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A shadow coming up over me had me turning to see who it was.

You never knew. I snorted when I saw Daid and Darragh standing there.

I should’ve known they’d find me. I had no doubt Darragh had Cody put trackers on all the cars.

It would be a safety feature and had the added benefit of allowing them to find one of us when we didn’t want to be.

“I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone. Please leave,” I said gruffly.

“Rian, we’re not here to fight. We just want to be sure you’re alright. If you’d like to talk, just the three of us, we can do that, too,” Daid said, sitting on the sand beside me. Darragh sat on the other side of our daid . He was probably afraid I’d feel penned in if he sat on my other side.

“I’m fine. I just want to be alone.”

“You’re not fine. You’re brooding, which is what you do when you get upset. We didn’t mean to cause that,” Daid added.

“Or to make you think we were questioning your choice of anamchara ,” Dar added.

I turned my head to stare at Darragh. “That’s exactly what you fucking did.

Whether you meant it or not, you made me feel that my choice wasn’t acceptable.

It’s like there’s something wrong with Gianna that makes her less desirable than Ashlynn or anyone else.

What makes your wife so fucking special, Dar?

She worked as a clerk in a damn jewelry store,” I snapped.

“Don’t talk about my wife that way,” Darragh puffed up angrily.

“Why not? You’re doing it to my future wife.

It’s the same damn thing. What makes Ashlynn, Miranda, Kynedi, Alistair, or Karizma so much better than Gianna?

They were from ordinary backgrounds, worked for a living, and had families that either had to be persuaded to accept your relationships or were cut out of your lives,” I argued.

“Stop it. We’re not fighting about whose anamchara is better. We’re not saying the others are better than Gianna. It’s a shock, is all. You gave no indication, and her family is in a different position than the others,” Daid stated.

“So, what it boils down to is you’re afraid if her family can’t accept us together, it’ll adversely affect this partnership between them and the Hounds?”

“Yes, it’s a concern. We can’t risk having what we do in secret exposed or having distractions when we’re out in the field.

Plus, Gianna is a part of their team. How will you handle Gianna being out on a dangerous mission with or without you?

And if you’re with her, will either of you become distracted because of worry over the other? ” Darragh asked.

“It’s no different from one of us being concerned about our family members on the mission.

And yes, she might go it alone, and I’ll have to deal with it, but that’s on us, not for the family to dictate and debate.

Hell, we’ve barely gotten together, and it feels like you’re all grasping for ways to end us.

Well, here’s the solution.” I stood up. They came to their feet.

I saw their bodyguards standing in the background. And, of course, there was Reign.

“What is the solution?” Darragh asked.

“Gianna and I remove ourselves completely from any work with the Hounds, and we’ll keep to ourselves.

That way, you won’t need to worry. And if it’s unacceptable for her to still be with me, we’ll move off the compound.

” I was still angry, and I knew my words would upset them.

I wanted them to. If they wanted to treat me like a child, I could act like one.

“That’s not what we’re saying! Stop acting like a fucking child!” Dar shouted.

“Fuck you, Dar. You may be the head of the family, but that doesn’t mean you dictate my life. I’ll marry whoever I want, and if she’s not acceptable to your standards, we’ll remove ourselves from the family. Issue solved.”

I went to walk away, but Darragh grabbed my arm. I drew back my arm to punch him, but Daid stepped between us. I shook my head. “Yeah, protect the prince. Whatever.”

“Rian, don’t walk away. This needs to be resolved. We’re not allowing you to leave the family over something so silly. We’re not rejecting Gianna!” Daid yelled.

I kept walking. Behind me, I heard them muttering to each other, but I ignored it. None of the bodyguards tried to stop me, but they looked uncomfortable. As I passed Reign, I asked, “Are you coming with me, or do you want to stay with the real O’Sheerans?”

“I’m with you,” he said.

“Then come on.”

We made it to the car without being accosted. He got behind the wheel. It was probably a good idea not to drive when I was pissed off. I shouldn’t have done it earlier. As we took off, I saw the others getting into their car.

“Where to, Rian?” Reign asked.

“Take me to Gianna’s place. She’s not home from work yet, but I’ll wait for her. I’ve got the address.”

“You navigate us there. Rian, I’m not sticking my nose in your family business, but I want to say one thing.”

“What is that?” I swear, if he took my family’s side, I’d toss him out of the moving car.

“I’m happy for you. I don’t know Gianna, but I hope to get to know her. I have every confidence that if you say she’s the one for you, then she is, and she’s a wonderful person. Whatever has the family so uptight, they’ll come to their senses.”

I reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, Reign. I needed that. And I hope so, too. I don’t understand why they’re making such a big deal out of it.”

The rest of the drive was mainly me telling him where to turn. The drive to Hastings was uneventful.