Page 158 of Only Fools Rush

I still couldn’t get over the helicopter.

“Settling in down there, okay?” I pulled a pillow into my lap and hugged it.

Zoya shrugged, but Willow grinned. “She’s been helping me at the clinic. It hasn’t been long, but she’s a quick learner, and the guys are already taken with her.”

My eyes widened. “Guys?Already?”

“No,” Zoya snapped with a roll of her eyes. “It’s nothing. Some of the Irish guys are just friendly, but don’t tell my brother.”

I laughed. “Secrets are safe within the girl’s circle.”

Fallon dug some snacks out of the plastic bags. She tore open a bag of chips while pointing her finger. “You tell me if any of those men are bothering ya, aye? I’ll cut their balls off.”

Willow ate a chip. “Don’t worry, Fallon, I know how to use a scalpel, and I’m not afraid to use it. The guys know to keep it respectful.”

Fallon gave her an approving nod. “All right. Willow, give Leona the official prescription.”

“She insisted I say this, you know.” Willow rolled her eyes but sat up straight. “Leona, you’ve been diagnosed with—” She looked at Fallon to ask, “What was it?”

“Dumb men disease.”

“Ah, yes. You’ve been diagnosed with dumb men disease,” she continued. I tried to hold in my laughter. “Your official prescription is girl time. The first step in your treatment plan is snacks and movies.”

I nodded solemnly. Zoya handed me a bag of popcorn. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Fallon handed Willow a laptop. “Let’s begin.”

“Zoya,I swear to Jesu, Mary, and Joseph, if you eat all that popcorn, I will stab ya.”

Zoya sniggered and tossed her the bag. Cheesy romances played on Willow’s laptop. The tension in my chest had ebbed as we stuffed our faces and relaxed on the bed. Fallon, as it turned out, was a movie talker. She interjected, sassed, and shouted at the characters whenever they did something stupid. It had us in stitches, with even Zoya telling her to shut up so we could watch the movie.

It had been a welcome distraction, allowing me to bury the thoughts swirling in my head. Thank God they came.Friends. Chiara had been my only real girlfriend growing up.

“Now, Leona,” Fallon said, stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth. “Chat.”

“Excuse me, chat?” I gestured to the movie still playing.

“We didn’t take my private helicopter to the city for nothing,” she said, ignoring the two characters getting into a fight. “Tell us what happened. How did you contract dumb men disease?”

“Well, they’re dumb,” I finished lamely.

“Aye.” She nodded. “Especially multiple at once. They tend to feed off one another’s stupidity.”

“What happened?” Willow asked, bracing her head against her palm on the bed. “All I heard was you got into a fight and you needed us. I actually thought she meant a physical fight, so I brought my doctor’s bag. And Wynn wouldn’t say anything other than you were pissed and hurt.”

I exhaled. “Physically fine; emotionally is another story.”

“Spill,” Zoya urged, eating another handful of popcorn.

I filled them in on what happened: how we were trying to turn some of my father’s men back to my side, but in the process, I’d learned that Cas had been hiding the fact that the men would only come if I married him and he led the Family. He’d lied about what they were expecting, and Max showed up, and forced me to declare we were getting married for the sake of our lives.

Then it got worse. Obi had been scheming and manipulating me the entire time. Why, I had no idea. Wynn was too afraid to tell me the truth. All of them, except Ciel, knew to some degree, and not one of them said anything.

Oh, on top of that, Ryuji was making backup plans so he could bolt as soon as everything fell apart. I’d thought that we were growing closer, that he was opening up to me, but nope. He’d been ready to run the whole time.

Things were going great.

“So, I guess I’m engaged now,” I said bitterly as I rubbed the fourth finger on my left hand, where a ringshouldhave gone. “Ifwe want to keep those men on our side, we have to get married. And I’m left being another pawn in the grand game of power. When does it fucking end?”