Page 3 of Ruthless

“Answer the question, Kennedy.”

I expected her hostility. She’s been pissed off at me ever since she walked into her father’s office and found my brothers and me inside discussing business. The hurt etched on her face is something that still haunts me. I’ve been waiting for the right time to approach her now that Axel’s shit is handled. I just never thought it would be under these circumstances.

“Yes, it’s true. I’m pregnant.” She hangs her head and stares down at the floor like it holds the answers to the universe as her purple-painted toes stab at an imaginary speck of dust on the tile floor.

Everything inside me stills hearing her confirm it. Numbness takes over as my world spins on its axis. She’s just thrown me into chaos, and I don’t know what the fuck to do, but then her next words stop me cold.

“My dad also knows and said no grandchild of his will be raised by a single mother. He’s making me marry one of his business partners’ sons up in Boston. Says he’s a good Catholic boy that’ll make me happy.”

My blood boils at the thought of some other prick thinking they can come in and take them from me. I push off from the wall and close the distance between us until I can feel the heat of her body against my own. I lean down, cupping her heart-shaped face in my large hands, forcing her to meet my eyes. Watery blue ones stare back at me, causing an ache to splinter across my chest.

“That’s not happening. I won’t let it.”

“How?” She wipes at the tears that have fallen down her cheeks and sniffles. “Nobody goes against the great Finnegan Donnelly. He says jump, and they do it. No questions asked. You know that.”

I do. Which means we’re both fucked and not in a good way. Different scenarios run through my mind for a way out of this, but I keep coming back to the only one that makes sense.

“Marry me.” The words fall out of my mouth without a second thought.

“What? No way. I can’t do that.” Her head is shaking before I can even finish, but I’m not letting her stubborn ass off the hook that easily.

“You have a better idea?” I cock an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to come to the same conclusion that I have. There isn’t one.

Her mouth opens and closes a few times as all of her reasons filter through her mind, and she realizes the inevitable.

“Pack your shit. We’re leaving for Vegas.”

Movement next to me pulls me out of my memories. Kennedy keeps shifting in her seat as she chews on her purple-painted fingernail, lost in thought. She hasn’t said a word since we’ve said, “I do,” and boarded the flight back home.

I put a hand on her bouncing knee, halting the movement, and give it a gentle squeeze. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” The slight hitch in her breath belies her words. There’s also the fact that she keeps her gaze pointed out the plane’s tiny window, refusing to look at me. I’m not an expert on women, but I know her tells. They’re slight and hard to pick up on, but I imagine that comes from being brought up in the Donnelly house. When your father is the head of the Irish mob in Atlanta, I can only imagine what she’s seen.

Not many people would notice how her calves flex against her leggings as she stretches out her toes in her Vans to keep from fidgeting in her seat, but most people aren’t me. I’m trained to pick up on any inconsistency.

I lean down in her space until my lips brush against the shell of her ear. The scent of lemon floods me. It’s light and mouthwatering, like her. I have to force my dick to behave and focus on her. “I can always tell when you’re lying, Ken.”

Her body trembles when the hairs of my beard tickle the sensitive flesh as the words leave my mouth, proving she’s still just as affected by me as I am her. At least I’m not alone in this. Whatever the fuckthisis.

“Fine. I’m not okay at all. I’m terrified, all right? My dad is going to be beyond pissed when he finds out. Not to mention my brothers…” Her blue eyes glance up to my nose as she lets her words trail off. We both know what they’ll do, but too bad. It’s done, and she’s mine. They both are.

I twist the diamond ring on her finger until the diamond is back in place and give her hand one last squeeze. “You are my wife”—my chin dips down to her flat stomach—“and that’s my baby growing in there. No one is gonna fuck with either one of you, or they’ll answer to me. And that includes your family. We’re in this together. For better or worse. Got it?”

She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her free hand and meets my stare head-on. “Yeah, I got you.”

“Good.” I lean down and press a kiss on her forehead. “Get some sleep. We’re gonna need it.”

My head rests against the vinyl seat as I stare at the reading light above my head. Sleep isn’t something I’ve had much of in eight years and not something that’ll come anytime soon. Especially now that we’re married, we’ll deal with whatever bullshit comes our way together—as husband and wife.

The drive from the airport to our property is filled with just as much tension as the plane. I chomp down on my gum and let it settle my nerves as I watch the sunrise. I’ve been itching for a cigarette ever since we hit the road a half-hour ago, but this pack of Juicy Fruit I bought at one of the airport’s gift shops is holding me over. It would be easy to light one up right now, but I’ll be damned if I do that with Kennedy in the car next to me.

It’s about an hour outside of Atlanta to our property, but it’s far enough away from the bullshit of a crowded city that I can breathe easily. Fresh air and trees are all around our land. My body won’t settle until we’re back there.

Kennedy grips the door handle of my truck tighter the closer we get, and I can only imagine what must be going through her head right now. I’m not sure what to expect from my brothers, but I know the girls will help her feel more at home.

Her phone rings again for the hundredth time since we landed, and my fingers itch to throw the fucker out the window, but something tells me that wouldn’t go over real well. She glances down at the caller ID and chews on her lip.

“You gonna answer it this time?”

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