Page 74 of A Game So Reckless

“I know you have territory and connections out east,” he goes on. “You get me access. You get me deals to move what I need to move – safely, discreetly, and without being tampered with – and then we’ll talk.”

“We’re talking now.” I stand, because I can’t fucking sit in that chair any longer. My bones feel like they’re going to snap right through my skin if I stay still for one more second. “We make the deal today. If I agree to get you Halifax, then Valentina is already mine. We are officially engaged from this moment onward.”

Vinny doesn’t move from his seated position. He thinks for a long, long time.

Then, he nods and stands.

“Get it done,” he says. “And when you come back, you come back with a ring.”

Chapter29

Darragh

Less than four hours later, Rowan and I are on a private plane to Halifax.

“So. You’re engaged. Should we drink to celebrate?” Rowan tips his head towards the bottle of whiskey and glasses beside us. We’re seated on tan leather seats with a table between us.

I don’t even know if this is something to celebrate. For me, getting married was essentially considered a death sentence up until now. Tying myself to a woman who could influence me, change me, break me…

It’s stupidity of the highest order.

But I can’t see any other choice anymore. Valentina’s barely done shit besides hate me and come for me and somehow that was already enough to trap me.

Trap me in this fucking mess where I’m obeying her father’s commands like a dog.

I don’t bother answering. And I don’t bother drinking, either. I’m not going to get a lick of fucking sleep for however long this Halifax business takes, so I figure I better keep my head clear other ways.

The flight from Toronto to Halifax is only a little over two hours. We land on a private runway outside the city. As soon as we’re off the plane with our stuff, the change in the air hits me. Salt.

The first time I ever came out east and saw the ocean, I thought I was back in Ireland.

Rowan’s arranged for a car to be ready for us. We put our stuff in the trunk and he gets in the driver’s side. I have some calls to make.

Before I can actually make one, my phone rings.

I glance down at the incoming call as Rowan begins to drive, and I let out a short breath of a laugh. Of course, Grandda would be calling me now. He could probably fucking sense how much of a mistake his grandson was making from all the way across the ocean. I swipe on the call icon and raise the phone to my ear.

“Hello, Grandda.”

“Darragh.”

Every time I hear his voice, his accent – so much stronger than mine – a cutting nostalgia takes hold. My time in Ireland was not particularly good.

But it made me into the fine specimen of the monster I am today.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask, looking out the car’s window. Endless green, stained black by the bleeding night.

“Heard you were headed out east.”

“Keeping tabs on me then, are you?”

“O’Reilly let me know you were coming out to see him.”

O’Reilly is one of my grandda’s oldest and most trusted Canadian contacts. He helped me find my feet out here.

“We’ve got business in Halifax.”

Grandda grunts with interest.

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