Page 80 of Forbidden Romeo

As she strides toward my father, there’s no denying who she is. The power in her walk, the fierce look on her face. She’s a Maguire through and through, and a dangerous one at that.

“Dear God,” Padraic whispers, the shock evident in his features.

Aimee smiles at him, sickly sweet. “Actually, my name is Roisin. Roisin Maguire.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Aimee

I stare at Padraic Maguire without allowing myself to blink.

I’ve not seen his crooked face in years, and yet he looks exactly the same. The face I’ve seen in my nightmares, the face my brother swore every vengeance against.

In my peripheral vision, I see Jack staring at me with urgency, but I ignore him.

With me here posing as Roisin, there’s no longer a reason for Padraic to go out looking for her. As much as I might want to trust Jack’s ability to keep her safe, it’s not like he hasn’t lied to me before. And when it comes to my sister, it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

To my satisfaction, Padraic lowers his gaze first to look at his son. “Are you going to explain the meaning of this madness?”

“MyRoisinhere,” Jack says a little bitterly, “and I got engaged a few days ago, and your men came after her. So, I defended her.”

“That’s a fucking Maguire.”

“We’re aware,” I say calmly.

“Traitor was too soft a word for you, boy.” Padraic sneers. “You are a disgrace to the Duffy name!”

“We knew things would get complicated,” Jack replies evenly. “But I assure youRoisinposes no threat; she knows nothing of her brother’s actions.”

Padraic looks ready to strangle Jack, “And you believe her?”

“I only returned to New York a month ago,” I say quickly, trying to move to get in between the two of them. “I didn’t know what Connor had done until Jack told me.”

But Jack refuses to let me pass into Padraic’s line of fire, and Padraic simply ignores me, channeling his rage at his son.

“You bring a goddamn Maguire spy into my house? Are you a traitor, or just fucking stupid?”

“Padraic–”

Before I have time to react, Padraic hits Jack across the face.

The smack reverberates throughout the room, and I can’t help but cringe at the pure strength needed to make it. But Jack stands impressively firm. It takes me a moment to remember Jack showing me his hardened knuckles at a beautiful restaurant. Boxing, he’d said. It feels like a lifetime ago.

But perhaps there were a few things he wasn’t lying about.

“Please!” I surge forward, taking advantage of the shock to push in front of Jack. “I’ve not spoken to my family in five years. I didn’t even go to my own father’s funeral,” I say firmly, hoping he might have at least gotten the facts to confirm my story. “Do you really think I’d spy for the people that ruined my life?”

Padraic finally pays me some regard, the sneer on his face almost as disgusted as the venom in his eyes. “Your brother shot my son in cold blood. I don’t believe a thing that comes out of your bitch mouth, Maguire.”

“That’s my fiancé you’re talking about, Padraic,” Jack growls quietly.

Padraic lets out a cool laugh, not taking his eyes off me. “Oh, she’s got you wrapped around her whorish fingers, hasn’t she.”

“You will treat her with some goddamn respect!” Jack roars, and Padraic actually flinches back.

I feel Jack place a warm, solid hand on the small of my back and glance up at him. The strong line of his jaw is taunt with anger, his wild eyes almost unrecognizable.

“I don’t care if you hate her; I don’t care if you approve. This woman is going to be mywife,”Jack hisses.“You aren’t going to say another word against her.”

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