you show her around?”
“Of course.” Emily was quick to agree. “And I’ll talk you up a bit. Let her know there’s more to you than your tendency to be an overbearing asshole.”
“I’d appreciate it,” I said dryly. “Can you see that her luggage is brought to her? Max dropped it at the gatehouse last night.”
As Emily walked off, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. What if Annie didn’t come around? She might never see the situation from my perspective. The urge to run back upstairs and tell her I was letting her go was strong. I could send someone to Scotland to watch over her until I was sure she was safe. I just couldn’t do it, though. As selfish as it was, I needed her here. For better or worse, she was mine.