Page 48 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Lennox

I pull up outside the old Donnelly house, steeling my resolve to go inside and get the hell out quickly.

Unscathed.

It’s been a week since Neve’s surgery, and I hate that I’ve not heard from her. Haven’t heard from anyone. Not even my loser father, who also never thanked me for dropping everything to be there for his daughter .

The daughter he put on a pedestal as his shining diamond, a precious and sacrificial offering to the Quinlans in order to get Garrett out of trouble.

When I step inside the house, the place feels colder than ever. The smell of stale whiskey and spoiled food has my stomach turning. Dust coats every surface, something I never noticed before. Neve must have been doing the cleaning and now, with her casted arm in a sling, she can’t.

I make a mental note to get a cleaning lady over here. Two able-bodied men relying on a kid with a busted arm to clean infuriates me.

Garrett’s voice booms from my father’s office. I pause at the staircase, considering if I should speak to him first. My hand tightens on the bag holding the homemade chicken soup Liz made, reminding myself, Dad and Garrett act like I don’t exist.

So I act like that yelling doesn’t exist.

I keep climbing. Dad and Garrett don’t need my help to get out of whatever mess they’re in.

“Knock, knock.” I push open Neve’s bedroom door.

She is lying in bed, on her back, her casted arm thrown across her forehead. The sling is nowhere in sight, which won’t help her heal .

“How are you feeling?” I ask softly, setting the bag with the soup and some bread on her nightstand.

“Like crap,” she mutters, barely looking at me.

But I’m shocked at her pale face, even against the white pillowcase.

I motion to the bag. “I have soup for you.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Are you taking your meds?” I glance at the pill bottles on her desk.

Pills I paid for with the prepaid debit card I filled up for these extra expenses.

I took a hit on lost interest for pulling money out of my new bank account early, but at least I paid off Shane’s credit card.

Then I talked to the school and demanded they pick up the rest of her hospital charges, threatening to sue them for gross negligence on top of it all.

In the end, the name Quinlan at Astoria Prep got them to comply.

I sit on the edge of the bed, smoothing Neve’s unshaven legs. “The surgeon’s assistant told you that you’ll need to start physical therapy this week. I can arrange—”

“Don’t bother,” she snaps, turning her head away. “What’s the point? My volleyball career is over. My life is over.”

Her words alarm me and make me worry about her mental health. Teens seem more fragile these days. With constant pressure to be extraordinary, to get noticed, they strive to be perfect in an imperfect world.

“You’re young. You’ll heal.” I soften my tone on her. “Go to therapy. I’ll pay for it.”

“Sure. Throw your money around.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “You’ve got it all, don’t you? A husband who pays for everything .”

It’s annoying to be the target of her every gripe. It takes a lot to hold back the tired response that Shane could have been her husband, but she did everything in her power to throw that opportunity away. She also doesn’t understand what it’s taken for me to pull my life together.

“Please eat the soup. I’ll check on you before I leave,” I say, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

“I said, I’m not hungry!” She shakes her head, letting the hair fall back into her eyes.

I leave the bedroom, my heart heavy with guilt and frustration.

Downstairs, I’m startled to still hear arguing in Dad’s office. Quiet as a mouse, I listen at the door. The muffled sound of Garrett’s raw barking and my father’s slurred growls don’t give me a clue what the hell they’re talking about.

I knock and step inside. “Hi. I just stopped by to check on Neve. She doesn’t look like she’s eating much. I want to remind you two that she’s injured. She’s hurting. She needs care.”

Garrett grabs my arm, yanking me inside before I can react. He slams the door shut and locks it.

“What the hell?” I yank out of his grasp, but I’m pushed into a seat across from my father.

“You tell her, Dad.” Garrett hovers over my shoulder. “She won’t say no to you.”

I shudder, thinking they were arguing over Neve’s additional medical expenses and want more money from me.

“Look, Neve’s school is picking up the rest of her medical bills and—” I start, but I’m cut off.

“This is not about Neve’s accident,” Dad blurts, the corner of his lips curling in restrained anger.

“I can get you out of that marriage,” Garrett says, sitting next to me, rubbing his hands together. “And get paid. ”

A shiver runs down my spine. I... I don’t want out of my marriage. I just want this wall between Shane and me to go away.

But that wall is named Donnelly.

