Page 89 of Sinfully His

I gave her a grateful nod and made my way down the once-familiar hall to the dark-wood-covered billiards room I couldn’t remember anyone actually using.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” I said as I stepped into the room.

Both Father and Luc wore stern expressions as they faced off against each other on the opposite side of the pool table. Each of them had a cue in their hand. That neither of them had lined up a shot told me that their current battle had less to do with the actual pool table and more to do with whatever business contract they were arguing over.

As much as some things changed, some stayed the same.

When they looked over at me, both of them also wore matching looks of surprise.

“I was invited, I believe,” I said, moving to Father’s crystal decanter of whisky.

“You were. I just didn’t think you would show.”

“I like to keep you on your toes,” I said, pouring myself a double.

Father laid down the pool cue and moved to stand next to me, pouring himself and Luc a glass as well.

“So, I hear you gave the Irish the blackmail that Mary Quinn had been hoarding?” Father said. I assumed it was his attempt at casual conversation.

“I did,” I confirmed. “There was a lot of juicy information in those files, and a lot I wish I had never seen.”

“I also heard that the Manwarring file seems to have gone missing,” he added.

“You know, I heard the same thing,” I said, taking a seat, wanting to know if he was actually going to have the balls to ask what he wanted to know.

“What did you do with the file?” Luc asked, still standing with his arms crossed over his chest and scowling down at me. There was a faint bruise at the corner of his jaw, and I had to admit I was pretty fucking proud of that.

“What’s wrong, big brother? Don’t trust me?”

“Can you be trusted?”

I was pretending to think about it for a moment, tilting my head side to side like I was weighing my options. Then I looked at him and said, “No, probably not.”

“Where’s the file?” my father asked. “Do you know what’s in it?”

“The file is in a pile of ash in my fireplace. There aren’t even any fragments left for people to hold over your head. No one has that blackmail,” I said, before downing the rest of my drink.

“Why?” Luc said, still not trusting me. I couldn’t blame him. It was hard to trust people you didn’t know. Although I was still mad Luc didn’t come to my defense like he should have seven years ago, me being sent away was hardly his fault.

“I didn’t do it for you, and that is all you need to know.”

Luc went to open his mouth and say something else, but Father raised his hand, stopping him.

“It’s over. The Irish have nothing to hold over our heads. Let’s just be grateful for that. But you wanted our connection to the mafia to be over. It’s done and thanks to your brother, it will not come back to bite us in the ass later.”

“Well,” I said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t go banking on that, but nothing that Mary Quinn had on you can be used against you. As long as she’s the only one that had it. I didn’t make any copies. Nothing is leaking from this end, but I don’t know how smart Declan’s predecessor was at keeping shit quiet.”

“It’s handled,” Luc said in a creepy and not at all ominous way.

“Why did you do it?” my father asked, his eyes narrowing.

I did it for Rose. I did it because I didn’t want anyone to ever come after her for what her mother had on people. I did it because some part of me wanted to believe that maybe the weight of my name would be protection for her as well.

“It’s my last name too,” I said, finally figuring an answer that, although it wasn’t a lie, it also didn’t give him any information that I didn’t want him to have.

Luc looked at me for a moment, his eyes narrowed, and then he nodded, finally trusting that I may have the family’s best interest at heart.

I meant, I couldn’t care less, but whatever. If it made him happy, he could cling to it.

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