Page 203 of Forced Vows

"But it didn't."

Brogan sighs and shakes his head. "He called yesterday demanding I get her away from you and turn her over to him."

Someone just signed his own death warrant.

"And you said?"

"That he could go fuck himself. What the fecking hell do you think I would say?" Brogan's voice rises with his ire.

"There has to be a reason he believes you would do what he's demanding."

"Other than sheer, pig-headed arrogance? The man sees women as property. I wouldn't put it past him to try to nab her himself." Brogan runs a hand over his face. "But once the wedding is done, he'll back off. His religion sees marriage vows as sacrosanct and doesn't acknowledge the legality of divorce."

"The fuck are you talking about? My woman is at risk for being kidnapped and this is the first I'm hearing of it?" He sure as hell didn't mention the possibility when he told me about the reprehensible old man's pipe dreams to marry my woman off to one of his buddies.

"I didn't think that was a legitimate threat before this. I was wrong." Brogan's admission comes from between clenched teeth.

He doesn't like admitting he's wrong? It's better than being dead if he didn't admit it and something happened to Róise.

"Your family is on yellow alert and that should be sufficient, but I wanted you to know about the escalation in Gabriel's demands. And the fact my alliance with him is on shaky ground right now."

I immediately text my team and Sev to tell them about this complication. If Shaughnessy's alliance with the AOG is shaky, then ours is now nonexistent. Our alert status is pushing toward red.

Cazzo.

I promised Róise dinner out, but until I've taken care of this threat, her security status is going red regardless of what Sev decides to do.

If I lose Róise, I will turn the world into rubble around me. I don't know when it happened, but my dolce fiore is the most important person in my life.

I would survive losing anyone else. But not her.

Managgia la miserisa! I love her.

Unaware of my disturbing inner revelations, Brogan sighs. "His phone calls and texts have been getting more strident. The engagement should have taken care of the problem. Who is stupid enough to believe they can go against your mafia and win?"

"Gabriel Lion apparently."

"There's something wrong with him. Like I said he's got this –"

"Psychotic belief that Róise is his property." She is my woman, but Róise Aisling Shaughnessy is nobody's property.

"Apparently, he promised her to Jed a long time ago. But I didn't know that."

That tracks with the things I've found out about Derry's death, once I started looking in the right places.

"Did Gabriel know your brother planned to cut ties with the AOG when he became boss?" I ask.

"What does it matter? That was six years ago."

"Did he know?" I demand.

Brogan waves at one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Sit down."

I ignore the invitation and wait for an answer to my question.

"Yes," he finally says. "My father told him. He had some idea that if Gabriel apologized to Derry and made a pretense of remorse for how he treated his daughter Charity, business could go on as usual."

"You don't sound like you believe that was possible."

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