Not-So Temporarily Married(47)

Returning to my cabinet, I grabbed a few items and brought them to the table beside him. “I don’t have time to starve you, so I’ll have to settle for imitating the sharp pains of hunger.” I picked up a six-inch knife and stabbed it right into his large, fleshy gut. It was a fatal wound, but it was a slow bleed, leaving me plenty of time. Even more so, since I left the blade in and moved on.

I spent the next hour torturing him in retaliation for all of the suffering Carly had endured growing up. I removed his gag and his screams of agony were music to my ears, each one metaphorically washing away some of her pain. I also extracted the names of his contacts in human trafficking and the location of the next auction.

At last, I took off the blindfold, carelessly listening to his blubbering as he begged for his life. Removing Carly’s pistol from the holster under my jacket, I pointed it in the center of his forehead, staring into the soulless bastard’s green eyes. “Did she beg for you to stop, motherfucker?” I taunted. The tiniest flicker of guilt in his eyes told me all I needed to know.

The crack of the gunshot rang out in the silence of the warehouse.

After a minute, Carly came tearing into the room, stopping dead in her tracks when she spotted the hole in her father’s forehead. Her eyes darted to mine, a shadow of betrayal lurking in their depths.

Nic walked in behind her at a more sedate pace, unsurmised at the scene before him. “I’ll give you two a few minutes, then send in some guys to clean up.”

“You’ll start spreading the word?” I confirmed.

“Yes, it’ll be common knowledge in our circles by tomorrow night.”

I nodded but growled when he stepped toward Carly and squeezed her arm in an expression of comfort. She threw me a dirty look while Nic just chuckled and crossed the room to the other door. When it clicked shut, I set the gun on the table and calmly waited for the explosion.

“What in under fuck, Brandon?!” she shrieked, the odd turn of phrase showing a bit of her Irish roots. “You agreed to let me finish this!”

I met her gaze with a raised brow. “Did I?”

I had her there and she sputtered for a moment then snapped, “It was implied!”

“Kitten—”

“Don’t you, kitten, me, you bloody shite!” Seeing her dad and being so riled up was dredging up some of the slang she grew up around and it was so fucking cute, I had to fight a smile. “Was this your end game? Seduce me and worm your way in so you could take over and your organization would simply absorb mine?”

Any humor I felt was immediately gone. “Do not ever question or trivialize my love for you, Carly,” I growled as I stalked over to her, grabbing her arms and looking straight into her eyes. “I didn’t do it to undermine you so I could manipulate my way into being in charge. I have no problem being the man beside the woman, but I’ll be damned if I don’t do everything I can to protect you, and that includes your heart, mind, and soul.”

Her face softened, and I could practically feel the anger receding.

“Even now, Nic is spreading the word that you were the one to put a bullet in him and you intend to take his place. No one but you, me, and Nic will ever know it wasn’t your finger on the trigger. Is that clear?”

She nodded, took a deep breath, and slid her arms around my waist, resting her head on my chest. “Thank you.” I wrapped her up in my embrace and kissed her forehead.

“Anything for you, kitten.”



I climbed out of the black Town Car and reached my hand in to help Carly. Lacing my fingers through hers, I gave her hand a squeeze. “Are you ready, kitten?”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then shook her head. “No. But, it’s not like I have a choice.”

By using contacts and calling in some favors, Nic and I were able to get the funeral for Carly’s father arranged in three days. It also helped that her priest, Father Gannon, was almost as happy to see Pat on a marble slab as we were.

Carly worked tirelessly and I helped with what I could, but I also had to get back to my own job. We had a couple of shipments coming in and we were still in a tense holding pattern with the O’Reilly’s until Carly took over. Which meant we needed to oversee transit with more men, and I had to attend some meetings to negotiate for new merchandise, both legal and...otherwise. They were my contacts and would only deal with me.

By the time I fell into bed, I was exhausted and I’d fallen asleep with my girl wrapped up in my arms, only to wake a couple of hours later as she got up to start her day. I was suffering from a serious case of blue balls and I couldn’t wait for this fucking day to be over. The only bright spot was knowing I’d be seeing Pat O’Reilly in a box.