Page 91 of Dirty Heirs

“I didn’t steal shit from you,” Dad said through gritted teeth. “And neither did my daughter.”

They went back and forth, arguing, my brothers eventually entering the conversation. Once they did, everyone was yelling so loudly I couldn’t think straight. All the shouting was giving me a headache, and my stomach started twisting into knots again.

“Silence,” Carl shouted authoritatively, instantly getting everyone’s attention. He rose from his chair and glared at my father. “No one in this room has the AK-47s. Ella overheard Jimmy Walsh tell his men to remove them from the container to start a war between your families.”

“He set us up?” Dad asked, confused. “No way. I’ve known Jimmy for a long time. He wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Well, he did,” Carl shot back. “So it seems that your problem is not with each other. It’s with Jimmy.” He settled back into his chair and sipped from a highball glass. “Now, let’s get back to the matter at hand. The union between the Cormacs and the Doyles. Your daughter is pregnant with Sonny’s child.”

His head snapped to me. “Is this true?”

I nodded. “I’m having Sonny’s baby, and I’m going to marry him with or without your approval.”

His nose wrinkled in disgust. “I’m not letting my daughter marry a Cormac without getting something in return,” he said, focusing on Carl.

“Of course, you want a handout,” Mr. Cormac interjected, tugging his tie.

“I don’t want your charity,” Dad said, pushing his chair from the table. “I want what’s owed to me.”

Sonny grabbed my hand and calmly said, “What do you want, Cian?”

“I had a deal with Jimmy Walsh to deliver AK-47s monthly.”

“We’re not gangsters,” Carl said, an amused look spreading across his withered face.

“Then my daughter is going back to Ireland.” My dad shot out of the chair, and my brothers joined him. “End of discussion.”

“No, she’s not,” Aiden and Sonny said simultaneously, standing between me.

My father tipped his head back and laughed, then his eyes flicked to me. “Two men, Ella?” He shook his head. “I’m glad your mother didn’t live long enough to see her daughter turn into a whore.”

“Don’t you dare speak to her like that,” Aiden shouted, teeth bared and ready to fight.

I loved how fiercely protective he was of me. Aiden wasn’t afraid of anyone and never backed down.

I pushed myself up from the chair and grabbed their hands. “Yes, I’m with two men. I don’t expect you to understand me or my relationship with Sonny and Aiden, but I love them and want to spend the rest of my life with them.”

Sonny cleared his throat. “How much will it take to settle the score?”

My dad glared at me, his expression so intense I felt his hatred from across the table. He briefly considered Sonny’s question and scrubbed a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “Ten million.” He looked at Aiden. “From both of you.”

Sonny glanced at Aiden, who nodded and then said, “Done. But with one caveat. Your feud with my uncle is over.”

“I’m not the one with the problem,” my dad said. “Declan has been trying to dismantle my business for nearly three decades.”

“You stole Bridget from me,” Declan shot back. “What did you expect? That I was going to sit there and take it.”

Dad shook his head, a sly grin tugging at his mouth. “Get over it, Declan. You dated her for a year. It wasn’t serious.”

“I was going to ask her to marry me, you ignorant asshole.”

My dad sighed. “Bridget has been dead for over nine years. Time to move on.”

Once upon a time, they were best friends. Declan had worked with my father until he stole my mother from him.

“I tried to make amends when Bridget died. I even offered my help finding her murderers… and you kicked me off your property. I barely left with my life.”

My dad straightened his tie and held Declan’s gaze. “If my daughter is going to be part of your family, I want assurances that she will not be harmed.”

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