Page 18 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Shane

T race and his never-ending supply of fresh assassins and guards occupy each of the gun range lanes. One bloke showing off a more impressive shot than the next. The industrial lights buzz overhead in between rounds fired into human forms and paper targets.

I stand in a lane, my gun drawn, but I can’t shoot.

I give up the lane to someone who can make better use of it and retreat to the storage locker to check our ammo stock. But I can’t focus on anything. Nothing in these crates registers right now. My mind is on her.

Lennox.

I can’t fucking stop thinking about her.

She’d left me alone with her sister this afternoon wearing a look of sadness that I haven’t been able to shake. Neve grinded on and on about her volleyball team and I tried to pay attention, but I couldn’t.

A few minutes after Lennox left, Neve got a call, and poof! She was gone. I was fucking relieved. How am I going to share a home, worse, a bed with Lennox’s sister?

You’re not , a voice tells me. That’s the most truthful thought to pass through my brain.

Neve’s kiss on my cheek, thanking me for lunch and a new guard, which she’s not getting, had the emotionless feel of a little girl kissing her daddy. It creeped me out. What the hell am I doing marrying a fucking teenager?

I don’t think Neve finds me attractive at all. I don’t think she sees me. I think she only sees herself.

“Shane...” Connor singsongs from the doorway. “I’ve been talking to you for five minutes. Do you have your head up your ass today?”

“Do you want a gun up yours?” My voice comes out curt, but I don’t give a fuck. “I’m focused.”

“Is this about Lennox Donnelly?”

I freeze and straighten to my full height. “How...”

Connor tilts his head. “You took a helicopter to Yuli’s in New Jersey. Thanks for getting me a sandwich by the way.”

How he knew that trip was for Lennox astonishes me. Maybe I’m not as invisible as I think.

“Lennox is unmarried and she’ll be my sister-in-law.” Fucking cringe... “That means she’s under my protection, too. I think I need to assign her a guard. You can either get on board and accept that the Donnellys are going to be family or get out of my way.”

Connor shakes his head. “You’re not even married to Neve yet, and you’re already playing knight in shining armor to her sister.”

The mention of Neve makes my stomach turn. “I’m doing what needs to be done.”

I don’t deserve Lennox. I had my chance and I blew it.

I push away the useless fantasy that I’d be able to get out of this wedding to Neve and change the subject.

“Connor, find this guy and see if there’s any wiggle room with the estimate. Teach him what happens when someone tells us no.” I hand him a copy of that estimate the architect gave Lennox. I hacked the man’s pathetically unsecured phone and downloaded everything he gave her.

Connor grabs it and gives me a wicked grin. “Rhys and I will take care of this. With pleasure.”

Just as I’m about to return my focus to the new cache of weapons to update my inventory, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Lennox’s name flashes across the screen, and for a moment, the noise of gunfire fades.

I answer immediately. “Lennox?”

“Hi.” Her voice sounds shaky, almost broken. “I need help.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Where are you?” I say in a low growl.

“A park.” She clears her throat. “It’s over with Rafael and I have nowhere to go.”

My fist tightens around my phone so taut it might crack. “Do you have your car?”

“Yeah.”

“Listen to me. Drive into Manhattan right now.” I give her the address to The Sterling hotel.

“Oh... Okay.”

“I’m on my way.” I end the call.

Without hesitation, I bark orders at Connor to handle things in my absence, then head for the exit where my new driver is already waiting.

The past year has seen a shift in our visibility as crime bosses.

I’ve been pressured to keep my Corvette in a garage and save it for trips home to Astoria or other personal journeys.

For doing business, I now have a driver who carts me around in a Range Rover Sentinel, a rare model built to withstand gunfire and explosions.

Griffin convinced me that this kind of treatment elevates me, and doesn’t make me look like a prima donna.

It’s who we are now. Feared crime lords.

All these thoughts weigh on me as I climb into the SUV and tell Creed, the driver who doubles as my guard, to get me to The Sterling as fast as possible.

On the drive, I text my sister who’s the head of security there.

Me: Lennox Donnelly is coming to the hotel. Get my villa ready for her. I’m on my way.

Sabine: Why is Lennox Donnelly staying in YOUR villa?

Me: I’ll find out when I get there, brat.

Sabine: Don’t call me a brat, brat.

I smile. It’s how my twin and I communicate .

The drive uptown in evening rush hour traffic takes forever and I go crazy wondering what the hell happened with the wine guy. A breakup I’m thinking she didn’t initiate if she ended up in a park crying out for help.

What did that prick do to her? Is she hurt? Is she in danger? The idea of someone laying a hand on her makes my blood boil.

When I arrive at The Sterling, Sabine greets me at the revolving doors holding a walkie-talkie. “She’s here. I put her in the VIP lounge.”

“Thanks, brat,” I say to my twin and follow her gaze toward the elevated seating tier above the bar. VIPs are family only.

