Page 30 of Vengeful Union

I wish I could get as far away from this life as possible, but for now, I have to help Lara and Bree. I don’t know when it happened, when I started to have sympathy for Lara Burke, but I do. I don’t want her hurt. Some part of me wants to protect her. Maybe because I see myself in her, the man I used to be when my father had control of me.

“This needs to happen soon,” my father says. "Within the next few days.”

Then his eyes glare at me. “You’ll move her into your room here, and we make the wedding arrangements.”

“You want the lady to have a say in what flowers she gets?” Paul snorts, and my father grins.

“Why not? I want Burke to think this is forever.” My father chuckles. He walks over and claps me on the back. “We’ll have it here, of course.”

I try my best not to grimace. “What happens if Burke wants to retaliate before the wedding?”

“We don’t give him a shot. We’ll get you two married before he even knows it.”

“And you think Lara’s going to go along with this?”

He shrugs. “She doesn’t have a choice, does she?”

I feel sick to my stomach, but I can’t allow them to know that I have any type of empathy for Lara. I need them to think I’m fully back in this life. “Very well.”

“I’m proud of you, Rory. I wouldn’t think you’d step up and do something like this in a million years.” My father pauses. “What changed your mind?”

“Seeing that Burke bitch on her knees reminded me of how much I hate them.” I hate every word that comes out of my mouth.

My father grins. “So, you're back, Rory? For good?”

He looks hopeful.

I take a deep breath and say something I never thought I’d ever say. “I’m back forever. I’m home, Pa.”

My father pulls me into an impromptu hug, and I haven’t felt his arms around me in years. It was never comforting, but this time, it’s outright revolting.

The only reason he’s accepting me is because I’ve offered to do something truly awful to a Burke. All because she was born Patrick’s daughter.

“The Burkes are done for,” Paul says. “We should celebrate.”

“I’ll get the bourbon. Do you want a drink, Rory?”

“Of course,” I know it would look suspicious if I didn’t, but I plan to nurse one drink for as long as this takes. I want to be clear-headed when I move Lara into my room, when I talk to her about everything we need to do.

I’ve never thought about making wedding arrangements before. It’s not like I’ve had any serious girlfriends since college.

“So, we’ll have it here.” Paul takes a drink from my father and chugs it down while I sip mine. “How many guests?”

“Enough to make sure it gets around town. Hell, we’ll serve steak and lobster,” my father says, clinking his glass with Paul’s and then mine.

I’m in this dance with the devil, and I guess the only way out is through it.

We stand around and talk about wedding arrangements for a while longer.

My father keeps looking at me fondly, and it’s kind of freaking me out.

We’ve never had the best relationship. He’s always doted on Bree and pretty much ignored me, especially when I told him that I wasn’t going to be following in his footsteps.

He walks over to me and pats me on the shoulder, and it’s all I can do not to recoil.

“I’m proud of you, son.” He leans in close to my ear. “You’re a lot more ruthless than I thought.”

Ruthless.

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