He blinked at her in surprise. “I did.”
“I knew you were hiding something,” Tasha said angrily. “Did he pass the test, yet?”
Bronte glanced between them sharply. “What do you mean, test? I thought you were using your connections to help him stay in the country. That we hadn’t gotten an annulment because we were waiting for that to go through. Are you the reason it hasn’t happened yet?”
“I wasn’t testing him, I was protecting him,” Ken assured them both through clenched teeth. “Getting him away from temptation. Giving him time away from everyone who, let’s be honest, knew enough of his past to expect him to fail. He was starting a new life. He needed time to figure out what direction it would take.”
“That sounds like a test to me.”
Bronte had to agree.
Ken’s temple was pulsing as he spoke to Tasha. “As much as we love the Finn men, you and I both know if he’d stayed while tempers were high, they would have blamed him for taking advantage of Bronte. Their marriage would have been annulled before the next sunrise, William would have gotten pissed, disappeared and been forced to deal with this current situation on his own. I don’t think anyone at this table would have been happy with that outcome.”
He was right. About all of it.
Damn it.
Her family and the Finns would have closed ranks to protect her, because he hadn’t told them about her dare. He’d let them think it was all his idea. Just to protect her.
Even then, he’d been trying to take care of her.
She took a breath. “One thing at a time. Is William in danger because of me? Should he get out of Baltimore?”
Ken shook his head. “I would never have sent him here if I thought he or the Collins family would be in any danger. We’ve been taking care of it. I didn’t expect Kevin to screw everything up and send you racing out here without any warning, but even that looks like it can work to our advantage.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Okay, then I’ll just go tell him about stupid, lazy, bad-at-his-job Kevin so we can get this insanity resolved and finally move on.”
“Move on?” Ken studied her quietly until she shifted under the scrutiny. “Have you decided to divorce him?”
No. The rejection was so vehement she had to bite her tongue to keep from shouting it out loud. “I think that’s between William and me.”
A few months ago, “Of course” would have been her answer. Because she couldn’t stay married to someone who would only be in his forties when she hit retirement. She couldn’t live with a man she married on a drunken lark. Build a future with him. A family. No one made that kind of decision after one night of sexual oblivion.
She looked up in time to see Tasha and Ken share a speaking look, getting the distinct impression both of them knew exactly what she was thinking.
“I should go.” She pushed her chair back and got to her feet, Ken standing beside her.
“Bronte.” He hesitated. “Brady and I… Well, let’s just say we had our own issues to overcome. And some crime,” he added with the barest hint of a smile. “Maybe that’s why I wanted to help William. No matter what he’s done or what he thinks of himself, he’s no hardened criminal. I think you know that, too.”
“I do.”
Ken nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “We’ve got a room for tonight and I’ll be dealing with the situation. You don’t need to worry, Bronte. We have it under control. If you need us for anything, we’ll be nearby.”
She included Tasha in her look and forced herself to smile. “Thanks.”
“We’re sister-cousins, remember? I’m here for you.”
Bronte chuckled. “You have a serious case of only child.”
“I really do. Thank goodness the twins have each other, and people with large families keep marrying Finns.”
Tasha stood up and tugged her close for a tight hug. “Advice time. Are you ready?”
“Hit me.”
“Men are strange creatures that rarely make sense. If he gets weird after you tell him about your visitor, remember that it’s pride. Wounded male pride. And the best thing you can do to stop him from pushing you away when that happens…is to take off your shirt.”
Ken snorted, but he didn’t disagree. “I’d argue with the strange creature bit, but sex is a good subject changer.”
“That is horrible advice. Shame on both of you. You can’t just run around telling people to flash a little skin at their problems. Poor George and Charlotte, that’s all I have to say.”
“I thought their names were Huck and Ned,” Ken teased.
“Oh stop it. And these are pearls of wisdom, princess. The same pearls I heard you gave to Hugo.”
Bronte waved her words away and started walking, looking up the directions to the boxing club on her phone.
It was time to tell William what she knew.
And possibly take her shirt off.
Chapter Eight
William sent another text to Murphy, thanking him for use of the club before unlocking the door and turning on the lights to the gym. The man reminded him of Shawn Finn. A goodhearted, easygoing man who’d given him the kind of friendship and trust he wasn’t sure he deserved.
She thinks you deserve it.
He wanted to believe that, but trust was a luxury item he’d rarely been able to afford. In his experience, friends were of the fair weather variety, and more likely to kick you when you were down than have your back.
That was your old life. Things are different now.
“Anybody home?”
His fists clenched out of instinct. Every time he’d seen James in the last year, there’d been tension between them. “Back here.”
“Nice place. Your sister mentioned you were looking for a gym of your own, and I was imagining Zumba classes. But this? I can see you running a place like this.”
His sister mentioned it? To James? “Don’t tell me you’ve been to a family dinner at last.”
“I was trying new things,” James offered wryly.
