Page 36 of Sweet Deception (Irish Kings #4)

Chapter Thirty-Two

I crack open my eyes to find Darren watching me. Because of him, I’m…not alone. Again.

He gently disentangles himself from me and pushes to his feet.

“Let’s eat.” His eyes are soft. “It’s dinnertime.”

That wakes me up a bit more. “Didn’t we miss it?”

“We eat late in this house.”

Mumbling some kind of affirmative, I climb out of bed and go to freshen up in front of a giant vanity in the gorgeous en suite bathroom.

Due to my exhaustion when we first arrived, I didn’t even stop to appreciate the room. It’s easily bigger than my entire apartment. A cozy conversation set takes up one corner, near a large window with a perfect view of the barn garage where Darren parked his car.

Abstract art decorates every wall. A cute kitchenette sits tucked on one side.

A wide-screen television hangs across from the bed.

Then there’s this bathroom. It’s fit for an A-list movie star—chic, postmodern lines, above-counter sink, clean, warm recessed lighting.

Everything’s so nice, I almost forget where I am and what’s going on.

Almost.

Two splashes of freezing water to the face grounds me. Staring at my weary reflection, I blink the sleep out of my eyes and use my fingers to rake my hair into a loose bun.

“What’s the matter with you?” I seethe to myself.

“Don’t leave…I don’t want…I don’t want to be alone…”

What the hell was that?

And then I fell asleep with him? Which means that my body trusts him. That my subconscious is comfortable enough to sleep with him right there, even while I’m trapped in this awful situation.

It means I’m no longer aligned within myself. My logical mind, at least, still knows the importance of keeping my guard up around that man.

So what if he told me that he didn’t want to leave me?

He and I both know he only confessed that because there was a chance Shane Gallagher would have had me killed if he hadn’t liked what he heard.

Sentimentality in the face of death is common.

Even for hardened criminal weapons experts, I guess…

With the heat from Darren’s body still lingering on my skin, I struggle to retain my edge.

Shaking my head, I try to refocus.

A few hours ago, Shane decided to spare my life. At least long enough to use me. As far as I’m aware, he and the rest of his family have no intention of saving the abducted girls. Their only concern is stopping Troy. And they’ve got their own agenda for that.

That means I need to find a way to save Lucy and get us both out of here, unharmed, and I’m more or less on my own.

Right?

Darren’s face flashes in my mind.

“Almost ready?” I jump when his voice cuts through the bathroom door.

“Almost.”

More quiet.

Pulse still racing, I attempt to push through the awkwardness. “So…what are the dinner plans? Are we…going out?”

“No.” A pause. “We’re eating with the rest of the family.”

At that sentence, I rip open the bathroom door and gape at him. “We’re what ?”

He balances his forearms on the doorjamb, peering down at me with a lazy smolder that does nothing to slow my already-hopping heart rate. “You heard me.”

“But—”

“Don’t tell me the girl who’s brave and reckless enough to infiltrate a high-profile wedding reception is too scared to attend a little dinner.”

My mouth slams shut. Is he baiting me?

Darren’s grin fills me with the impulse to shove his chest, but I stay where I am. Nothing good will come of me touching him. Not when we’re teetering on this precarious emotional edge.

“You don’t have to look so afraid.” Half a chuckle escapes his mouth. “We’re not going to eat you for dinner.”

“So you say…”

Several minutes later, we’ve returned to the bottom floor of this enormous mansion. Anticipation tangles with anxiety and sours my stomach the closer we get to the open pair of doors at the end of this hallway.

It’s one thing to enter a lion’s den when you’re camouflaged to blend in… This is just insane. Maybe Darren brings all his captives to dinner, and it won’t be that weird, but on the inside, I’m screaming.

At the doorway, Darren’s arm floats around my waist and tugs me close.

I peer up at him as a hush settles over the dining room and several sets of eyes fall on our faces.

When I glance around the room, I find that almost everyone is staring at Darren and me.

