Page 10 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Lennox

A round midnight I take a break from my bustling club to drive Neve home. I don’t order her an Uber or put her in a cab with those silly friends. Maybe I’m being na?ve thinking Neve can’t rebel on her own.

In my Mercedes, one I bought pre-owned to get all the fancy bells and whistles, Neve is quiet except for the occasional mopey sigh from her in the passenger seat.

She stares out the window, her arms crossed tight over her blooming chest. Her bottom lip juts out in a pout that I’ve seen enough.

An expression she often falls back on. Usually, because it works. With Dad, with Mom. But mostly Dad.

Sorry, sis. An empty well can’t take care of anyone.

Still, I feel her sulking self-pity radiating like a heatwave.

I just don’t have the patience for it right now.

Not after the fight last night with Garrett.

There’s only so much I can take. And why I feel more than ever, I have to open my own nightclub.

Break free from this Donnelly black cloud once and for all.

My headlights carve through the dark winding streets of Astoria. A low fog hangs over the damp pavement. The rain has stopped, but the tension in my chest hasn’t. Garrett. Neve. What am I going to do with them?

“You can stop being mad at me, you know,” Neve mutters, finally breaking the silence.

“I’m not mad at you,” I sigh.

“You’re always mad at me. Always treating me like a child.”

“You are a child.” I exhale through my nose, forcing my focus on the road and not giving into the guilt of Neve’s sullen glare.

“I’m trying to protect you, Neve. Mom’s gone.

It’s up to me. You were reckless tonight.

Taunting my bouncers and tricking my bartenders into serving you alcohol.

Plus, that club has some dangerous customers. It’s not safe.”

I consider the Albanian Garrett lured there last night. I don’t need any more of them showing up.

“Whatever.” Neve shakes her head.

I stop debating her. She’s seventeen, a young adult in the eyes of society. But she’s still breakable in ways she doesn’t understand. All she cares about is volleyball, her teammates, winning, and getting trophies.

I turn down our block and ignore the Quinlan manor house.

At this late hour, only a few lights here and there glow in the windows.

All the kids have moved out. Ewan, the oldest son, lives nearby with his wife and kids.

Griffin, Connor, and Shane now live in Manhattan.

Just knowing Shane’s not behind his bedroom window on the far-left corner, the block feels colder. Hollow.

While Quinlan Manor is quiet, activity in front of Dad’s house is anything but. There are cars...everywhere. My heart drops into my stomach.

Fucking Garrett! All this activity means he went ahead with his stupid plan. And got caught.

I swallow and hold it together, play it cool so I don’t upset Neve.

Passing at least a half dozen strange cars idling on the street, I pull into my dad’s long driveway. Odd, that no one stops me.

Neve unbuckles her seatbelt before I even turn off the engine.

“Wait for me,” I snap. “Something is going on in the house. Didn’t you see all those cars?”

“You’re paranoid. No one would ever hurt me.” Neve storms into the house through the kitchen door in all her na?ve glory. Her glittering heels are clutched in one hand, her perfect blonde hair spilling over her shoulder like the little drama queen she is.

I sit there for a beat, pressing my forehead against the steering wheel. I need to gather myself before facing whatever fresh hell is brewing inside the house.

Leaving my coat in the car, I enter the house using the same kitchen door and lock it up behind me.

My mother’s absence still lingers on every drop of silence.

I tear up for a moment looking at her kitchen, how my father and brother don’t keep it as clean as she did.

Dishes are piled in the sink, the trash is overflowing, and all of Mom’s potted herbs are a dried-up wasteland.

Jerks.

Slowly, I creep into the living room. The scent of aged wood kicks up old memories I don’t want in my head.

I hear the last echo of Neve’s footsteps stomping up the stairs and I sigh, glad she got up there safe.

After she slams her bedroom door and that clatter clears from my brain, a symphony of voices pours from Dad’s office at the back of the house.

There’s no screaming. No yelling. And no gunshots. I pray this has nothing to do with Garrett and what we talked about last night. But that’s doubtful. I should turn around, but I can’t walk away from trouble.

The voices draw me closer to the office, and I freeze in the open doorway. Garrett sits slouched in a chair, clutching his side like he’s been hurt. I see a hint of blood under his nose and his face looks swollen.

Broad shoulders block everything else out. It’s Shane!

My brother is in trouble. Shane is either here to defend him or insist on a harsher punishment. Insiders are held to a higher standard.

His presence is a gut punch, taking away all the air in the room. It’s impossible for me to look anywhere else. He’s wearing a suit, tailored to perfection. I swear he got taller. For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe and fear snakes up my spine.

Shane says something I can’t make out and next, he... He takes out a knife and hurls it at my father. I don’t have time to react, it’s so quick, but when he yanks the blade out of Dad’s favorite painting, I gasp.

Shane spins around, holding the knife, his eyes on me.

Under his gaze, I tremble. His eyes are just as blue and devastating, but colder than I remember.

“Lennox!” My father’s scraggly voice pulls my gaze from Shane’s piercing stare. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I drove Neve home,” I shoot back. “Did you even realize she wasn’t here?”

