“Tell me why I’m here so I can go. I have better things to do, and better people to spend my time with. People who don’t make me feel like committing murder. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way.” I nodded toward his head, which was still bleeding. I also noted that his white dress shirt was stained, too. He was a dangerous animal dressed in an expensive suit.
“You’re going to marry me.”
Seconds. Minutes. Hours. I had no idea how long I stood there staring at him staring at me.
What.
The.
Fuck.
Did.
He.
Just.
Say?
You’re going to marry me.
I wanted to laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh, like my brother, because he thought this was a joke. I knew better, and so did the muscles around my mouth.
“I’ll kill you first.”
The tone of my voice made my brother look between Cash and me. Harrison stood abruptly when he realized how serious the demand was.
“Mr. Kelly,” my brother said. It was ridiculous to hear him call Cash Mr. Kelly, because they were around the same age, but there was no denying the respect in the tone covering up for the shock. Or was it defiance? “You’re joking.”
“Not a bit.”
It all made sense in that moment. That was why Raff had checked us for weapons. He knew one of us was going to kill him after this. And there was still time. The day was fresh. There was no way in hell I was marrying this marauding animal. This…this...gangster of New York! I was engaged—wasn’t I?—to a man of the law!
“You kill me,” Cash said easily, “and you doom your brothers. To start. Each attempt on my life will cost you one of theirs.”
Harrison came to stand next to me. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Boss. Can we talk about this? Why my sister? She’s not—”
I barely heard the words from my brother’s mouth as mine opened. I knew Harrison felt like it was his duty to protect me, and I could tell he was trying to do that through reasoning, but this was between Cash and me now. “There will be no attempts. Plural. When I aim to shoot, I never miss my mark.”
“Don’t be so quick to anger, darlin’. Think this through. Be rational.”
“I already have. I can’t stand to be in the same room as you, much less be your wife.” I realized then how deadly my voice had become. Low. Soft. But with enough power to strike him in his heart and make it stop—if he had one.
He leaned forward, steepling his fingers, taking me a bit more seriously now. “Let me be honest. This is not personal. You’ve found yourself here because you have a heart I want. I’ll stop at no cost to have it. Actually. I already consider it mine. You, darlin’, are mine. End of story.”
“I—” I took a deep breath, releasing it silently, forcing my voice to come out even “—will never marry you. And if you even think about hurting my—”
Before the words were fully out, Cash had drawn a gun from underneath his desk, and with a blast that sounded like a bomb going off inside of my heart, shot my brother. He hit the wall and slid down it. I fell to my knees beside him, running my hands along his body.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” I chanted, frantically feeling for my brother’s pulse.
“I’m all right, Kee,” he said, his voice strained. “My shoulder. He hit my shoulder.”
“Then why did you fall?”
Harrison narrowed his eyes at me. “I got hit with a bullet, Kee. Out of nowhere.”
I shook my head, applying pressure to his arm. Even though he assured me that it was just his shoulder, he was my big brother, and his wound hurt me as much as it hurt him. I looked up into light eyes that pierced through the darkness that had settled around me.
“Fuck you!” I spat out.
“Later, after I hear your vows.” Cash grinned at me.
“Kee.” Harrison’s voice brought me back to him. “Say no. The boys would want you to do the same. Say no. Run.”
“Why?” I said to Cash, feeling the closest thing to weak that I’d ever felt. My brother’s blood stained my hands. “Why me?”
“It’s not personal,” he said causally. “It has nothing to do with you directly. I don’t want your body. I’m taking you.”
“Stealing me,” I whispered. “Why?”
“Because I can.” There was something in his eyes—knowledge. He knew. He knew