Page 49 of Creatures in the Night

Looking over at my husband, I said, “You’re okay with me being unhappy for the rest of my life?”

Noah’s eyes flashed with a dangerous possessiveness. “Yes,” he answered coldly. “As long as you’re in my bed every night, then I’ll deal with the rest of it.”

“You sonofabitch,” I snarled, humiliation burning my cheeks at him daring to speak so freely in front of his family.

“Now, ouch, lass,” Lochlan drawled out. “Our mam would be unhappy to hear you speaking of her like that.”

“That’s enough,” Declan declared. “Since it’s obvious that Noah has his work cut out for him, I think it’s time we leave, get things ready, then wait for Noah later.”

If I wanted to be obstinate, then I’d demand to know what he was talking about, but O’Brien business wasn’t my concern, no matter that I was married to Noah. For all that I was married to him, the less that I knew when it came to what Noah did for a living, the better. A person that knew too much could easily become the threat that they never wanted to be, and I refused to become that person.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Noah announced. “That should give you plenty of time to get things ready, and it’ll also give me more time to spend with my wife, helping her to see that there’s no way out of her current situation, no matter how much she wishes things were different.”

Anger raced through my veins, and with that, something that would definitely make me the victor in all of this. “There is something else,” I blurted, making Declan look back my way.

“And what’s that, lass?”

“If you want me to believe that Noah is married to me because he wants to be, then take away the only reason that he was forced to marry me,” I answered. “Release my parents from their agreement with you. Give them back their shop, and then…then I’ll let it go.”

Another smile played on Declan’s lips. “How can I be sure that you’ll honor your word, lass?”

“Because I’m not you guys,” I fired back, no doubt insulting him again.

Declan looked back over at Noah really quickly before saying, “It’s a deal.”

“It is?” I asked, surprised that he’d given in so easily.

“Well, considering that my percent of the shop is already in your name, I’d say so,” he smirked, and I’d never felt so outplayed in all my goddamn life.

Chapter 31

Noah~

While Declan had been trying to do me a solid, he had failed miserably. After dropping that little gem on Shea Thursday, he and Lochlan had left me to deal with a very pissed off woman, though she’d been in the right. As soon as we’d been left alone, she’d lost her shit on me, informing me how she hadn’t appreciated being manipulated, which was exactly what my cousin had done.

Of course, being the understanding husband that I was, instead of explaining how that’d been the plan all along, I’d done my best to just sit back and let her have a go at me. For someone exhausted and injured, she’d gotten an extra dose of pissed-the-fuck-off, and she hadn’t held back in her opinion of me or my family. It’d been clear that Shea had been at her wit’s end, and so after she had finished giving me the what for, I’d taken her back to bed, then had used my tongue, hands, and cock to help her get over it, though she clearly hadn’t since she had slammed the bathroom door on my face when we’d gotten back home.

At any rate, I’d left her stewing at home to meet Declan, Cathal, and James at the Manor, Craig Doyle our guest of honor. Declan had gotten him released, and not suspecting a thing, the fool had willingly followed Declan out here, none the wiser.

Two hours after I had arrived, the basement smelled like shit and piss, and Craig was already begging for his life. Honestly, since he’d been one of our highest-ranking guards, I hadn’t expected him to fold this quickly, and it was quite the disappointment for sure.

“I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I…I swear…I thought…I thought that I was…was doing you a favor.”

If I were anyone else, I’d take his words into consideration. In fact, most people would see what Craig had done as the ultimate sign of loyalty, which was exactly what he was claiming it was. He’d taken my complaints about getting married to heart, and as one of my loyal guards, had decided to do something about it. Unfortunately for Craig, I wasn’t anyone else, and I was going to keep him alive only long enough for me to find out who the other two fucks were.

I grabbed one of the metal chairs that’d been placed in the cell, then took a seat as I tried really hard not to compare Craig to when Keavy had been sitting in his same seat. Instead of blubbering like a fool and begging for her life, Keavy had insulted Declan, and she really was fucking perfect for my cousin.

“See, Craig,” I began. “The issue with your over-enthusiastic troubleshooting is that my wife now believes that I’m the one behind the hit on her life, and since you’re a smart man, you can probably guess how problematic that is for newlyweds.”

“Noah, I swear to God, I was only trying to help,” he repeated. “You said…you said that you didn’t want to be married, but I knew that…that you’d never defy The O’Brien.”

“Be that as it may, you should have done your research before orchestrating your little plan,” I said, hypocrisy sitting in the pit of my stomach like a stone. Had I’d been more considerate of Shea, then Craig never would have gotten it in his head to do me this ‘favor’.

“I didn’t know,” he sobbed. “I…I didn’t know that…that you liked her.”

“Love,” I said, correcting him. “I’ve fallen in love with my wife, and it really is a shame that you decided to act before getting clarification.”

“Look, Craig,” Declan said from behind me, jumping in. “Everyone in this room already knows that you’re not going to make it out of here alive. So, at this point, the only thing that you can do to help yourself is tell us everything. You pulled two other men into this mess, and I want to know who they are.”

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