Chapter 23 #2
“Call ’em tomorrow and tell ’em I’ve deleted the evidence,” I told her.
“I’ll send Castle to the Demons to start damage control.
Honestly, I don’t give a fuck if we have an alliance with ’em, but they mean somethin’ to you, so I’ll make an effort.
Your brothers probably won’t ever like me, and that’s okay too ’cause I’m not exactly the type you take home to your family, but once they see I can make you happy, they’ll put up with me. ”
“Still,” she argued gently, “I can’t see them even coming to our wedding unless it’s to try and stop it.”
“So we get married without them,” I suggested.
“No,” she protested. “I want my family there.”
My back teeth clenched. Jesus Christ, why couldn’t this fucking woman just do as she was told? I could see a future full of ass beatings and punishments, but then, that wasn’t exactly a chore.
I rubbed the top of my head and tried to think of a solution.
“Murphy, our chaplain, will ordain a quickie weddin’ here tomorrow, and we keep it quiet.
Then we start PR to rehabilitate my rep.
In six months, you get the weddin’ you want.
If Callum and Maeve can have two weddings, so can we, and in the meantime, I get to finally fuck you. ”
Her eyes took on a distant look while she thought my proposal through, her fingers still trailing my new tattoo. “Maybe it could work.”
“It’s cute you think you have a choice,” I muttered as my eyes drank her in.
Fuck, I’d missed her.
I knew we were complicated, even toxic to a point, but toxic was all I’d ever known.
So it wasn’t a big deal. For the first time in my life, I’d had to fight for a woman, and now I’d finally got my prize.
The night I met my Dubheasa, I knew she was different from the others, and she’d spent the last six months proving that she was fit to rule by my side.
Life with Aislynn O’Shea wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but it would be interesting. This woman drove me crazy and kept me on my toes, and as much as I wanted to throttle her, I knew she was perfect for me.
Life with my Dubheasa was going to be a test of my patience alright.
And fuck me, I couldn't wait.
—————
The Next Day
“Honestly, I’m fine,” Aislynn assured her brother through the cell phone. “We talked, and he eventually accepted I wasn’t budging. After some back and forth, he took me home to Ma’s.”
“Thank God,” Callum muttered, relief evident in his voice.
“What were you so worried about?” she asked. “I can look after myself.”
“We know you can,” he assured her. “It’s Pagan Sinclair we don’t trust.”
I cocked an eyebrow and gave my woman a pointed look.
“Well, there’s no need to worry,” she said reassuringly. “I’m going back to Denver later, and that will be the end of it.”
“And the video?” Donovan asked.
“Pagan didn’t give a damn about the video,” she said coldly. “Never cared about Saskia getting hurt, either, and he sure as hell wasn’t calling the cops. It was all about him getting his own way. He deleted the video in front of me. Rosie’s in the clear.”
I grinned as Donovan muttered a relieved, “Thank fuck.”
I heard Atlas clear his throat. “Ash, can you send us all the numbers you’ve got for Pagan and his men, including any burners?
Colt wants to hack into their phones so we can check that none of the others kept the video.
Pagan may have deleted it for your benefit, but it doesn’t mean Cruise did.
Tristan gave us his number, so we’re wise to what he’s got, but they proved last night that they’re sneaky fucks, and I’m thinkin’ they’ve got other cells stashed away. ”
I sat up straight.
Fuckin’ shithead.
Ash made an ‘eek’ face at me, and I nodded at her to play along.
“I’ll forward them the second we finish,” she agreed, then quietly asked, “How’s Rosie holding up?”
An emotion I hardly ever felt gripped me. Namely, goddamned regret.
“She’s been a wreck,” Donovan said quietly. “Pacing the house all night. I told her you’d be okay, but it barely calmed her down. She felt guilty that you had to go with Pagan because of her.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Ash told him, her eyes drifting back to meet mine. “What’s going to happen with the truce?”
Atlas replied to that one in a graveled voice. “Not your problem, sweetheart. We’ve got it.”
I scraped a hand down my face.
Shit, I had some making up to do.
Aislynn looked at me, panicked.
I waved my hand in a circle, indicating she should play along.
“I should have listened to you all when you told me to stay away from him,” she murmured. “But he was always so good to me, so charming and... well... genuine, or so I thought. I never expected everything to come crashing down the way it did. I’m still in shock myself, especially after last night.”
I leaned back in my office chair and sighed.
“Sis, if you want to give him another chance and see if there’s something redeemable in him, then go for it,” Donovan suggested.
“There’s no shame in giving second chances.
It’s not like he strictly cheated; you weren’t his ol’ lady, and your relationship wasn’t exclusive.
We’ve all serial dated in the past. As much as I hate to say this, I wasn’t very different from him a few years ago. ”
Sitting forward again, a slow grin spread across my face.
Donovan always was my favorite O’Shea brother.
Aislynn deadpanned at me and said, “It wasn’t just about what he did, Donny; it was how.
He didn’t even wait for me to leave the fucking building before he got Saskia to kneel.
It shows me he has no loyalty, and that makes him a hypocrite because it’s his favorite buzzword.
He expects total loyalty, but he’s shown me he’s not prepared to give it, or at least if he does, it’s on his terms. I admit there are feelings there because the side he showed me, I liked, but the other sides of Pagan, like last night’s, aren’t what I want in a guy.
He went after Rosie and Maeve, all because he couldn’t get his own way.
I could never trust him.” She shot me an amused look that said, ‘Take that, motherfucker’.
A low growl escaped my throat.
Bitch was gonna get her ass beat for that one.
“Thanks for last night, Sis,” Donovan murmured. “Appreciate the way you stepped up for Rosie.”
“It was the least I could do,” she said softly. “Saskia would’ve slapped Maeve if Rosie hadn’t stepped in. I never even saw it coming, so I’m just grateful Ro was there.” She paused and then lied through her back teeth, “Look, I have to go. Mammy needs me. I’ll forward those numbers to you.”
My stare fixated on her as she said her goodbyes with a cocky smile on her face and disconnected the call.
“Was there any need for that last part?” I demanded. “Jesus, we’re supposed to be biggin’ me up, and you’re tellin’ every fucker what a disloyal shithead I am.”
She slid her ass off the edge of my desk and slipped onto my lap, burrowing close.
“Don’t worry, Mammy’s on board. She’ll whack those eejits around the head with her frying pan if they give you too much shit.
But, Aiden, honey, you have to remember.
I’ve got three Irish brothers who give everyone shit.
If they do it to you, it means you’re part of the family. ”
My chest warmed at that word.
Family.
Ash had spoken to her mom that morning and told her we were back together.
Once Maureen found out I hadn’t cheated on her daughter, she was a lot more receptive to us getting married.
In fact, she was on her way up from Hambleton with fancy dresses for herself and Aislynn and was intent on giving the bride away.
Maureen knew it was top secret and understood why, and honestly, I got the impression she felt superior at being privy to our secret when nobody else was.
It was another tick in the pro-Aiden column, which was good, ’cause let’s face it, I needed all the help I could get.
My men were getting the bar ready for a wedding, and my boys were in the process of picking up their babes to bring them here for the nuptials, so we were all set.
In an hour, I was gonna be a married man.
And fuck me, I couldn’t damned well wait.