I can’t send her alone. “I’ll ask my mum to go with you as a backup, just in case something happens.”
“That means we have to tell her what we’re doing.”
“I’m okay with that if you are.”
She’s fighting the tears. I see it in the way she’s blinking and looking up to the ceiling. “But I want you to be with me. It’s not right for me to get pregnant without you.”
I can’t not laugh. “Well, I prefer you didn’t get pregnant without me, either.”
“It’s not funny, Sin. You’re my husband. It’s your job to be with me every step of the way. And you haven’t been.”
She’s right. It isn’t comical at all. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made a joke about something so important. But I’m going to be there with you. I swear I’ll make it happen.”
Sterling and I drop Bleu and my mum at the airport. Saying goodbye is brutal. She’s completely wrecked. I can’t stand seeing my lass like this.
I’ve allowed The Fellowship to come ahead of Bleu—and our potential children. My choice is hurting my wife. I said I would never do that, yet I am. I’m such a bastard. I don’t think I’ve ever hated myself so much. But I have every intention of making my absence up to her.
I arrive at Duncan’s forty minutes before the meeting. I decide to take advantage of the free time to have a drink and private conversation with Leith. We have things to discuss.
Lorna is working tonight so she’s our server. I don’t have to tell her what I want or when to bring another. She’s good at what she does.
“You took a particularly strong interest in being the one to go after the man who tried to take Lorna.”
“They came into my place and shot it up when I wouldn’t let him take my best barmaids. You’d have an deep interest too,” Leith says.
“You sure there isn’t something more to your insistence on going after him yourself?”
He gives me a confused look. “What are you getting at, Sin?”
I’m going to throw my wife’s hunch out there and see what kind of reaction I get. “Bleu thinks you have feelings for Lorna.”
He laughs. “That’s ridiculous. I used to enjoy fucking Lorna, just like you did.”
Jamie fucked Lorna too but he never mentions him. It’s always my indiscretion with her that he points out.
“I told Bleu you weren’t interested in Lorna.”
“Good. I don’t need your wife putting ideas in Lorna’s head when they have no basis.”
I’m not sure I believe him. “Lorna’s been on her own since her parents were killed. She needs a husband’s protection. I think the incident the other night was proof.”
“I protected her.”
“You did a fine job, but it’s time she was home with a husband instead of here serving drinks half the night.”
“Being married wouldn’t have prevented what The Order did.”
“No, but Lorna’s a good friend. I want to look out for her.”
“I look out for her.”
I think Bleu is right. All the signs are there. My suggestion for Lorna to take a husband is pissing him off.
“Bleu wants the best for her friend. She has asked me to help arrange an advantageous marriage on Lorna’s behalf since her parents are no longer living.”
“Lorna’s an adult. Do you really think she needs you to choose a husband for her?”
“Of course, she’ll have the final say about who he is but I don’t think she’ll object to assistance in securing a good match.”
“You’ve been up Bleu’s arse for months. How would you know anything about Lorna or what would make her happy?”
“We spoke at Bleu’s initiation. She was very forthcoming about her discontent,” I say.
“She’s probably disappointed you no longer fuck her in the back room.”
He’s being pure arse now. “That was a long time ago.”
“That’s news to me. I thought you shagged her anytime you felt like it.”
“Not in years.” I see he’s surprised to be wrong.
“What about Jamie?”
“He stopped long before I did.” Jamie never had much interest in Lorna.
Leith doesn’t reply.
“She’s a nice lass. She deserves to be happy.”
“And you think finding her a husband will achieve that?”
“I don’t know, but Bleu seems to think so. I’m a little inclined to think she could be right. They became good friends while working together so she has inside knowledge.”
I think he’s tossing the idea around. Time to throw the hook out for a reaction. “Bleu thought you’d make a good candidate. I had hoped to work on that with you tonight but I can see we were wrong.”
“Yeah. You were.” He brings his whisky up and tosses the entire thing back.
“I suppose I’ll need to look elsewhere. Do you have any suggestions? Have you noticed any of the brothers showing special interest in her?”
“No.”
“You work with her almost every day and you serve every brother on a regular basis. You can’t think of a single one who might be a good match?”
“No.”
“I’ll ask around. She’s very fit. I’m sure there’s plenty of brothers who would love to have her for a wife.”
“Whatever you think is best.” Leith shoves away from the table.
He’s in love with Lorna. I’m sure of it after seeing his reaction. Who could’ve imagined? My wife—that’s who. I should call her matchmaker-dot-com.
I’m finishing my third whisky when my father takes his place to speak to the brothers. “The Order has struck again. They’ve done major damage.” He explains the night’s events. “We have no choice but to retaliate swiftly and take back what is intended for our new Irish allies.”
There’s a Q&A session back and forth between the brothers and my father with Abram constantly interjecting his thoughts. He honestly cannot stand my father being his superior.
The Order has three main warehouses we know about. It’s decided the brotherhood will divide into thirds and hit each location at the same time. They won’t be expecting us to divide to conquer.
It’s happening at five in the morning. Shit. That’s only three and a half hours before my flight’s departure time. That won’t be easy to manage, even if everything goes perfectly.