The glow of a chandelier as tall as I am warms the space, which is dominated by an immense table with two dozen people, mostly men, stuffing their faces with mashed potatoes, roast beef, and cooked greens.

Surprisingly, the few women in attendance appear happy rather than endangered. The only face in here I recognize is Kiara’s. She’s the one who’s been caring for Piro, and—there’s my little baby, curled up and asleep in her lap. She probably stuffed him full of treats.

Another enforcer-type, with burnt sienna hair and melty brown eyes, sits next to her. When he sees us, he immediately stands and marches straight up to me with a smile on his face. “So, you’re the one.”

“Huh?”

“The one we’ve been hearing so much about lately.” He folds his arms over his chest and tosses a smug smile at Darren, whose mouth tightens into a grumpy line.

Darren tips his chin at the guy in front of us, then glances at me. “This is Rory.”

A faraway bell rings in the back of my mind. This guy came up in my research. He’s the spymaster. He’s also…way more handsome in person. Wow. “I’m Veronika.”

His smile widens into a grin. “I hear you’re something of a hacker.”

“One could say the same about you.”

“Touché.” Rory offers me his hand, and I shake it. “You’re also the owner of the orange cat, right?”

I nod.

“The one who’s replaced me.” He laughs and throws a glance at Kiara, who does seem to only have eyes for my snoozing kitty.

Wait. “Kiara’s your…”

“Fiancée, yes.” Rory beams like he never tires of announcing that.

Darren groans. “Give it a rest, lover boy. Can we let the girl eat? Nika’s probably starving.”

My stomach perks up at the statement. The food does smell incredible in here, and the spread looks divine. Despite being in the presence of all these scary mafia men, I could dig in.

Darren lets me go as I float toward the food, grabbing a glass plate off the stack. Before I can decide on a single thing to eat—there’s a giant shank of carving-board roast beef, several racks of braised lamb, pork tenderloin, and more side dishes than I can count—two women appear beside me.

I recognize their faces immediately.

The identical twins. The brides from the wedding I crashed.

They both have that newlywed glow as they give me friendly smiles.

“You’re Veronika, yeah?” The one on my right gently touches my arm. “I’m Riley.”

“Yes.” Wow, the twins are gorgeous up close. All clear blue eyes and blond waves for days. “You’re the one who married…Finn Gallagher?”

She nods.

I hope showing all the research I’ve done on their family isn’t weird.

Especially since I assume they all know what I did to end up in this situation.

“And I’m Harper.” The other twin smiles brightly while retrieving a plate of her own.

“It’s nice to meet both of you.” Am I really making pleasantries as if I’m a girlfriend Darren brought home to meet the family?

The unexpected warmth of this whole moment steals my breath.

Who would’ve ever known having connections to the criminal underworld could feel so…nice and normal?

I stick with the twins for a while, the three of us packing our plates with food and finding seats in some chairs off to the side. Not long after, Darren and the twins’ husbands approach our little threesome.

And, bozhe moy , their husbands are big.

I snuck glances at the wedding, but I don’t think I noticed just how huge they were until now.

Finn’s tall and muscled with deep auburn hair and a glaring, scarred face.

Cian’s even taller and could grace the cover of magazines with his pretty face, thick curly hair, and green eyes.

We’re eclipsed entirely by the shadow of Finn and Cian as they hover over us, their eyes trained on my face.

“Cian and Finn, this is Veronika.” Darren waves a hand. “Nika, Cian and Finn.”

“H-hello.” No one ever tells you the best way to greet a mafia heir and his friends.

“Baby, you’re scaring the poor girl.” Riley squeezes her husband’s hand. His face instantly softens when he gazes down at her. It’s akin to snow melting.

Finn grunts something that brings a smile to Riley’s face. Clearly, they have a language of their own. Talk about beauty and the beast…

Once I’ve met Darren’s friends and their respective partners, dinner evolves into an easy flow of delicious food and nonintimidating conversation.

Later, Kiara shifts places to sit to my right, where an excited Piro can pace back and forth between our laps.

