The Fellowship council of Breckenridge men stands when we enter. It’s a show of respect, but we aren’t held in
high regard by them. And they aren’t pleased by our presence. “Welcome. I’m Thane Breckenridge. These are my sons, Sinclair and Mitch. And my nephew, Jamie Breckenridge—Abram’s son.”
“I’m Lennox Hendry. These are my sons, Kieran, Maddock, Calder, and Carson.”
Thane nods. “Come. Sit. Let’s have a drink.”
A red-haired woman enters the dining room with a serving tray of glasses and a large bottle of dark amber. Since it’s the place of the hosting leader’s wife to serve when two councils meet, I assume this woman must be Thane’s wife, Isobel.
“Every great meeting has always begun with a fine whisky. Don’t you agree?” Thane says.
My father nods but his eyes are on the redhead. As if he knows her. “Aye. Indeed.”
She serves us first and works her way around the table until everyone has a glass of whisky. I watch my father watching her. She never once looks him in the face, but I’m convinced this isn’t their first meeting. A man doesn’t look at a woman like that unless something has transpired between them.
“Anything else, Thane?” Isobel asks.
“That’ll be all. Thank you.”
The woman leaves, and Thane holds up his glass. “Here’s to a productive meeting where we’re able to come to a mutual agreement.”
The warm liquid burns all the way down. I’d like a dozen more just like it to numb the anger I feel toward Westlyn for giving her body to countless men. For ruining what could have been something good between us in a situation neither of us can escape. But now I’m going to be stuck with a whore for a wife, and she’s going to be stuck with a husband who despises her for what she’s done.
It’s customary for the two leaders to lead the conversation when two brotherhoods meet, and my father is the one to initiate the discussion. “You’re aware of my backstory with Arabella? How she came to be my wife as part of a treaty?”
“Aye.”
“At The Syndicate, our belief is to operate with as few rivals as possible. And The Order has far too many powerful adversaries to ever function at its full capacity. We’d like to change the way it operates to mimic The Syndicate. That means making you our allies rather than our enemies.”
“The Order has been a cruel group of people. What makes you sure that as a whole, they’re going to support this reversal?”
Thane isn’t mistaken. The Order was a cruel group of individuals under my uncle’s leadership, but that stops here. That kind of behavior is counterproductive and will not be tolerated under our leadership.
“The people of The Order enjoy brutality because Torrence did. It’s what they were taught. It’s all they know. They need to be retrained to enjoy something else. I can do that.”
Thane doesn’t look convinced. “How do you propose to accomplish such drastic change?”
“Only one way—rule over them with an iron fist that they fear. Sure, it’ll take making examples out of some brothers, but I’m prepared to do it. A few public executions always put people in their place.”
Executions aren’t something we take pleasure in but they are often necessary.
“Our people will be resistant to this alliance,” Thane says.
Resistance by The Fellowship isn’t the least bit unexpected.
“I understand there’s been a lot of spilled blood between the two, but the benefits of partnering with us outweigh any grudge you hold. It will do nothing but benefit you and your people once we get things on track.”
Thane hesitates. “If we do it, I would have to insist on some type of insurance.”
Jamie’s eyes widen and his fist tightens, stretching the skin on top of his hand so taut that the blue veins appear as though they’re trying to escape. If he isn’t happy right now, he damn sure isn’t going to be happy about what my father is going to say next.
“We’re prepared to give you that, and we want our own insurance. We’d like to propose a double treaty. We take Westlyn or Evanna Breckenridge or Ellison MacAllister as a wife for Kieran, and as a sign of good faith, I’ll give you my daughter, Shaw, to be married to Mitch or Jamie.”
Jamie Breckenridge’s face is blood red. I bet his blood pressure is nearly at stroke level. “We’ll never give a one of them to you.”
I chuckle, wondering if he has so quickly forgotten that we have his sister and lover. “You didn’t give us Westlyn and Ellison, but we have both of them.”
“You’re not keeping Ellison or my sister.”
Sinclair Breckenridge holds out his hand in Jamie’s direction. I’m not part of their brotherhood, but I recognize the hand gesture as a warning to not overstep his boundaries. “Jamie, you sit on the council, but this isn’t your choice. Dad and I will make the decision based upon what’s in the best interest of our people as a whole.”
“We need Kieran’s wife to be a Breckenridge—or the equivalent—so we’re on equal footing. I fully trust that this partnership will work, and it won’t come down to an eye for an eye. I wouldn’t be offering you my only daughter if I didn’t believe it would be successful.”