Like pleasant conversation? Because this was new too. As soon as he got a good look at his cousin, William frowned in concern. “You look like you got a bad dose. Off the wagon?”
James ran a hand over his beard. “Not today,” he said grimly. “Today I’m paying back a kindness.”
William edged closer, as if approaching a wounded animal. “I appreciate the thought, but you don’t look like you can afford much at the moment.”
“I’ll manage.”
“Is it your Alex?”
If pain had a human face, William thought, it would look like that. Like James.
“Alex is missing.” He glanced around the sparring gym, looking lost. “And you came out here and took too long to deal with your problems. People went looking for you and found your wife instead.”
Bronte?
“Who? When? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me as soon—” He moved toward the door, but James grabbed his arm to stop him.
“It’s why she came to see you. She didn’t mention it?”
He pulled away from James with a scowl. If he’d known she’d needed to talk about this instead of their relationship, he would have damn well forced the issue. “Trust me, she’ll be getting around to it later today.”
James narrowed his eyes. “I’m an idiot. I thought the thing between you two was about staying in the country. That it wasn’t real.”
William rubbed the back of his neck, nerves turning to acid in his stomach.
People went looking for you and found your wife.
“It never was. Not for me. I’ve never given a promise I didn’t mean to keep.”
“You are a Finn, aren’t you? Twice removed or not.” His smile disappeared. “A man showed up at her work. Scared her into coming here and, when she did, had her followed.”
“Cocksuckingsonofa—Mahoney?” It had to be. No one else knew anything about his old job.
James nodded. “Ken and Tasha came
at her request, but she doesn’t know about us. Brady’s keeping an eye on the guy who’s been watching your place since she arrived, and I’m here to give you the head’s up, since I know neither one of us appreciates people sticking their nose in our private business.”
William nodded sharply. “You’re right about that. Only one guy?”
“Ken says Mahoney wants to talk. He wouldn’t want you to feel threatened.”
“Then he shouldn’t have gone anywhere near my wife.”
The wife who’d called in Tanaka and Tasha instead of filling him in.
He was more than capable of taking care of this, taking care of his woman. Didn’t she know that? Did none of them know anything about him?
You didn’t know you were being watched.
Bronte’s arrival had thrown him off. If he’d known, if the hacker or Bronte herself had mentioned any of this, he would have been alert to any potential danger. Instead he’d been introducing her to his friends. She’d been walking around town by herself at night.
Did she have no sense of self-preservation at all? After what she’d already been through?
“So you’ve all ridden in to the rescue,” he said heavily. “What’s the plan then?”
James shrugged. “A simple one. We already have enough of their info to keep Mahoney on a leash for life, and Brady could take that twig of a watchdog out one-handed in his sleep. Ken has an idea about keeping the guy in Ireland off your back for good, but you’ll have to talk to him about that.”
William’s lips curled back in a snarl, his fists clenching. “What do you know about it?”
He held up his hands. “I don’t. I’m telling you what Tanaka said. That’s all.”
William wasn’t sure he believed him. “Sounds like the dynamic duo could have done this alone, cuz. So why are you really here?”
James shook his head wearily. “I told you. I hitched a ride with this posse because I owed you for getting Alex out of that clusterfuck of a situation when I…when I couldn’t.”
He’d helped James out before driving to Baltimore because, as much of an asshole as the man had been to him, he was family and he was suffering. James had more demons than his brothers knew.
And if his Alex was missing, his battles with them weren’t over. “You planning to ask the hacker for help? What about Jen’s man, Trick? I know you’ve been working a few jobs with him.”
“This is on me. I’ve got a lead, so I’ll be taking some time off and leaving from here tonight.”
He’d known that. Sensed that James wasn’t going back home. He wouldn’t until he found what he was looking for.
“Hell, man. Are you sure about this?”
“You know I am.”
He nodded slowly. Resigned. “If you get into a bad spot, you can call me again. I love a good fight and I can keep my mouth shut.”
His cousin sent him a grateful look. “I know I’ve been a bastard. To you. To everyone for the last few years. I’ve made more mistakes… And I guess I’m still going to owe you one, because I have another favor to ask.”
“Name it.”
“Tell Younger and the rest of my brothers I’m fine. That I’m following their lead but I’ll be back when I can.” He reached into his jeans pocket and handed a thick folded envelope to William. “I was going to put this in the mail but it might be safer with you. The chief of police needs to see this. It’s about Elder’s first wife.”
James and Solomon’s mother.
“He’ll know what to do with it.”
“You know your family is going to lose their shit, probably on me when I pass along your message.”
“Our family,” James corrected quietly. “And they’ll be too happy to see you to give you any grief. Especially Younger.” He chuckled. “Take care of him. I think he actually misses you.”
“Don’t act so surprised. Most people find me charming.”
“Most people are right, but I didn’t say it.” James patted his arm bracingly. “Take care of yours.”
“You do the same.”
It wasn’t the easiest road the green-eyed Finn had chosen. William wished he hadn’t chosen to walk it completely alone.
