Page 179 of Tempting Fate

“Hugh,” Lily spits his name, then curls her top lip and shudders. “I remember him well.”

“That’s good because he’s gonna be your husband.”

“Fuck no.” Sander finds the strength to pull himself upright. Standing on one leg, he bangs his fist down on the table. “He’s a fuckin’ sadist. Worse than Alex.”

Brutus continues as if his son hasn’t spoken.

“Due to Alex’s absence,” he emphasises that last word with malice. “Joseph refuses to move forward with our plans. After some serious discussions over the past few months, we believe we’ve found a suitable path forward. Our organisations needa be joined in more than name. It’s the only way to ensure unity. A marriage, ’specially now it’s been proven you can fulfil your womanly duty and provide an heir, is the best way to consolidate our interests.”

My chest feels like it’s on fire as I state, “I’d rather go to jail than sign Lily up for this.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Brutus retorts with a dark chuckle. He hits the intercom button again. “Make the call.”

In the same moment I realise what he’s just done, Lily understands it as well. She rushes over to her father and drops to her knees next to his seat. Tugging at his arm until he extends his hand to her, she clutches his fingers and pleads, “Please, Dad. Don’t do this. Surely we can find another way to reach an agreement—one that doesn’t hurt Zeke or Sander?”

Brutus smirks. “If you refuse to marry Hugh, Venom will go to jail for Alex’s murder, and your trust fund will remain in my possession. The same goes for your brothers. I will disown them. They’ll be on the fuckin’ street. Anyone who tries to help a’one of you little fuckers will find themselves in the same situation… or worse. Sander won’t be able to fund your lives for long, not with a busted leg and the positive drug test that’s about to be on his record.”

“I don’t give a fuck if I go to jail,” I declare a second time.

“Venom,” Cass cautions when I refuse to back down. The look he gives his brother is filled with contempt and blind hatred. I prefer it to the pity that he hits me with when he directs his attention my way. “Think about it… even if you’re locked up, Cherub’ll be forced to marry the St. James boy. Like usual, Brutus has the loose ends tied up. We’re caught in his trap, and there’s no way out. The best thing you can do is keep yourself on his good side. Stay outta jail. Work to fix this. Find a way to get her out of the marriage.”

Whirling to face Brutus, I growl, “I’ll kill you.”

“We already tried that,” Cass confesses from behind me.

He deliberately touches my ear, and that’s when my anger at his duplicity evaporates. It appears that he’s still on board with my plan, even if it didn’t look like it when he dragged Sander into the chapel.

“What happened?” Lily asks. I stare at her for a moment, not comprehending her question. When she elaborates, the blood in my veins turns to ice. “When you tried to kill Dad… what happened?’

“It cost Angelis his oldest boy.”

“Topher was hit by a car. I was there,” I remind Brutus’ brother. “I’m the one who had to drag Slash off his body and run back home for help.”

“I know what you saw, but it wasn’t an accident.”

In one swift motion, I bend down to retrieve the knife strapped to my ankle. “You’re fuckin’ dead.”

All I can see in my head as I press the blade to Brutus’ jugular is Topher’s little body, crumpled and bleeding, lying underneath the car that ploughed into us as we walked to the park as children. For years, I’ve believed it was an accident. That it was just fate that me, Slash, and Toker escaped being run down as well. To discover that Slash’s big brother was killed by our president in some perverse act of revenge is fucked up.

“Do it.” Brutus shrugs. “It won’t stop a thing. Haven’t you realised that I’m always three steps ahead of you?”

He pushes his seat back, uncaring when my steel nicks the side of his neck, and snatches hold of Lily’s wrist. Dragging her to her feet, Brutus stalks around the opposite side of the table to Cass, pulling his daughter along behind him. Lily stumbles as her heels catch in the thick carpet, but Brutus doesn’t slow. I make a move to follow. Brutus’ twin brother does his best to stop me from chasing after them. I struggle to free myself from his restricting embrace, freezing when Brutus stops and claps a hand on Sander’s shoulder.

“In time, you’ll see that I did you a favour,’ he tells his oldest son. “Although I pushed you to pursue basketball, I now see that was the wrong move. Your legacy is here… with the Shamrocks, not on the court. Once you have your patch, you’ll see that I’m right.”

“You’re a monster,” his daughter shouts.

In the next instant, Brutus takes hold of Lily’s shirt. He swings her around and shoves her outside the chapel. Lily cries out as she lands on her knees a second before Brutus slams the heavy doors shut and flicks the lock. The handle is twisted back and forth, then my woman pounds on the door.

“Dad! Please. I’ll do whatever you ask. Just leave everyone else alone. Please. I’m begging you.”

“What happens next is on you, Venom.” Brutus flicks his gaze between me and the door that’s blocking Lily from re-entering. “Try to make the right fuckin’ choice for once.”

With that, Brutus releases the dead bolt and exits the chapel.

Lily pushes past him.

She runs inside, straight into my arms.

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