Page 124 of Savage Promises

“I can’t eat right now, Mara.” I push the plate of tacos away. “You go to work. I’ll clean up.”

“Lennox, what happened?”

“Neve got into USC.” I wipe away tears. “She’s leaving in a week.”

Mara frowns. “Okay. What about you?”

Straightening my back, I say, “I’m the owner of Luxe. That will have to be enough.”

THE NEXT FEW DAYS PASSand I bury myself with the routine of running the club. Everything there is goingsmoothly. It’s always that way. When one part of your life falls apart, the other parts seem to fall into place. Or maybe it seems that way.

On Saturday afternoon, I go home to Astoria to help Neve pack. My father barely acknowledges what’s happening, slumped on his recliner watching a Yankee game.

Before I say anything, he mutters, waving a glass full of whiskey. “I knew he’d throw you out. He didn’t want to marry you any more than he wanted to marry Neve.”

I shake my head, disgust curling in my gut. “You’re pathetic.”

He glances at me with murky eyes. “Where’s the money?”

“My money?” Fire rages through my veins. “Mydivorce settlement?”

Dad snarls at me. “We arranged that settlement. You agreed to hand it over.”

“I agreed to no such thing,” I snap. “And Neve has her scholarship.”

Dad bolts from his chair, his expression as dark as I’ve ever seen. “Now you listen to me. You’re a Donnelly again. That makes you mine. I can and will sell you to the Bratva or the Albanians in a heartbeat. Iwantthat money.”

With Neve secure and Dorian protecting me I have nothing to lose. “You can rot in hell.”

My father grips me by the throat, but the sharp click of a gun being cocked fills the air.

Garrett emerges from the hallway leading to Dad’s office, his piece aimed squarely at our father’s head. “Get your fucking hands off my sister, old man,” he says coolly.

My father hesitates, then lets me go. “Traitor. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you, Garrett.”

My brother’s shoulders are square and there’s a light in his eyes I’ve not seen in a long time. “At the expense ofyour daughters. What kind of man does that make you? I won’t be that man. Not anymore. Go get your final payday somewhere else. Sell your soul. You won’t use my sisters again.”

Final payday? A term I heard whispered in his office before. Dad wants to disappear.

“I’ll sell Club Echelon,” he mutters.

Garrett laughs. “Go ahead. That place fell apart without Lennox. You can have it back.”

For the first time in forever, my father looks so small and helpless, I almost feel sorry for him.Almost.

Keeping his gun trained on my father with one hand, my brother rests the other on the small of my back as he steers me to the front door.

“What about Neve?” My throat tight, I worry about leaving her behind after such a dark incident.

Garrett brushes my cheek. “I’ll get her packed and on the plane. Live your life, Lennox. You’re free now.”

I cock my head and stare at him. “You’re clean, aren’t you?”

“Two weeks.” He clears his throat. “One day at a time. But I see what I have to do now. You took care of so much for so long. It’s my turn. Your watch has ended, Donnelly,” he gets husky, quoting our favorite show.

“I’m here if you need me. If Neve needs me,” I stress and then leave because my father isn’t going to stand idly by while Garrett and I engage in a long goodbye.

Outside on the street, I breathe in the smell of summer knocking on Astoria’s doorstep. The earthy scent of trees coming back to life and fragrant early blooms in flowerbeds are comforts from the past. But I won’t be back here. Not with Neve gone. And not with...

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