“She said she was staying over at a friend’s house.” My father attempts to look like a doting parent.

“Well, she wasn’t.” I don’t say she was in my club, not with the agitated state my father is in. I don’t trust him. “What’s going on here? Why is Garrett beat up?”

I address this to the Quinlans, assuming my brother’s condition wasn’t my father’s doing.

When all eyes center on Shane, it’s he who speaks. Like he’s owning up to some kind of sin.

“A deal’s been made.” His deep voice is silkier than I remember.

I clutch my throat. “What kind of deal?”

The silence that follows thins my nerves. A heavy weight of impending terrible news crushes my chest like a boulder.

Finally, my father straightens his cheap tie and says, “For Neve and Shane to be married.”

The blood drains from my face as I grasp the doorframe. “ Neve and Shane? M... Married?”

“In three months,” Dad explains further. “It’s necessary. To settle a misunderstanding. ”

I stare at Garrett, but he looks away. This surprise twists in my brain, refusing to sink in. “No. Neve is still in high school . She’s going to college next year. She’s got her volleyball and—”

“It’s already done, Lennox,” my father cuts me off. Cold and final.

My spine turns to steel. “I’m sorry. You can’t have Neve. She’s just a kid. Figure out something else.”

“Neve will be an adult when they get married,” my father barks.

Shane’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t say anything.

“And what will a match with the Quinlans buy you on the streets, Dad?” My voice cracks.

“Watch your tongue with me, daughter. This is none of your business.” My father retakes a seat at his desk. “It’s late. Go home to the apartment your fiancé gave you.”

Shane goes rigid, hearing I’m engaged. My face burns with embarrassment. How positively humiliating my father’s words are. That I need a man to pay for my apartment. He doesn’t mention that he is bleeding me dry at the club, and I can’t afford one on my own right now.

I wanted the hell out of this house, and Rafael offered me an apartment in Brooklyn after he proposed.

I live there alone with my gray rescue cat, Hawk.

He’s the only guy keeping me warm at night.

Now Shane thinks I’m no longer pure. I’ve only had a handful of kisses before Rafael and not many since, never wanting anyone else’s mouth on mine.

I stupidly waited for Shane and settled for Rafael who hasn’t shown much interest in me physically. I’ve blamed my weight. I’ve blamed myself. As usual.

Not looking at Shane, I stand my ground. “I won’t allow Neve to be used like this.”

How can I possibly sit idly by and watch my little sister marry the man I’ve never gotten over ?

Shane’s hard and assessing gaze catalogs my armor for hairline cracks. I hope he doesn’t see straight through my anger to the heartache beneath. The heartache of his rejection so long ago.

“I’m sorry, Lennox,” Shane says quietly, owning up to the deal. “It’s happening. I’m marrying your sister in three months.”

His words knock the air from my lungs. He’s not fighting this. Or protesting the marriage to Neve. A marriage that will put her in his bed.

That hurts more than anything. And is it my fault? “Gar, is this because I refused to give you money?”

Shane’s eyes blaze with fire at Garrett. “And don’t you ever go to Lennox for money again!”

Garrett flinches, and my stomach drops at Shane standing up for me when no one else does.

With a fierce glare, I turn back to my father.

“You can’t do this to Neve. Not now. What’s the rush?

Let her finish high school at least.” I glance at the Quinlan brother I always found daunting and powerful.

“Griffin, I assume you’d like the mothers of the next generation of Quinlan children to be educated? ”

Not letting Griffin say a word, Shane responds coldly, “Neve’s education will be up to me.”

Hearing him say her name guts me.

Yeah, Neve, open your legs, let your husband fuck you.

The man I wanted to lose my virginity to will deflower my sister!

“Lennox?” Shane’s soft voice breaks through the ringing in my ears. Taking my forearms, he lowers me into a chair and kneels in front of me. “Are you all right?”

His large hands feel warm on my bare arms, and I nearly gasp at the delicious sensation of his tender touch.

“She’s fine. She’s always fine,” Dad dismisses my panic attack .

When I look at Shane, he pulls his hands away and stands, but not before I see something flicker behind those pale blue eyes. Regret, maybe? But for what? Not stopping this? Or not taking our kiss further six years ago?

I hold on to the latter, but Shane’s vulnerability disappears an instant later, masked by a ruthless calm I’ve never seen before.

This is the new Shane. A man who must marry to keep peace, settle scores, and is so powerful that his hand in marriage can bring the entire Donnelly faction to their knees.

Men just want power. That’s all this is.

“This keeps our families aligned,” Griffin speaks up calmly, politely even. “And everyone protected.”

“I expect Neve to be available for public appearances with me,” Shane continues. “To ensure it’s clear that the Quinlans have...secured loyalty.”

Conquered. That’s what he means. A Quinlan has conquered a Donnelly. Neve is upstairs, pouting over a curfew while her life is being bartered away.

I grow angry and it hardens me. I want to scream and fight. But the stoic look on Shane’s face suggests it wouldn’t matter. The deal is done.

In three months, Shane Quinlan will be my brother-in-law.

I think I’m going to be sick.