Page 30 of Welcome to the Sins of Blackstone
He walks over to me shaking his head and sits on the other side. “You would think your mom is looking down at us and would help me with Jo. She always thought we’d end up together, still not seeing it.” He moans, and I laugh.
It was one thing my mother told Sebastian, stop sleeping around and focus on the girl you want. Jo. The man has been in love with her forever, I just don’t understand why he can’t ask her out.
“My mother is probably laughing because you’re being a pussy and won’t just ask her out.” I slap his arm and start laughing when he tells me to fuck off. “Just ask her.”
“Well, if I ask her today, she’s going to think I’m an ass for only thinking about my dick at a time like this. I’ll wait.” He takes a sip of his whiskey, and I laugh and reply.
“Yeah, until you’re an old dick.”
He goes to say something but stops when the doors swing open. What the fuck is he doing here?
Rowan O'Brien walks in and two of his men follow, but I already know who isn’t here. His son Liam.
Rowan sits across from us, his face set in stone. He doesn’t look afraid. Doesn’t seem angry either. He looks like a man trying to stop a war he knows he can’t win.
“This war wasn’t my decision.” His voice is calm, careful. “It wasn’t the Irish's decision.”
I say nothing, waiting. My father does the same.
“My son acted alone. The attack at the wedding was his own doing. He was blinded by vengeance, anger.” His jaw tightens. “And he will be punished for it.”
I arch a brow. “Punished?”
Rowan nods once. “He’ll answer for what he’s done. I don’t want this war. I never did. My son was thinking like a little boy, but he will be punished as a man.”
For a moment, the only sound is the low hum of the restaurant, as everyone is listening to every word he is saying.
I lean forward, resting my forearms on the table. “You think that changes anything?” My voice is soft, deadly. “You think I care if he acted alone?” Rowan watches me, his expression unreadable. I tilt my head. “He made his choice the second he stepped onto our land with a gun.”
Maria shifts slightly behind me, but I don’t turn. I keep my eyes locked on the man who let his son destroy my wedding, my family.
“You want peace?” I murmur. “Fine.” I pause, letting the silence stretch. Then, I continue, my voice dark and final. “But understand this, O'Brien, no Irish sets foot on our territory again. Ever.” I hold his gaze, also giving my dad the chance to say something, but he doesn’t so I continue. “And your son? One day, be it in ten years, twenty, fifty, I will kill him. My children will know his name, and what he did. If I’m dead, they will kill him, or his children if any Irish sets foot on any part of this town that is ours.”
Rowan exhales, his expression tightening, but he doesn’t argue. He simply nods once, rising from his chair, and without another word, he walks out.
The moment the doors close behind him, my father speaks, his voice is quiet but firm. “I am proud of you.”
I glance at him, and he watches me for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he leans back in his chair. “Together, we will take every inch of Blackstone Hollow.”
I exhale slowly, feeling the weight of my father’s words, but also the ones my mother said.This life will always bring war, but we control it.
War is not over. It’s only just begun.
Chapter 16
Maria
The bedroom is quiet except for the soft crackle of a candle on the nightstand, the aroma of cinnamon lingering in the air. My bare feet sink into the plush carpet as I slide my earrings off, placing them onto the vanity.
The only light comes from the moon filtering through the window, casting silver shadows across the room. I stand in front of the vanity, my fingers trembling as I pull the pins from my hair. My long waves tumble down my back, the strands soft between my fingertips.
A knot tightens behind my ribs, thick and unmoving. It’s been over a week since the wedding, when his mother died, since he started pulling away.
I press my lips together, swallowing back the guilt. I know he blames me. He hasn’t said it outright, but the way he won’t look at me… Today was the first day, he let me hold his hand and didn’t pull it away from me. Maybe something is changing between us.
I can smell him, smoke, expensive cologne, and something darkly masculine.