Lennox sits in one of the plush chairs, looking smaller than I’d ever seen her. She’s a giant to me with her nightclub and confidence. But that Rafael prick knocked her down. Her head hangs low, one arm wrapped tightly around herself while the other hand holds a mug of tea.

I jog up the steps, my chest tightening at the sight of her. “Lennox?”

She looks up with red-rimmed eyes full of anguish. “Shane?” Breathless, she adds, “That was fast.”

“Not fast enough.” I crouch in front of her, placing a hand on her bare knee. “What happened?”

“Rafael,” she mutters barely above a whisper. “He... I caught him with someone else.”

The Marchants aren’t mafia, but a powerful Italian nuisance with ties to the Vitale family. I forced myself to ignore the connection because it wasn’t my business. But now all I feel is rage that he hurt her.

“Where did you catch him?”

“In front of his office,” she says. “He was making out with her right on the street like he didn’t care who saw him. I wanted to shirk back into the shadows, but he saw me. I stood up for myself and called him out for being an asshole.”

“Did he lay a hand on you?” I ask, my voice dangerously low.

“No.” She shakes her head. “He didn’t even come near me. He just... He said it was over. It’s his apartment, so I packed up and left. But I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Looking closer, I see a massive suitcase nearby ready to tip over. “Did you lug this all by yourself?”

“And a cat carrier,” she huffs a laugh.

“Cat?” I cringe. “What cat?”

“My cat. Hawk. I boarded him at the vet for a few days.”

I exhale and sharply snap my fingers at one of the many bellhops.

One of them meets my eyes. The recognition of who I am quickens his steps toward me. “Yes, sir?”

“Bring this suitcase to Villa 10. Right now.”

“Yes, Mr. Quinlan.”

Lennox stares as her suitcase is lifted and hauled away. “What are you doing?”

“You have somewhere to go,” I say firmly. “You’re staying here. In my old villa. It’s already been arranged.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “A villa? I can’t—”

“Yes, you can. And you will.” The determination in my voice leaves no room for argument.

“I don’t need an entire villa.” She strokes her throat.

I remove her hand and hold it. “You’ll stay in my villa for now until we figure something else out.”

“We?”

“Aye, Lennox. You’re going to be family. This is how families act when someone is in trouble.” I fold my arms across my chest. “Did you even call your father?”

She scoffs. “No.”

“No,” I repeat and lean in. “You called me . And I don’t do anything half-assed or tentatively. ”

“Even for a Donnelly?”

I draw a breath. “Your name is irrelevant.”

“Don’t I know that,” she mutters and gets to her feet.

My hand lingers on her arm as I steady her. “We’ll get you settled into the villa, but first, you’re going to have dinner with me.”

She blinks up at me, surprised. “Dinner?”

“You have to eat.” I lean in and smell her hair. “I’ve got you, Lenny. I won’t let you fall.”

She looks ready to collapse and not open to being playful, so I say, “You look like you could use a drink, too.”

For the first time since I arrived, she smiles. “Yeah. I probably could.”

I lead her out of the VIP area and down the steps to the main lobby. Past the revolving door, I steer Lennox outside and hook us left to an excellent Italian restaurant a few doors down. The Sterling doesn’t have a restaurant, just a ballroom for grand events.

Both Sabine and Griffin were married here. There’s no fucking way I’m following suit. Not when I’m being forced to marry a young woman not even old enough to drink at her own damn wedding. She’s the exact bride I don’t want.

At the restaurant, the smell of basil and garlic warms my soul. I hand over a C-note to the hostess who guides Lennox and me to my favorite corner booth. A few moments later, a server I remember approaches.

I greet her kindly. “Hey, Dina.”

“Hi, Shane. Good to see you back here. What can I get you?” She places two cocktail napkins on the table.

“A whiskey neat for me. Lennox? What’s your poison?” I sit back and fold my arms, dying to know what a lady owner of a nightclub fancies in her glass.

“Tequila and grapefruit,” she says .

Tequila...

“We have Patron, we have—” Dina begins.

“Patron,” I order with a wink. “Top shelf for my guest.”

“Coming right up.”

“I’m thinking I might need something strong so I can pass right out and forget this day.” Lennox strokes her temples.

My throat tightens. Hating her asshole boyfriend who shattered her. Feeding Lennox earlier, I felt like I made some kind of connection with her and I want more.

More of her.

The drinks come, and I don’t toast because this isn’t a day to celebrate. As we sip our cocktails, the tension between us slowly eases. But the undercurrent of so much unsaid hovers in the air.

I can’t stop looking at her, can’t stop thinking about how much I want to hide her in that villa and take away all the pain she’s endured the last couple of hours. But I can’t have her. Not the way I want.

Garrett’s fuck-up and his father’s thirst for power have slapped chains around my wrists, binding me to a future I don’t want. Yet, sitting here with Lennox, I feel a flicker of something I haven’t felt in years.

Hope.