Page 88 of Brutal Obsession

I never thought I’d regret finding her, but I do now. Look what I’ve pulled her into.

My lungs freeze solid, denying me breath out of pure self-loathing.

“Please say something.” Harper’s lips press together, her blue eyes still alight with fear in this semidarkness. Her expression is like a hundred pushpins being stuck into my heart.

I try to swallow, but the lump of guilt won’t go down. I’ve been silent as the grave this entire time, but I’ve got to speak. I even know what I’m going to say, and that’s what scares me.

Because I’m about to make a commitment.

“Cian, please.” Harper smushes the palms of her hands into her eye sockets, like she’s trying a manual approach to slowing her tears.

“Harper Brennan, look at me.” I wait for her to drop her hands. When she eventually does, I tilt her chin up so our eyes meet and hold her gaze. “I’m sorry. That should have neverhappened to you. And I promise that I will never, ever let anyone hurt you like that again.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I don’t care who the perpetrator is. I won’t allow it.” I pull her close, her soft scent wafting over me. “If your father ever tries to lay a finger on you again, I’ll kill him. It’s that simple.”

At that announcement, she sucks in a shocked breath. “But…he’s your boss.” Her words land on my collarbone.

My hands ache to coil into fists, so I run them over her back. “I know, and I don’t care.”

“What about Shane?” She’s trembling again. “You’ll be killed, Cian.”

“So be it.”

“How can you say that?” Harper attempts to draw back from me, but I hold her tighter, drawing her deeper into my chest. Her heart’s clamoring against mine.

I place a kiss on the top of her head. “When we get back, we’ll face them together. And if either of them threatens to hurt you, I’ll intervene.”

“You’re just trying to get me to go with you.” The waver in her voice gnaws at me like screws and nails digging into exposed flesh. “You don’t mean it.”

“What do I have to do to make you believe me?”

She shakes her head against my chest. “Don’t take me back.”

I exhale into her hair. Why is this so fucking difficult?

She drives me so crazy that I would commit myself to her, knowing full well it would pit me against my friends and my employers. The Kings are the closest I’ve had to family since adolescence. They’re the closest to family I ever expected I’d have, and now…

Somehow, Harper’s fucked my heart up so badly that I’d sacrifice everyone and everything to keep her safe.

And she doesn’t even think I’m telling her the truth.

This woman kills me.

A sane person would ask, “Is Harper Brennan really worth all this trouble?”

And I would shoot that motherfucker between the eyes for such a dumbass question.

My mind clears, abrupt and concise. I know what to do.

“What if I swear to you that the first person you’re going to see when you step off that plane is your sister?”

“Riley?” That microscopic inkling of hope in her voice announces my victory.

“I’ll call her and Finn right now and ask them to pick us up when we land. Youcan call them yourself, if you think I’m bluffing.”

Harper tilts her head all the way back, her lips brushing the underside of my jaw. Her mouth on my body is a quick recipe for instant fucking, so I need to wrap this up before we cause a scene in the rental car parking lot.

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