Page 1 of Mine to Keep

Chapter One

Roland sat in a chair in front of his father Warren’s desk, impatiently waiting for him to get off the phone. He hated when his father demanded his presence and then made him wait. It happened every time. Roland knew it was a power play, but Roland wouldn’t ever show how it affected him.

Now, he was playing on his phone, ignoring his father. He even pretended not to know when his father finished his call just to irritate him.

His father cleared his throat. Roland looked up, tried to look surprised, and put his phone on his lap. He didn’t say anything, just waited. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at the frustration on his father’s face.

“I called you here today to give you some good news,” Warren said.

One of Roland’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, I have found you a bride.”

Roland gritted his teeth to hold back his anger. “How many times have I told you that I will choose my own wife.”

Warren waved a hand. “Yes, I know. You’ve been saying that for eight years now. You must take this seriously, son. Youneed to make sure there is an heir to take over eventually.”

Roland knew he had an obligation to bring another Stewert, preferably a boy, into the world. The family business depended on having a family that grew, making it stronger with every new male born. He just hadn’t found a woman he could see himself married to.

“Who is it?”

“My friend, Armondo Carrilo, lives in Argentina and has a beautiful daughter. We decided this alliance would be good for both families.”

“You two decided?” Roland said sarcastically. “I’m thirty-five years old, and I’m the one who is mostly running the family business because you want to golf all the time. I think I should have a say in the matter.”

His father nodded. “I have given you eight years to find one, and you haven’t, so when I talked to Armondo, he mentioned there were not many choices for his daughter in Argentina, and I suggested you.”

He studied his father for a moment. “Why? What’s wrong with her?”

He knew he was right when his father flinched.

“It’s nothing, really. Physically, she’s fine. Armando told me she’s a little slow. She had an accident when she was young and had some brain damage.”

“Jesus Christ. Are we really that desperate?”

“It’s nothing. I think it’s perfect because you can still go about your life bedding whatever female you want. All you have to do is impregnate the girl. If she gives you a boy, we can get rid of her.”

He almost grunted in disgust. When had his father turned into such a bastard? He seemed to get worse as time passed, and there were a few times he just about crossed the line and broke the law, or what the Society deemed corrupt.

Fuck, if his father ever found out he was involved with the Good Knight Society, he’d have a heart attack. The fact that the group was overzealous in hiding their existence helped.

Seventy years before, a group of three men started the Society. Now, there were many more in the group, and they all felt women and children needed more protection. Too many of them were getting beaten, raped, or killed, and the cops could only do so much.

The man who started the group had lost his beloved wife to a home invasion. She’d been raped and killed, and he blamed himself for it. The police had only done what they could, so he and a few of his friends tracked the men responsible and took care of them for good. It worked out so well that they continued to help people. Eventually, they named the group the Good Knight Society and added men they trusted throughout the years. Now, he thought the number was up to eighty. The different groups were all over the United States, and some were in the United Kingdom. They had the same name and rule of secrecy, and it seemed to work because no one had uncovered them.

Although his father hadn’t hurt an innocent, he still had some ideas that weren’t quite legal. It was one of the things Roland had taken care of. He’d fixed the unscrupulous businesses that sat on the edge even though they had made them millions of dollars. They didn’t need to take chances.

Since his father wasn’t into anything that would hurt women or children, Roland and the Society had left him alone. Roland had been gently pushing his father out of the business, with him none the wiser. It was because some of his father’s dealings looked suspicious and could ruin their business.

“When is she coming?” Roland asked. He tried to keep the dread out of his tone.

“Tonight.”

Roland felt the muscle in his cheek start to throb. His father had done this on purpose. Since she was already on her way, it would be next to impossible to stop it.

“Just meet her and see what you think. You don’t have to feel anything for her, and if you don’t like the way she looks, fuck her in the dark. We need a male heir, and then you’re off the hook.”

Fuck. “Is there anything else?”

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