Rory plops into a chair on the far side of Kiara, and he and Finn poke fun at Darren.

He glares between them, stopping only to throw glances my way, which I can’t help laughing at.

Kiara’s the newest female member of the Kings, and she doesn’t mince words about the recent demise of her entire family.

When I murmur to her about everything I’ve lost as well, I see only concern, sincerity, and understanding in her deep brown eyes. She bumps shoulders with mine as though to tell me she sees me.

The conversation shifts into discussing Piro. She seems more obsessed with him than I am and wants to hear all the details of how I came to be his guardian. I can’t keep the smile off my face.

Throughout the night, every time I catch Darren staring at me, my heart thunders in my chest.

I talk with the twins, too, and discover the three of us have a lot in common.

I learn that Riley works at the Concrete Rose Women’s Shelter, a place I’m familiar with through my night job, and that Harper tried to escape her family in search of freedom, just like some of the women I help.

These surprising commonalities bond us together.

Genuinely connecting with these women gives me hope for the men sitting across from us. Surely Riley, Harper, and Kiara can’t be faking their happy demeanors, which suggests that being romantically involved with these stunning, however deadly creatures, hasn’t backfired yet.

So maybe there’s hope for…

No, no, no, no, Nika. That’s not the point.

The fact that these three women seem satisfied in their relationships implies that these men I’ve been so wary of aren’t that bad. Or at least, not as bad as all the bad things they do.

The craziest part is that I didn’t suffer through this dinner with Darren’s friends. I actually see them all in a new light.

I’m connecting with them, in my own way.

And that’s something I just don’t do.

It’s something I gave up on a long time ago.

So why has it felt so effortless tonight?

The eight of us continue chatting until I realize there’s no more background noise in the room.

When I glance around, I discover almost everyone else is gone.

It’s just us at this table covered with empty plates and glasses.

I was so engrossed in the discussion that I didn’t even notice the place had all but closed down.

Everyone else seems to realize the same thing. And then…the couples start to disappear, two by two. Cian rises and offers his hand to Harper, who grasps it before coiling both arms around one of his ginormous biceps. She gives us a little wave before they depart for the night.

Kiara and Rory take off next.

Kiara and I have agreed that Piro will sleep with her tonight, that we’ll trade off on caretaking duties. Even Rory seems enamored with Piro, and vice versa. The little guy nestles on his forearm as the pair floats toward the dining room with their heads bent together.

Finn and Riley depart next, leaving Darren and me alone in the huge room and staring at each other.

After hours spent surrounded by the energy of other people, the emptiness is stark and heavy, but a comfortable silence soon falls between us. There’s still a small smile on my face, and Darren’s got one too.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad. Was it, princess?”

I shake my head. “Surprisingly not.”

“Shall we?”

Shall we what? I’m dying to know, but I don’t say anything as we rise from the table and head back out into the lofty first floor hallway.

While Darren and I climb the grand staircase to the third floor, I wonder why bonding with everyone tonight came so easily. When I search my own memory, I don’t recognize the woman I was at dinner. Sociable, easygoing, talkative. Me? Since when?

“What is it?” Darren’s smooth, deep voice cuts through my musings.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve clearly got something on your mind.” Once we arrive on the third-floor landing, he leans a little closer to me. “What is it?”

“Oh.” My cheeks warm. “Um…it’s just that I’ve been alone for so long. I’ve needed to be, you know? But that dinner, with everyone talking and laughing, that was…really, really nice.”

Darren’s long, lithe fingers thread through mine.

“It’s good that you enjoyed yourself. You’ll see them again at breakfast.”

He turns to march down the hall, and I blink when we pass my door. “Wasn’t that my room?” There are an awful lot of spaces in this mansion, but I’m pretty sure I recognize which door I came out of.

Darren pauses and fixes those laser-beam eyes on mine. Electricity crackles through me, hot and powerful. “It was. But that’s not where we’re going.”

My heart jumps into my mouth.

He inches closer to me, forcing me back against the wall. “Obviously, we’re going to mine.”