Page 39 of Scandalous Kingpin

Did I really care that he tortured Vittoria for years? Or that he’d finally killed her?

No, I didn’t. We’d already established that. What bothered me was the force of what I felt. All my life, I promised myself I would never fall in love with a man from our world. It was my only protection against having my heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.

And here I was, about to marry one. Having…feelingsfor one.

Except, my friends found love in their marriages, didn’t they? They made it look… well, noteasy, but definitely exciting. I wanted that.

As if sensing the direction my thoughts had taken, Davina shuffled over and rubbed my arm affectionately. I shook away my worries and smiled warmly at her, hoping it wasn’t wobbly.

Juliette gestured to the food with her chopsticks. “Are you going to have the last bite?”

“You go ahead.” I glanced over to Wynter. “Do you know where Christian went?”

She flashed me a smile, not batting an eyelash. “I do, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

Chapter Eighteen

PRIEST

“Priest, I’ve been expecting your call,” Aiden greeted me over the line.

“Have you now?” Phone to my ear, my gaze drifted over the estate where Ivy grew up. Lush green grass. Centuries-old castle towers rising up to touch the clouds. It almost looked like a scene from a fairy tale. It made me wonder whether her life so far had indeed been a fairy tale, which would make me… what? The villain? The anti-hero to her white knight? I let out a sigh and continued. “Forgive me if you hoped to hear from me sooner, but I don’t take kindly to demands. Even less when you send not one but four messages in the span of twenty-four hours.”

“I want your assurances that you’ll treat Ivy Murphy well,” Aiden commented tightly.

“Don’t concern yourself with Ivy,” I growled. “In fact, I’d prefer if you never uttered her name again.”

His chuckle grated on my nerves. “Possessive much?”

Two could play this game.

“I don’t believe it would take me long to find a certain raven-haired woman with whom you share a past,” I drawled.

“You go anywhere near her and I swear to God, I’ll murder you,” he rasped, the harshness of his tone vibrating through the phone. It was my turn to laugh.

“Maybe you should consider kidnapping her,” I recommended. “Caging her. But then, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re a fucking asshole.”

“Ditto,” I deadpanned. “Now, what do you want? I’m busy preparing.”

“I want to make sure this wedding is going ahead,” he spat out. “And soon.”

I huffed. “Why? So you can blame us for not following through with a binding agreement set by two different assholes?”

“You and I both know she doesn’t want me,” he pointed out, and something about his words flickered a light in my darkness. “I want to make sure you won’t pull some boyfriend-girlfriend bullshit. It needs to be official.”

Just like that, the heaviness that had been pooling in my chest for weeks—fuck, months—snuffed out some of the anger and bitterness.

Was it really that simple?

“I’m marrying her tomorrow,” I answered, intent on wrapping up this call. I hadn’t flown all the way back to Ireland so I could shoot the shit with the man who’d almost taken Ivy from me.

I hung up on Aiden without waiting for a reply, then went back to studying the Murphy castle’s ancient-looking blueprints before folding it carefully and tucking it into my back pocket.

Ivy believed Sofia killed her athair and it was the only reason she agreed to this marriage arrangement. She needed my help toget to her. I used that to my advantage, although I knew it was incorrect. But scruples were for better men and I wasn’t one of them. Although I would ensure Ivy got exactly the wedding she always imagined.

Hence the reason I was here, on the Murphy property.