An hour had passed since his cousin left and William had been trying to work off all his restless energy. His anger. His doubt. He pounded the speed bag and imagined it was the face of the ass that approached Bronte when he wasn’t there to protect her.
People went looking for you and found your wife.
He’d left her vulnerable. It had never once crossed his mind that that part of his life would touch her, which made him a fool. Sharing his past with her was one thing, letting it taint her present was unacceptable.
No one threatened the people under his care. The people he loved. If they did, they didn’t get away with it.
Wasn’t that why he’d taken that money in the first place?
He wondered if the hacker told her about it. No matter what Tanaka learned, he couldn’t know the whole story.
William had been stepping back long before his cousins came for their visit. Fighting in smaller venues without sharing his winnings, socking a little aside until he’d nearly had enough to move his family away. To start fresh.
His boss must have sensed it, because he’d played the one card William wouldn’t be able to ignore. He’d gone after his brother and sister.
If it had been an aggressive or violent move, he would have known how to handle it. But he’d chosen subtle seduction instead. Flattering Matthew’s intelligence and showering his sister with gifts William could never afford.
It was a warning, to remind him of his place in the world. At first.
But then the foul fuck had set his sights on having Kate in his bed.
So William made plans of his own. After Seamus and Owen had left, he bided his time. He’d swiped a month’s worth of debt collections and winnings right out from under their noses and flown the substantial sum out of the country, hiding it away for safekeeping.
It was enough to buy a home, a business and more, but he’d never touched a dime. Never told a soul. When he’d cooled down, when Kate was safe, he’d have given it back if he’d been able to do it without repercussions to his family.
It had been a stupid mistake. He’d let anger cloud his judgment. Make him irrational and vengeful. Worse, he hadn’t known how to fix it and keep the new life he’d been building at the same time.
Tanaka did.
Maybe. But the fact was he’d done it and he wasn’t sure how Bronte would see it. He could guess. Her brother had been a cop. He doubted she’d done one illegal thing in her entire life. All he had to do was think about her reaction to his lie about a nonexistent girlfriend to know she’d never understand his reasons. Why he’d felt the need to take the only thing the greedy bastard cared about so he would understand that there were consequences for trying to make William’s sister his whore.
The truth could break the tentative threads between them, the ones he’d been sure were strengthening since she’d arrived.
What if they should be broken for her own good?
He kept circling back to her silence. Had she held back because she didn’t trust him to take care of it, or because saying it out loud would force them to face the truth? That they were all wrong for each other?
And you thought you could deserve her.
“William?”
He stopped pummeling the bag, using his forearm to wipe away the sweat that blinded his vision. He’d spent weeks haunting this place, working out his longing for her and dreaming of their future together. Building something of his own. For her. With her.
Seeing her here, fresh-faced and beautiful in a casual pair of khakis, white tank and an open denim shirt, was like fate taunting him with things he could never have.
Just a dream.
She’d continued walking towards him, stopping when she got close enough to see the expression on his face. “What’s wrong?”
So many things. Too m
any. But when he looked at her, none of them mattered.
Adrenaline and arousal raced through him in a heady rush. He needed her. Now, before she told him to go to hell or patted him on the head to thank him for a fun vacation. He needed to remind her, and himself, that something they had was real.
He stalked to the edge of the mat and gazed down at her, loving the way her eyes dilated as she took in his bare chest and looked over the marks she’d left on him last night and this morning with her nails. Her teeth.
She caught a glimpse of his knuckles when he reached out to cup her cheek, her own hand covering his in concern. “Did you hurt yourself? Talk to me, William.”
“Talking is not what you want.”
She shivered and he felt a dark sense of satisfaction at how strongly he affected her. “Here? What if someone comes in?”
He didn’t bother to tell her the club was closed for the day.
The idea turned her on.
“What if they did?” He let the tip of his fingers trace the neckline of her tank. “What do you think they’d see? My hands cupping you like this?”
He squeezed her breast, his thumb scraping over her hardening nipple until she was gasping.
“Would you let me do more, Nightingale? Let me strip you and pin you down where any man wanting to go a round or two in the ring could walk in and watch me take care of what’s mine?”
He barely heard her whimpered, “Oh God” as he turned her away from him, sliding the denim shirt off her shoulders and letting it fall at her feet.
She tried to twist back to face him but his arms came around her from behind, one holding her close while the other teased the top button of her khakis. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, darlin’? To stop being sweet, obedient Bronte for a while? To be a little bad with me? Just this once?” He swallowed hard, bracing for her answer. He would stop if she said the word. “Say yes.”
“Yes,” she whispered and William sent up a silent prayer of gratitude before swiftly opening her pants and tugging her underwear to the side.
His fingers slipped easily through her arousal and he groaned. “You’re a wild one. Do you have any idea how much I want you, Mrs. Finn? How much I always want you? Do you like knowing you get me too hot to be a gentleman? That I’m too impatient to wait to get you home before I have you?”
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