Page 90 of Stolen Temptation

Even worse than Shane’s unexpected rebuke of Finn is Finn’s silent acceptance, like he blames himself too. A muscle tics in his jaw, and his chest rises with a deep, slow breath, but he otherwise remains still and quiet as a statue.

“The Tyson operation has been in the works for months, and everything went to shit in a matter of hours. Do you have anyideahow much we lost today?” Fire ignites in Shane’s eyes. “And now we find out our enemy sabotaged us?”

Shane may be grilling Finn, but we all feel the searing heat of his words.

“Who’s going to follow a man who can’t be trusted with our most important business ventures?” Shane’s words cut with every syllable.

The air between them hangs heavy. Even from a distance, the weight of their exchange bears down on me. Just a few minutes ago, I was pissed at Finn, but now, nothing and no one could tear my sympathy away from him.

The rest of us don’t even know where to look as Shane cuts him down. Finn, to his credit, continues to stand tall while his father gives him a verbal beating. But the tension in the room just grows thicker.

Especially as Thomas opens his mouth and starts spewing acid. “We return that bitch downstairs.Tonight.”

“No,” I blurt out. All eyes settle on my defiant face. I push on. “Playing into Leo’s hands won’t solve anything.”

“The hell it won’t!” Thomas snarls across the table. “If we don’t clean up this royal fuckup, your little kidnapping stunt is going to blow up in all of our faces. Or weren’t you listening?It already has.”

I open my mouth to bark something back at him, but Finn cuts me off. “I’m inclined to think Thomas is right.”

Thatshuts me up. I whip my head around to gape at him. Is Finn really considering just handing Kiara over to Leo? Without any fight at all?

“We still don’t know why Leo was planning to sell that girl downstairs, but if the Tyson operation is any indication of the hell he’s prepared to unleash if we don’t return her, then our hands are tied.” The words seem to pain Finn, but that’s nothing compared to what they do to me.

“So we lie down and roll over?” I hurl the question at him. “Just because Leo told us to? That fucker just claimedresponsibility for killing six of our own. Why aren’t we talking about gettingeven?”

“Why?” Donal’s gruff voice draws my attention. “You want to send the girl back broken in a box?”

“And invite even more of the De Lucas’ wrath?” Thomas cuts in, throwing up his hands. “We are not in a position to take any more heat over this. Not after what happened today.”

I want to argue to the ends of the earth. If that would stop them from considering what they’re considering, I would argue until my tongue fell out.

But arguing won’t solve anything.

Slowly, everyone focuses their attention on me. The pressure is visceral, as if someone reached inside my body and squeezed my internal organs in their fist. It takes a lot of effort to hold my ground and not back away from the sheer force of their expectant gazes.

Thomas is the one who says it. “Youbrought her here. You take her back.”

Panic breaks open deep inside my chest. I’m not ready for my time with Kiara to be over. That awful, cloying, helpless sensation spreads through me like slime.

Shane’s grim gaze keeps me silent. He appears displeased enough to dismiss me from all my duties.

I am clearly in deep shit if this doesn’t pan out. And I can almost guarantee that it won’t.

Because I’m not taking Kiara back to Leo.

Finn and I exchange a glance, and my stomach clenches. I can see it on my friend’s face. He wants me to agree.

ThatIbe the one to return Kiara. Tonight.

So, it’s come down to this, has it?

A choice.

My little runaway artist or my family.

Chapter 24

Kiara