Page 8 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

I groaned, running my hand over my face. This was becoming more complicated by the minute. “Fine, a quick weekend away. Where are we going?”

“You need me to plan the honeymoon?” he asked.

I glanced at Patrick. “He’s done it already, hasn’t he?”

“Worked on it as soon as you told us. I think he secretly wants to take a trip to the beach.”

“I’m not going to the fucking beach,” I snapped.

Chase tossed a packet at me. “You’re going to the beach,” he grinned. “Think of all that sun and sand. It’ll be your first vacation…ever.”

“I fucking hate sand,” I growled.

“I know,” he grinned. “Which is why I got you two lovebirds a private island for your honeymoon. It’s in the Florida Keys, so we don’t have to go far. And it’s less than ten acres that you can only reach by seaplane. It’s perfect from a security standpoint, and we don’t have to worry about her father pulling any shit, because there won’t be room for him to interfere. Plus, it’ll give you two the chance to get to know each other.”

I frowned at him. “Why would I need to get to know her?”

“Uh…” he glanced at Patrick, then back to me. “Because you’re going to be married to her?”

Patrick leaned forward in his seat. “Ash, you need this. She’s going to be your wife. Not only do you need to get to know her, you need her for information. If you get her on your side, she can give you insight into how to work her father.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. “I really fucking hate you guys.”

“Just remember, you’re the dumbass who thought this was a good idea.”

“Is all this really necessary?” I asked. It seemed ridiculous to me that I had to go through all this for a fake wedding. “Seriously, we all know what this is. Her father can’t possibly think I love her. I met her one fucking time. There’s no way he thinks this is anything other than an arranged marriage.”

“That’s not what matters,” Chase snapped. “Your life is tied to hers. You can’t afford to fuck this up. No matter how powerful you grow, he’s got the bigger reach. There’s no good way out of this for you until he’s behind bars or dead, and even then, you’ll still probably get fucked over.”

“Then I suppose I need to get an actual fucking tux for the wedding,” I sighed.

“Already on it,” Patrick said. “Jesus, thank fuck this isn’t your actual fucking wedding. Your bride would be pissed.”

“It is your wedding,” Chase cut in. “You need to move forward like this woman is the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. Anything less will land you in the grave.”

I nodded, taking his warning to heart. After all, it wasn’t just my life on the line. If something happened to me, I had no doubt Buchanan would take out anyone close to me. And since Patrick and Chase were always with me, that meant they were in the line of fire too.

My phone rang and I groaned when I saw the caller ID. “Speak of the devil.” I put him on speakerphone. “Ambrose,” I answered.

“Jade was attacked today,” he said angrily. “She’s in the hospital. Get your ass to Mercy now. I want to find these fuckers and make them burn.”

He hung up without another word and my insides soured. “Well, fuck,” I muttered.

“Maybe you’ll get your wish and you won’t have to marry her,” Patrick grinned.

“Or you just gained another target on your back,” Chase said grimly.

* * *

When we pulled up to the hospital, I knew we were fucked. Whatever happened today was enough to send Buchanan into lockdown mode. His guards were swarming the hospital property and checking cars before they entered the parking lot.

“Patrick, I’m gonna need you on this.”

He nodded from the front seat. “What are you thinking?”

“I need you on personal protection.”

“For you?” he asked, his brows furrowing as he stared at me in the rearview mirror.

---