Page 31 of Vengeful Union

That’s something I never wanted to be. I just wanted to live out of town and calculate my numbers. I’m not built for this type of lifestyle.

I guess Bree is. I guess that’s why she’s married into the Burke family. She’ll never get away from this life, and I feel sad for her.

I’d like to have Bree far away from all of this, away from the Burkes entirely, but I know that Bree never does anything she doesn’t want to do. She’s not going to come back to Dad, and she’s not going to run away with me, either.

She’s made her decision. All I can do is try to mitigate the damage when it comes to our father.

“What’s the plan after the wedding?” Paul asks, and I look up at him, surprised.

I actually don’t really have a plan for after the wedding. Not one that I can tell them about, anyway.

I shrug. “Eye for an eye. We turn her into a Murphy just the way they’ve turned my sister against us.”

Dad grins. “That’s perfect, boyo.”

“What about security?” Paul asks.

“We’ll need to have someone with eyes on her all the time,” my father suggests. “And as for the wedding, we’ll double up security. I don’t want Patrick getting wind of it and sending one of his sons.”

I nod. “We’ll handle whatever comes.”

Paul shakes his head as if in disbelief. “Never knew you had it in you, Rory.”

“You don’t know me at all.” I finish the drink I’ve been nursing. “Well, I should go. Check in on my wife-to-be.”

Dad laughs out loud, throwing his head back, and I grit my teeth as I plaster on a smile.

I walk upstairs to the abandoned wing that Lara now resides in, hating myself.

I never wanted to be this kind of man.

Chapter Eleven

11

LARA

I’m pacingaround the room when Rory walks in, knocking lightly on the door before opening it. I don’t know why he knocks. It’s not like I’m a guest here–I'm a prisoner.

Slightly annoyed, I huff out a breath.

“So? How’d it go?”

“He’s all for it.”

I go silent for a moment. I guess that part of me was hoping that Murphy would miraculously agree to let me go instead of me having to marry someone I don’t love.

I bite my lip. “So, what happens now?”

“We get married.” He shrugs, and I just stare at him until he continues. “And we try our hardest to convince my father that you’re loyal to the Murphys. He wants exactly the same thing to happen here that happened with Bree.”

“I’ll never be loyal to the Murphys.”

Rory nods. “I know that. But they need to believe that the tides are turning. You can’t be too gung-ho, though, it’ll be obvious that this is all fake. You’ll have to pretend to hate me for a while?”

“Pretend?”

Rory winces and frowns. “Do you really hate me?”

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