Page 64 of Captive Bride

"Okay." Adriana disappeared down the hall, her footsteps swift.

I dialed Kieran's number, pressing the phone hard against my ear as if that would help bridge the distance faster. The line clicked, and I tensed, ready to unload the burden of our predicament onto his shoulders.

"Kieran," I said without preamble, my tone pitched to convey urgency, "Bellamy's been sniffing around Orsini territory. We had to move Adriana and the twins out fast."

A pause thickened on the other end of the line. "How close did he get?" Kieran's question was sharp, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

"Too damn close." I gripped the armrest of my wheelchair, feeling the cool metal beneath my fingers. "If he finds out that the kids are alive and his hitmen are dead..."

He didn't need me to finish. In our world, family was leverage; babies were pawns. And Adriana—she was a queen on a chessboard full of thugs and thieves. I'd do anything to keep them safe, even if it meant reaching out when every instinct screamed to handle things alone.

“He doesn’t know you’re on my side, does he?”

"No. And he won’t until you kill him. Tristan, listen to me," Kieran's voice sliced through the fear gnawing at my gut. "We've got eyes on him. You focus on keeping your family safe. We'll handle Bellamy."

"Thanks," I muttered, relief threading through the tension. Trust wasn’t given easily in our line of work, but with Kieran, it was as close to a sure thing as you could get. Even with everything that had happened.

“Honestly, I don’t…know what to do. We can’t just stay up here but I can’t go showing my face to Uncle Bellamy yet. I mean, I can’t even walk for long distances.”

“You’re still the scariest motherfucker I know.”

I laughed. “Yeah, but that’s not enough, is it? They’re so little, Kieran. I ran a hand through my hair, frustration seeping into my voice. "I need to be more than just scary. I need to be untouchable."

Kieran was quiet for a moment, and I could almost hear the gears turning in his mind. "Maybe it's time we made some bold moves," he said finally.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked, leaning forward in my wheelchair.

"Two things," Kieran replied, his tone serious. "First, we need to prove your Callahan lineage beyond a shadow of a doubt. A DNA test."

I felt my breath catch. "And if it doesn't match?"

"Then we make it match," he said simply. "I've got connections that can ensure the results come out in our favor."

“You would do that for me?”

“Tristan, you’re my brother,” he said. “Malachy and Bellamy be damned.”

I let out a slow breath, feeling a mix of gratitude and unease. "Alright. What's the second thing?"

"You need to marry Adriana," Kieran said bluntly. "Make it official. Create the Callahan-Orsini alliance everyone's been waiting for."

My heart skipped a beat. Marriage. It wasn't something we'd discussed, not with everything else going on. But the idea of making Adriana truly mine, of cementing our bond in the eyes of both families...

"You think that'll be enough?" I asked, my voice low.

"It's a start," Kieran replied. "Combined with the DNA test, it'll solidify your position. Make you harder to touch."

“Well, I don’t know how much she’ll want to do that. I’ve…changed my mind on it a lot.”

I could hear the soft rustling of Adriana tending to the twins in the other room. The thought of proposing marriage now, in the midst of all this chaos, felt both terrifying and exhilarating.

"She loves you, Tristan," Kieran said, his voice gentler than usual. "And she's smart. She'll understand the strategic value."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "You're right, but... it's complicated. Adriana and I, we've been through a lot. You know I've jerked her around on the marriage thing before."

"This isn't about romance, Tristan," Kieran's voice was firm. "It's about survival. For you, for her, for those kids."

His words hit home. I knew he was right, but the thought of pressuring Adriana into marriage for strategic reasons…after everything we’d been through…it made my stomach churn.

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