Thane looks at Sin and then back to my father. “We can’t make this kind of decision tonight. We need time to discuss it.”
I don’t think we could make a snap decision about something this important either, but they need to understand that their women aren’t coming home until a resolve is reached. “In the meantime, we’re keeping Westlyn and Ellison.”
“No. You can’t agree to this, Thane.”
There goes Jamie overstepping his boundaries again. Maybe it’s time I set him straight on how this is going to play out.
“The part where we keep Westlyn and Ellison is nonnegotiable. I need time with them to help me decide which one I’ll take as my wife. If I like neither, then I’ll need a few days with Evanna.”
“You’ll take none of them as your wife.”
Jamie Breckenridge doesn’t know me or how I tick. I don’t take well to being told what I will and won’t do. Especially by a leader’s nephew who will never be the head of his brotherhood.
I grin and lick my lips. “I plan on tasting one of them tonight. Maybe both. I haven’t decided yet.” Aye, I’m being a dick. Taunting a man who is probably about to lose his mind with fear for his sister and lover, but he has opened his mouth more than once when he shouldn’t have. He needs to learn his place.
“That’s enough, Kieran,” my father warns.
“Don’t you fucking touch either of them.”
Despite being a doctor, the dumb bastard is a slow learner. “Who’s going to stop me?”
“I will kill you.”
He stands and pulls his Glock, aiming it directly at my face. Not the first time I’ve looked down a barrel. Hell, it’s not even the second or third or fourth.
“That’s not a good way to begin the treaty.” Does the dumb bastard forget that we’re here because we want peace and prosperity?
“You weren’t thinking that when you put a bullet in me a few hours ago.”
He seems a little pissed off about that. “You pulled your weapon. We had no choice.”
“You were kidnapping two of our women. Of course, I was going to pull my weapon.”
Okay. I can’t say that I blame him for that. “It wasn’t our intention to kill you. Otherwise, you’d be dead.” Jamie Breckenridge doesn’t know that I’m a sniper. He has no idea that I never miss my target. Ever. If I wanted that bullet to go into his heart, it would have.
“Stand down, Jamie.” He doesn’t move. “Now,” Thane adds.
He does as Thane orders and sits, staring a hole through me as though he’s the taunter. I don’t think so. “I will have three days with them. Not a minute less. Who knows? Maybe one of them will be carrying my heir by the time they return, and the decision will be made for me.”
He slams his fist on the table. “Nooo!”
“That’s our offer. We’ll contact you in three days. And just in case you’re thinking of coming for them, we won’t hesitate to put bullets in
their pretty little heads. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
The Syndicate isn’t called the sleeping giant for no reason. We are a peaceful people until our hand is forced. After that, we’re out for blood.
The limo is pulling away from Thane Breckenridge’s property when the car slows. “There’s a woman in the drive, Mr. Hendry.”
“Stop the car.”
My father opens the door to get out, but Isobel pushes her way inside the car. “Isobel. It’s good to see you. I wanted to say something earlier but…”
“I know. It’s good tae see ye too. I wish we had time tae visit, but I only have a few minutes before I’m missed.”
I was right. My dad knows Thane’s wife.
“What is it, Issy?”
“I need to speak tae yer son aboot my niece.” She looks at me. “Westlyn is Abram and Torrie’s daughter. There isn’t a reason in the world that she should be anything other than a monster with those two for parents, but she isn’t. Wes is kind… loyal… dutiful… and pure. My niece is beautiful inside and oot. She’ll make a wonderful wife for ye, unless ye choose tae mishandle her while she’s in yer care. In that case, she’ll come tae despise ye, and believe me, existence is miserable when ye’re shackled tae someone ye hate.”
Pure. That word catches my attention. “Westlyn Breckenridge is pure?”
“Abram might have been a mean bastard, but he made sure that Westlyn wasn’t touched by any brother. He was saving her for someone. It ultimately didn’t work oot, and no man has reached oot tae Thane tae declare interest in her.”
Abram was saving Westlyn for someone but not his older daughter? There must be a reason for that, but what? “Abram is dead. He’s no longer here to ensure his daughter’s purity.”
“True, but Thane and Sin have taken responsibility for Wes. Tae taint her would be an offense against them. She remains a virgin. Of that, I’m certain.”
Not according to Westlyn. “Why would she claim otherwise when I asked?”
“Wes is being the strong, resilient captive she was trained tae be. She sees ye as part of The Order that she loathes. There’s no way she’d voluntarily tell ye that she’s a virgin. Think aboot it. That’s the one sure way tae get yerself violated by yer brotherhood’s enemy.”