Page 30 of Forbidden Vows

“You’re insane, Anton.”

“No, I’m just determined. If I want something, I take it. Plain and simple. And what I’m taking now will only bring you benefits. Once the initial discomfort wears off, that is.”

“Ciara won’t accept it,” Ronan shakes his head slowly.

I can’t help but laugh. “Remind me of who the head of the family is here.”

“You’re a prick, Anton.”

“Maybe so, but I’m the prick who will keep a prime seat at the table for the Donovans,” I say.

“What about Sergei? You’re taking his bride away.”

“I’ll handle the Kuznetsovs; don’t worry about them. Hell, I’ll do you another favor on top of all this. I’ll make sure Sergei knows you had no way of stopping me. If he asks, I’ll simply tell him that I know about your involvement in Belfast and that I threatened to expose you.”

The color drains from Ronan’s face. I was saving this for later, but I might as well close it up now and tie it with a nice, shiny bow.

“What about Belfast?” he asks.

“Belfast. Northern Ireland.”

“I know where fucking Belfast is!” he snaps. “What’s that got to do with—”

“Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2008,” I stop him before he tries to claim his innocence. “I know that was you. Not you, personally, but one of your proxies. I came upon a paper trail, one that I bet will cause the British government to extradite you once I send it over to their offices. Who’s in charge of the IRA situation over there? MI6? MI5? Or is it Scotland Yard?”

Ronan scoffs and stands up, pacing the room as he gathers his thoughts.

I’ve got him now.

The situation will make for some very uncomfortable family dinners in the future, but I’ll wash it down with an extra shot of whiskey. No problem. As long as I get what I want.

And what I want more than anything is Eileen Donovan.

“You’ll handle Kuznetsov, then,” Ronan finally concedes with a nod, his back to me. “I’ll deal with Ciara.”

“Smart man.”

“Fuck you, Anton. You just screwed us over in more ways than one.”

“In the long term, you’ll reap greater benefits from this adjusted alliance. You have my guarantee, Ronan. And my word is my bond.”

The fact that I get to ruin Sergei Kuznetsov’s day is a welcome bonus. He thought he’d weasel his way into the Donovans, just like he thought he’d weasel his way into my seat at the Bratva table.

Not while I’m still drawing breath.

If he aims for the king, he’d best not fucking miss.

“One more thing… if I were you, I’d worry less about Sergei and Ciara’s reaction and worry more about Eileen’s,” I add with a chuckle. “She’s not going to be happy about this at all.”

Chapter 10

Eileen

“Have you lost your mind?”

I’m sitting on the edge of my hospital bed, heat coursing through me as I try to adjust to Anton’s proposal. The words coming out of his mouth might make sense to him, but all I’m hearing is that I’m screwed in a wholly different way.

Hell, I can’t even be ashamed of what happened, because the repercussions have hit me so hard across the face that I can barely breathe.

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