Cathal Chapter 2 #2
“How dare you make fun of my dad and me? I know what he asked of you was silly. There is no way the mighty O’Sheerans would stoop to associating with us. I told him not to embarrass himself, but he wouldn’t listen. He insisted you were helping him so much that you’d consider it.
“You might think what Dad and the family are facing is something to make fun of, but it isn’t.
Do I agree with what my family has done for decades to make money?
No, but I don’t want anyone hurt, especially when Dad is trying to turn things around after the hell created when my uncle ran the family.
” Her tone vibrated with anger, and those blue eyes snapped with it. She was breathtaking.
“Are you saying you’re not willing to marry someone, even temporarily, to help protect your family? Or that you are?” Darragh asked.
“If it protects innocent men, women, and children from being harmed or killed, then yes, I’ll suffer through a temporary, in-name-only marriage.
However, as I told my dad, who would do it?
What would someone else get out of it? Sure, we benefit, but the other party wouldn’t get anything,” she stated.
“They’d have you,” I replied.
“As what, a wife who they can hang off their arm for a year and pretend that it’s real?
Why go to that effort? Go out, find someone you want, and marry her.
I sure the hell know I’m not worth that hassle.
Sure, I clean up decent, but the kind of men who have the power Dad needs can have any woman they want for however long they choose.
They don’t need to bargain for one. And the risk this plan poses to whoever is stupid enough to do it is ridiculous.
I’ve never heard an O’Sheeran called stupid.
You only enter into deals that benefit your family, not take from it. ”
The dismissal of her worth disturbed me.
As for her comment that she cleaned up okay, it was ludicrous.
Bronagh was an utter ten in my book. Yes, I was going mostly on surface appeal, but her temper and the way she was standing up to us, something grown-ass men wouldn’t do, increased her appeal.
I wanted to know more. I walked over to stand beside the bed, next to her arm.
She turned her head to watch my every move.
“Don’t you dare speak disrespectfully about my fiancée. You’re worth it,” I told her.
The flash of pleasure I noted in her gaze was gone in a blink. I wanted to say more, but Dar took over the conversation.
“We’re not here to talk about an engagement.
We’re here to keep you safe until your dad gets here.
It’ll take him over three hours to fly from Las Cruces to the airport here.
I spoke to him two hours ago. Assuming he can get his crew together quickly, we’re looking at him being here in the next two to three hours.
If he has trouble, then we’ll see. However, I won’t go home and leave you here unprotected.
Even if I hadn’t made Faolán a promise, I wouldn’t leave.
Tell us what happened tonight. How did the wreck occur?
” Darragh’s tone told her he wasn’t debating.
Bronagh said nothing for close to thirty seconds before she responded.
“You’re Irish. Same damn stubborn streak,” she muttered first, then her voice strengthened.
“Fine, I’ll tell you about the wreck. I had a dinner engagement tonight. It lasted two hours. I left the restaurant to head home. I was tired, and I had…” she paused to look at the clock on the wall. It was after midnight.
She kept going. “I have to work today. I took the scenic route, not the main highway. It’s a shorter distance to my place.
Anyway, I was zipping along when headlights caught my attention in my rearview mirror.
At first, I thought nothing of it. The road was lightly traveled but not deserted.
But the way the car kept gaining on me made me wonder at first if they were going to pass me.
However, something about it set off an alarm in me, so I sped up.
They did too. I increased my speed a second time, only this time it was significantly faster.
The other car did the same and was still gaining on me.
“My gut told me I needed to get back to where there were people, so I turned onto a secondary road that would take me back to the interstate. Whoever was driving guessed what I was up to because that’s when they let loose.
I don’t drive a supercharged sports car.
They had horsepower. I tried to avoid them and performed a few evasive maneuvers, but my lack of speed was my downfall.
“The vehicle was a dark SUV with darkened windows and a Supercharged or Hemi V8 under the hood. They performed a pit maneuver on me, and my car spun. Honestly, I don’t know how they didn’t flip their SUV because they were going well above the recommended thirty-five to forty-five miles an hour.
They did it right as I reached a turn with a sharp decline on one side.
The impact sent me over the guardrail and down the embankment, where I crashed headfirst into a tree.
The last thing I recall is screaming as I went down it, a sudden wrenching stop, and seeing the tree.
“From what I was told when I regained consciousness, a passerby saw my headlights, stopped, and called an ambulance. They reported seeing taillights rushing away, but they were too far away to see anything about the vehicle, driver, or license plate.”
I exchanged a glance with Dar. It sure sounded intentional, and who else would have reason to do it other than one of the others trying to take over the Bragans’ territory?
There were multiple candidates for that role.
Her knowledge of terms related to offensive and defensive driving, as well as vehicles’ engines, piqued my curiosity.
Not something I imagined a woman from her background would know.
A thought occurred to me, and I put off asking her about it.
“Is there anyone who would have a personal reason to hurt you? A rival? An angry ex-lover? Someone tied to your work? Who did you have dinner with tonight?” My questions rolled out of me.
Bronagh frowned at me as she shook her head. “It wasn’t personal. This incident has to be tied to what Dad’s doing with the businesses.”
“Faolán told you the details of what he’s been doing?” Dar asked. We each sat in the chairs on either side of her bed.
“Yes, Dad has kept me fully in the loop. There isn’t anyone in the family that he totally trusts but me.
After my uncle, it’s hard to know who to put your faith in.
There was always so much backstabbing and double-dealing that you learned not to trust. But he knows he can tell me anything.
I might have separated myself from the family and the life, but I love my dad and want to protect him.
Some of them are innocent, but they could be pressured to say things if threatened the right way.
Dad didn’t want them placed in that position. ”
“But he was fine placing you in it,” I snapped.
She glared at me. “No one knew he told me everything. We were careful to make it appear over the years that he had very little contact with me. I stayed away at boarding school and then at college. When I graduated, I settled in Florida and lived my life, which is completely different from the family’s lifestyle.
Most people thought he had written me off. That gave me protection,” she defended.
“But it doesn’t anymore,” Dar observed.
“Clearly, not anymore,” she replied slightly acidly.
“You’re Irish. Stubborn as hell,” he tossed back at her, causing her lips to twitch.
“Touché.”
“You haven’t answered me. Anyone who would want to harm you? Who did you eat dinner with?” I repeated.
“I don’t know of anyone who would allow their work or personal pettiness to manifest into purposefully attempting to kill me. Have I ever pissed people off? Sure, don’t we all? As for dinner, I know my dinner date wouldn’t ever hurt me. He cares too much to do that.”
Hot anger churned in my gut when she said the word he. The softening of her features as she said it showed that she cared for the guy. I leaned closer. When the bedrail blocked me, I found the release and lowered it so there was no barrier between us. Bronagh stared back at me.
“What is his name? Who is he to you?” I asked in a deadly cold tone.
Her eyebrows rose. Bronagh glanced over at my cousin, whose face remained blank, then back to me.
“His name is none of your damn business. And the same for who he is to me. You’re not the boss of me, nor are you my fiancé. Even if we were engaged, you wouldn’t own me or dictate my life, Cathal O’Sheeran. Back off,” she snarled.
I slid my gaze over to Darragh. He stared for a few seconds, then shifted.
“I’ll be outside waiting for your dad,” he directed to her.
Then he turned to me. “We’ll talk later.”
“Wait, don’t leave…” Her protest died away as he left the room.
I waited to see what else the fiery woman would say. I could hardly wait.