The Marriage Contract(13)

“Set up a perimeter around the building.” Making a show of strength was all well and good, but they’d have to be fools not to put some extra security in place to protect the guests here. Even her father would acknowledge that—already had if the small smile he wore was any indication. He’d done that sort of thing from the time she was a child, setting up a situation and allowing her to learn how to take the lead. She’d basked in his approval when she made the correct decision. Now? Now, she just wanted their people taken care of.

“Will do.”

Satisfied that they were as safe as they could be, she reached for her glass of champagne before realizing it had been tipped over during the scramble for cover. Just as she turned to search for another, Teague appeared by her side. “Thought you could use this to settle you nerves.”

“My nerves are just fine, thank you very much.” It was anger giving her the shakes, not fear. Mostly. But she still accepted the tumbler and eyed the amber liquid. “Scotch?”

“Whiskey.”

Of course. She rarely touched the stuff, but now wasn’t the time to quibble over foolish things like this. The liquid shot fire down her throat, a blaze that slowly eased and settled into comfortable warmth in her stomach. She blinked at Teague, her eyes watering a little.

He watched her like he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or be worried. God, she wasn’t sure which he should do, either, so she took another—smaller—sip. “My father insists that we stay and continue the party.”

“That seems to be the plan.” And he didn’t look any more pleased with it than she was.

To keep herself from staring at him, she watched as people righted chairs and slowly settled back into whatever they’d been doing before the screaming started. Some of them looked worried, but the others cast their glances at the head table and took their cues from her and Teague’s fathers. They wouldn’t leave—wouldn’t show dreaded weakness—until the party was over.

“It’s idiocy to stay here when we know there’s danger.”

“It is.” He shrugged those big shoulders. “But these people are scavengers. The second they smell weakness, they’ll stop fearing us and it will be complete chaos.”

She knew that. Truly, she did. But it was such a fine line to travel, and they were on the wrong side of it tonight. At least there are some precautions in place now. “There has to be a better way.”

“If you figure it out, be sure to let me know.”

She finished the whiskey, and decided it didn’t taste half as bad as that first drink. “Things will be different when…” When her father was gone. She clamped her lips shut before the traitorous words could escape. God, what was she talking about? She loved Papa, loved him dearly. She didn’t want to see him dead any more than she’d wanted to see her beloved brother, Ronan, gone. How could she possibly think such a thing, let alone almost say it aloud?

It had to be the whiskey. She set the tumbler onto the table with a little too much force and pushed it away from her. “I need some air.”

“Of course.” He started to guide her, but Seamus stepped in their way.

“One more announcement.”

“Father, enough.”

Just like that, the thin veil of civility on his father’s face disappeared as if it’d never been. “Sit your ass in that chair before I put you there. And you, be a good girl and do the same.”

Be a good girl. She started to take a step forward, but Teague dragged her back and guided her into her seat. “Now’s not the time.”

Callie was pretty sure it was the perfect time, but she wasn’t far gone enough not to realize that was the whiskey talking. So she let Teague keep her hand and did as she was told, all while silently promising to wipe that satisfied smirk off Seamus O’Malley’s face at the first available opportunity.

The man in question stood and motioned for silence. “We apologize for the confusion, but there is nothing to worry about.” He smiled, once again every inch the doting father figure. “We would like to cordially invite you to the wedding in four weeks’ time.”

The room took a slow spin around Callie before settling into place. Four weeks. Four weeks? She’d known what she was signing up for, but that was so soon. From the shocked look on Teague’s face, he hadn’t known about the timeline, either.

As the people around her clapped, she couldn’t shake the fact that she’d just tipped past the point of no return.





Chapter Four



Teague walked Callista to her town car, painfully aware of the people surrounding him. They needed a moment to just sit and have a conversation, but that wasn’t happening tonight—especially with the potential war hanging over their heads. He stopped her just before she climbed into the car. “Come out with me tomorrow. Just us.”