Page 24 of Shattered Hearts
Finn leans in, seducing me with his dangerous smile and cedar and clove scent. “Keep getting an attitude with me, and I’ll do it again just to shut you up.”
Despite his words, his tone is even. Bored, almost. And it makes me want to shake him up. To strip him of his precious control and discover what’s hiding underneath.
But I can’t think straight with his lips brushing my ear.
Reception attendants appear around us and lower our dinner plates to the table, but neither of us moves so much as an inch. His warm breath coasts over my neck, triggering a buzz in my veins.
I want to move closer, until I feel his lips on my skin. Instead, I force myself to lean back. “Look, today obviously didn’t go like either of us planned. Can we just eat in peace and continue this discussion later?”
I need to gather my thoughts and wrap mind around how in the world I’m supposed to keep this charade up for…well, for however long I need to.
After a few uncomfortable seconds of Finn staring a hole in my cheek, he picks up his silverware, and we start to eat.
Several sinful, savory bites of the juiciest filet mignon of my life later, I’m back to the problem at hand. Shane’s words put everything into perspective.
When I saw the opportunity for a marriage between the two of you, I jumped at the chance.That sentence flipped a switch in my mind.
Opportunity.
One man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity.A saying my father pulled out on countless occasions.
This mess I’m in all started with a simple case of crisis and opportunity, four months ago. Someone abducted Charlene and tortured information out of her, in pursuit of a greater objective. Stealing a product shipment from Madden.
I know from my days as a Gallagher informant how catastrophic a stolen or destroyed product shipment can be for business. Client money has been spent, but there’s nothing to deliver to them. At best, the whole operation appears sloppy and incompetent, damaging present and future relations. At worst, this kind of financial hit can weaken a mob and send them down in flames.
Surely this would have gotten my father into a lot of trouble—if word got out that someone snaked a shipment out from under Thomas Brennan’s nose. Depending on how much of thefamily’s stock or resources were taken, Shane could have elected to kill my dad over this lapse in security.
My father’s supposed to keep a pulse on everything going on in and around the clubs. He organizes the security of all three locations and the shipment routes. A failure this monumental would absolutely be considered his fault.
This issue would have required a swift, discreet, wise, well-connected, and highly strategic person to fix it, and the only man in this mafia who fits that description is Shane Gallagher himself.
I sneak a peek at the man as he sips water at a table near the empty dance floor between Donal and my father. Shane is the only conceivable person I can think of within the Kings who could make a problem of this magnitude disappear. But it’s not the kind of favor someone does for free.
Saving my dad’s ass—not to mention the reputation the Gallaghers have worked to build in this city over several decades—from the disgrace of this blunder came at a price. I already know of my father’s willingness to exchange his children for the Kings’ and his own self-interest. He wouldn’t balk for a second if Shane’s condition for rescue required marrying off his prized daughter to Finn.
Finn means the world to his dad. The kind of love that glistened in Shane’s eyes can’t be faked. I have no doubt Shane’s intentions were good when he decided to use my father’s crisis as an opportunity to marry his withdrawn, beloved son to a beautiful, vivacious woman.
Shane’s clearly invested in securing Finn’s happiness, and if the heir to the Gallagher Mafia produces another heir in the process, that’s a bonus. My father’s fuckup served as the perfect leverage.
Men in this mafia would killto have that kind of power. The power to trade a favor for Harper Brennan’s hand in marriage.
Everything’s become crystal clear. Even my intake interview with Charlene has sharpened in my memory. She swore her kidnappers got away with the theft, and I’ve never heard a single word about the missing drugs.
If my theory’s correct, that’s because Shane kept the robbery under wraps. He hid the massive goof and didn’t punish my father for letting it happen. In turn, my father gave consent for Harper to marry Finn as payment, probably jumping at the chance for his grandchild to one day be the don.
Shane held up his part of the deal. Today was my father’s chance to do the same, but Harper’s disappearance nearly destroyed everything.
No wonder my father’s so adamant that I pose as Harper until she comes back and marries Finn for real. No doubt Dear Old Dad is on thin ice with Shane right now. Thankfully, Shane didn’t seem angry with either Harper or me.
Probably because he wants Finn to have love in his life again.
The rest of the reception swirls by in the blur of well-wishers, lights, and classy jazz. At one point, Finn leaves the table. Right when I begin to wonder if he’s coming back, he reappears with a plate piled high with wedding cake and proceeds to devour every last bite.
I can’t help but smile over the scary enforcer and his serious sweet tooth.
Later, the sun sinks over the Manhattan skyline, shading the Michaelson in a lavender glow. Wedding guests cheer for us as we make our exit. My heart kicks my ribs when Finn’s hand finds mine amid a hearty send-off of friends and family. The limousine waits for us out front, my father holding the door open. Finn gives the crowd a final wave and climbs in.
I imitate those pageant queens Harper loves so much and do the same before pausing to face my father one last time.