“I won’t marry her,” Ewan said, and his voice was surprisingly firm.
The Don’s face slowly fell into confusion. “Excuse me?”
“I won’t marry her,” Ewan said, and glanced back at me. “I won’t touch her. I won’t do anything without her permission. If she wants to marry me, then I’ll fly her to Vegas tonight. Otherwise, I won’t do it, sir, with all due respect.”
The Don gaped, and for one second, I thought he might pull a weapon. Dean looked pained, but unsurprised, and the Don started laughing.
The tension didn’t break, but it dissipated somewhat. Ewan relaxed, and I began to let myself believe we weren’t about to get bullets in the head for our trouble.
“I had a feeling you’d say that,” the Don said. “I don’t hold it against you, you know. A man’s got to have a code, or else what is he, but a dog? No, Ewan, I respect your stance toward women, even if I don’t understand it.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ewan said, but he didn’t sound thankful, not at all. Simmering beneath his tone was anger, so much anger that it surprised me to hear it. He was doing a poor job of masking his rage.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t an option. You will marry the girl, and you will do it whether you want to or not. I need this from you, Ewan, to prove that you’re as loyal as you claim, and to keep this girl from the Healy family. If they want her, then I have to keep her.” The Don showed his teeth, perfectly straight and white—and I realized they were veneers.
“I understand, sir,” Ewan said. “But I won’t marry her unless she accepts it.”
The Don looked at me then. “What do you say to that?” he asked. “You want to keep breathing, girl? Marry the man and be done with it.”
“No,” Ewan said through clenched teeth. “Don’t put her on the spot now. She’ll do it to save her life, but I’m not going to coerce her into it.”
The Don made an annoyed sound and waved his hand. “I won’t sit here and waste my time arguing with you about details,” he said. “You have one month to marry the girl. Figure out between the two of you how you want to make it happen, but you will make it happen. I will see you both wearing rings. Do you understand me, Ewan?”
Ewan only nodded once, then looked toward Dean, who stared down at the floor.
“You can go,” the Don said, and Ewan turned toward me, and our eyes met. His expression was filled with pure loathing and anger, and I felt a sudden stab of fear. This man was a killer, a tiger pent-up and caged, and if the Don continued to push then I knew he’d snap, and break, and destroy any bonds that held him back. “But don’t forget what I said. You have one month.”
Ewan grabbed my wrist on the way out and tugged me along. He stormed through the house, towing me behind him and out the front door. He slammed it shut and stomped down the steps, and was halfway to the car when Dean came running out behind us.
“Hold on,” Dean said. “Wait.”
Ewan released me. “Stay,” he said softly, then turned on Dean and walked toward him. “What the fuck was that back there?”
“My father’s idea,” Dean said, holding up his hands. “I told him you wouldn’t do it, but he doesn’t care.”
“What does marrying her gain?” Ewan asked, gesturing back at me. “Hasn’t she been through enough?”
“Father doesn’t care,” Dean said. “He’s old world, you know that. He thinks that if you marry her, we might be able to split the Healy family, or at least make things more difficult for them. He’ll do anything to win this war. That’s how he is.”
“I’m not going to marry her,” Ewan said, and I felt a strange sort of angry pang.
“I don’t plan on marrying you either, you know,” I snapped. I figured I could talk, now that we weren’t supplicating ourselves in front of the Don.
Dean grinned at me. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe you should consider it. She might be good for you.”
“Stay out of this,” Ewan said, glaring at me, and looked back at Dean. “I have few rules in my life, and if I start breaking them, I’ll have nothing. You can’t ask this of me.”
Dean spread his hands. “There’s nothing left for me to do,” he said. “My father’s word is law. That’s all there is. I suggest the two of you get to know each other and start making wedding plans.”
Ewan glared for another few seconds before he turned away and stormed to the car. He got inside and slammed the door.
Dean squinted at me and scratched the back of his head. “Ewan’s not so bad,” he said. “And hell, you might like being in the Valentino family.”