“Garrett, I don’t want—”

“Let your brother talk,” Dad snaps, his eyes cold and calculating. “Did you know about the cheating clause in your prenup?”

“ Cheating clause?” I cry out. “In my prenup?”

“Neve found it in the dressing room at the church,” Dad says wryly. “There’s a clause in there about cheating.”

The lack of boundaries astonishes me. “I’m not cheating on my husband.”

“Not you. Him,” Dad drawls, smirking. “If Shane cheats, you walk away with a big settlement. Neat little exit strategy, don’t you think?”

The words hit me like a slap. “That can’t be in my prenup. His lawyer drew up the terms.”

“Oh, it’s in there.” Dad’s voice drips with malice. “Shane probably put it in there himself. Gave himself a way to cut you loose when he’s done playing house with you.”

I shake my head, my voice trembling. “Shane would never cheat on me.”

“You think you’re so special,” my father snorts. “You’re a placeholder for the real wife he’ll want to marry one day.”

My throat goes tight, unable to believe my father thinks Shane would not only cast me aside but that he sees me as some temporary wife. He wanted me all along. He said our marriage is forever.

But I’ve been pushing him away. And I don’t know what to make of this cheating clause. I never read the prenup, never sent it to a lawyer, or I wouldn’t be blindsided like this. I trusted Shane.

I stare at my father and shake my head to keep arguing. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Shane and I are happy.”

Even as I say it, I know it’s not the absolute truth.

Garrett leans into me, his breath on my neck. “Leave it up to me. I’ll make sure he cheats. Just sit back and collect the payout.”

“I get eighty percent,” Dad grumbles.

I bolt to my feet as a wave of nausea washes over me. “You’re disgusting. Even if Shane cheated, why would I give you any money?”

“For your sister. To ensure her future.” Dad rocks in that damn old chair that sounds ready to break and I hope it does.

“You filled Shane’s head with nonsense all that time you spent together before the wedding.

He broke off that engagement to Neve way too easily.

You seduced him with promises that we both know you can’t keep. ”

“My husband cheats on me , and Neve gets eighty percent of my divorce settlement?” I spit, my voice shaking with fury. “You expect me to agree to that?”

Dad swings his feet off the desk. “You have a thriving nightclub that you got free and clear from your husband. You’re set. Your sister isn’t.”

“Sorry.” I shake my head. “I’m not playing whatever game this is.”

“Why are you so sure he won’t cheat?” Garrett asks, blocking the door so I can’t leave.

I open my mouth to say I know my husband and I trust him, but my lifelong knowledge of mafia men doesn’t square with my confidence. I hate that I’m tempted to see if Shane would take that kind of out to get rid of me.

Shane didn’t want to marry Neve, but he never tried to be with me until that deal soured. I came back to Astoria after college. I was right across the street from him for years. He agreed to marry Neve, then married me to save face. All to get the information my brother promised.

A promise that blew up in Shane’s face. Two strikes...

“Do whatever you want,” I say, emotionally checking out of the conversation. “Make a fool of yourself and risk getting the piss beat out of you. Shane won’t cheat on me.”

I push Garrett aside, tempted to knee him in the balls.

They let me leave, they have to. Dorian is outside and will kill them if they try to abduct me.

I give Neve one last chance to eat her soup before I leave. When she just scrolls on her phone and ignores me, I bring it downstairs and put it in the fridge. The empty fridge.

A cleaning lady who will buy groceries is on my to-do list.

Ungrateful leeches. All of them.

I storm out the front door and my chest feels hollow.

“I want to go home,” I tell Dorian who opens the door for me.

Before getting inside, I glance across the street at Quinlan Manor glowing warmly against the night sky. It feels so far away, so unreachable even though I was just inside weeks ago.

I fight back the tears burning my eyes. My father’s unkind words echo inside my head, the seeds of doubt ready to take root.

I have my own money. I have my club. It’s in my name. Shane told me the prenup says we each keep what we owned before the marriage. Those are things. What about my heart?

Dorian zips through the city to bring me home, the lights of Astoria passing by. I feel like I’m days away from losing the one thing I’ve always wanted.

Shane’s love .

He’s been so distant. I know he knows I lied about the hospital, and instead of confronting me, he’s shut down. Does he even care anymore? I have too much baggage with my horrible family. He deserves better.

I guess I’ll find out soon enough just how much better he thinks he can do.