Page 70 of Forbidden Romeo

“No, you’re not.” I laugh bitterly. “I know how this works. It might be a shitty situation, but the fact that you have me here gives you some kind of advantage.”

“That’s not why—”

I cut him off, uninterested in any more of his excuses. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? I’m a valuable asset. Whether you hand me over to Padraic or let me go or do something insane likemarry me,I give you power.”

“You owe me nothing,” Jack replies cooly.

“Yet you’ll have it anyway.” I sigh and take another drink. “When my mother died, I swore revenge on the lot of you. Especially Padraic. If Connor asked me to jump, I’d say, ‘How high?’”

Jack seems to double-take. “You were on the ground?”

“I was more of a spy… bar work, mostly,” I admit. No point hiding it now, I suppose. It was a long time ago now, but I still remember those dark nights like they were yesterday. “But I was so wrapped up in grabbing hold of every morsel of information that would give me the power to take you down, I didn’t notice that Roisin…”

I trail off, cursing the alcohol for loosening my tongue so much. Still, it’s not like this situation could get any worse.

Jack seems to notice my hesitation. A moment later, he softly asks, “What happened?”

I hesitate, not because I think Jack knowing will change anything, but because it isn’t my story to tell. “She got… sick. My father got into some dodgy dealings with the cartel, and Roisin was caught in the middle. She was barely sixteen the night I found her, already going into cardiac arrest.”

Jack fills up my glass wordlessly.

“I gave her CPR for so long.” I swallow, remembering the fear racing through my veins, the burn of my muscles as I pushed, breathed, pushed. “I still have no idea how she pulled through.”

Jack huffs out in amusement, “Maguires are stubborn; I’ll give you that.”

He’s not wrong. I take the shot to prove it. “After she was stable, I packed our bags, and we left.”

“That fast?”

I nod. “I begged Connor to come with us, but… he was so consumed by this world. Achieving power and glory and vengeance for our mother’s death. Even as he watched me half-carry my sister to the car, he couldn’t understand that there was anything more important than this life… even his family.”

Apparently Connor had chosen Family—the power, the danger, the responsibility—overfamily, the two girls he was lucky enough to have as sisters. In his position, I might have made the same choice. Didn’t make it any less stupid. A tale as old as time, really.

I can practically see the thoughts swimming through Jack’s head as I put my glass down on the bar and stand up. “It’s all just a game of power, really. Doesn’t matter who it is or why they do it—hell, even how much time has passed. It’s always the same.”

Jack says nothing. He simply watches me like I’m some kind of predator as I turn on him, stepping around the bar to approach him head-on.

“I know what you think you have to do in this situation. But let me tell you, there is always a choice. You can let me go, and I will never come back here. I can live my life. This doesn’t have to be a power play.”

“He’ll keep looking for you,” Jack says with a shake of his head.

“Then I’ll keep running.”’

“That’s not living,” he replies, his voice gravelly as I draw nearer. “That’s surviving.”

I stand before him and stick out my chin defiantly. “I’m not going to marry you, Jack.”

“Aimee…” Jack’s irritation—and something more—is evident as he reaches out to touch me, but I back away.

“It’s too much,” I say as my back presses up against a wall.

Jack stalks closer. “I know what this would mean to you.”

I laugh bitterly. “I tell you one sob story, and suddenly you think you know me? You have noideawhat this means.”

“You think I’m not affected by this too? You think I haven’t had my share of sob stories?” Jack hisses. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But Jesus, Aimee. I’m talking about life and death here.”

I shake my head. “You can’t make me.”

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