“We both know I could’ve killed you just now if that had been my intention. You’d be dead if I were one of Abram’s men.”
She looks away, staring blankly at the wall. It’s because she knows I’m right, although she won’t dare admit it. My lass hates defeat.
“I won’t leave like some coward.” Why did I have to fall in love with such a hard-ass?
“Your father is dying. He won’t be much leverage for Abram to use against you but what about your sister? Can you protect her and yourself around the clock?”
I know I’ve caught her attention—she looks shocked. “Ellison is innocent. She’s done nothing to The Fellowship. She doesn’t even know of its existence.”
“Abram doesn’t care. He’ll use her to draw you out if that’s what it takes.”
Her eyes grow large. “Oh God. How do I undo this?”
I’ve spent the last three months battling the same question and see only one fix.
“I know what you have to do.” Her baby blues gaze at me in anticipation. But I’m afraid my solution won’t be anything she’s expecting to hear. “Marry me.”
She goes completely silent. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Marrying you would pull me into The Fellowship even deeper. Why would I do something like that?”
I never taught Bleu the ways of The Fellowship. I spent my time fucking her instead of teaching her our practices so now I must give her the quick version. “Every member takes a vow to never violate the family of another member. That means Abram can’t harm you if you become my wife.”
She’s shaking her head. “Common sense tells me betrayal overrides that vow. I lied to all of you about being a former agent. I came to Edinburgh to kill your father, the brotherhood’s leader. That alone is grounds for my execution. It won’t matter if I’m your conjoined twin. The brotherhood will never accept me for anything other than what I am—a traitor.”
“The brotherhood knows nothing of your betrayal. My father, Abram, and I all agreed it could spiral into panic and chaos if they thought they’d been compromised.” I know it must be killing Abram to keep this secret. He’d love nothing more than to make me look incompetent. “That’s the only reason Abram didn’t rat me out for initiating an FBI agent into The Fellowship.”
She hangs her head. “I’m sorry I put you in that situation.”
“Hey, you.” I place my fingers below her chin and force her to look at me. “I’m not sorry. Not even a little bit. I would do it again if given the choice.”
“Marriage might save me from being killed by Abram but your father knows about my betrayal. That can’t be fixed.”
But it already has been. “I told him you were Amanda Lawrence’s daughter but lied about it because you were investigating her murder. I explained that you thought he might be more forthcoming about information if he didn’t know he was a suspect.” It’s mostly true, minus the part where she planned his murder. “He has no idea you came to kill him. I swear.”
“You may have fixed things with your father but Abram is still coming after me.”
I take her hands in mine. “He won’t if you marry me.”
“Abram will never accept your marriage to me.”
“Good thing his approval is not a requirement.”
She can argue all she likes but I’ve thought this through for months and looked at it from every angle. Marriage is the only thing that makes sense.
“What do the brothers think happened to me?”
“I told them you were called away for a family emergency and you’re home caring for your terminally ill father. As far as they’re concerned, you’re still one of us and nothing has changed. You could return today and they’d welcome you back with open arms. Especially my mum. She misses you terribly.”
“I miss her as well.”
There’s still the matter of her wanting to kill my father. “I spoke with my dad about your mother’s murder. He stands firm that he isn’t her killer.”
She shakes her head. “No. I was there. I recognized Thane’s voice.”
“You were a frightened child who heard a Scotsman’s voice. You never saw his face. Even you must admit there’s room for error.”
I know my Bonny Bleu. She’ll never marry into the brotherhood if she believes its leader murdered her mother. I have to convince her my dad is innocent of this crime. “My father is The Fellowship’s leader. He answers to no one. That makes him untouchable. He’d take ownership of your mother’s murder if he were her killer. It’s our way. You know this about us.” She looks as though she’s considering my theory. “He was very much in love with your mother. He wouldn’t have harmed her.”
She looks as though she’s struggling internally. “Accepting his innocence means I’ve been mistaken for eighteen years. My whole life has been spent obsessing over killing the wrong man. You can’t possibly imagine the way that makes me feel—as a trained agent and as a person in general.”
“You were a young, traumatized child. It stands to reason you’d be easily confused.”
She looks as though she might burst into tears. “This means her killer is still out there. And I have no idea who or where he is.”
Bleu needs to know she won’t be alone in this. “We will find your mother’s murderer. When we do, I’ll help you kill him if you like. But first on our agenda must be making you safe.”
She nibbles her bottom lip for a moment before looking down at her hands in her lap. “Bonny. Look at me.” Her eyes meet mine. “Marry. Me.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to enter into a marriage for the wrong reason.”
“Then enter into it for the right one.” She told me she loved me on the last night we were together but she thought we’d never see one another again. I have no idea if her feelings still stand. “You told me you loved me.”
“I do. I love you very much.” My body instantly relaxes when I hear her declaration. The heavy weight of not knowing has lifted. “But marriage is drastic.”
“Any man can see the good inside you. But what you need is one who sees the bad and loves you anyway. That’s me.”
“Becoming your wife means I marry The Fellowship as well. I’m not sure I can handle that.”