She was going to say she didn’t know. She doesn’t know how to fight… She needed help but she wasn’t going to ask…stubborn and full of pride to the end.
“Did you really not know?”
I glanced over to Wyatt who was leaning forward and now looked ready to shoot me, all humor gone from his voice.
“What?”
“Did you sell off our sister so you didn’t have to worry about her?” he asked, grinding his jaw, his eyes furious. “So, you didn’t have to worry she’d betray you?”
“You heard grandmother—”
“I’ve seen and heard grandmother lie on your behalf before! How the fuck do I know you weren’t the one that brought Gabriel here? You told him what to say and had Nana vouch for him. I’m sure you’d even convince Uncle Neal and Declan just so your bloody plan could come together.”
I watched him clench his fist to stop himself from trembling with rage.
“She’s my sister—”
“Which is why I’m sure you didn’t kill her. Instead, you picked some random douchebag to marry her off to!”
At that moment, I wanted to smack him. “Get out Wyatt!”
“I swear to God, if you are behind this—”
I rose to my feet, the only thing between us my desk. And even that wasn’t going to be enough to stop me from beating his ass. Calming myself down, I walked around the desk to stand in front of him. “Let’s say you are correct, little brother. You’re not, but let’s say you’re right and I am selling our sister. What makes you think you have any power to stop me? Your army is my army. The last I checked, most of them still think you’re nothing but a scared little bitch who ran from his responsibilities. To them you are just a spoiled little playboy, the little prince who can only talk like this to me because we’re blood and I allow it.”
I reached over to fix his tie and dust the shoulders of his suit before adding, “You can swear to whichever God you like, little brother. But swearing is nothing without power, so you better get your own before running your month.”
He glared at me, before reaching for my wrist and gripping it tightly. “Careful what you ask for, big brother. You know better than I; fortune, in this family, is on the side of the second son…and you’ve already been at death’s door once. And this scared little bitch saved your life. Know this—you don’t want to piss me off, because I don’t need an army. I just need to step back and watch you take all the bullets. Then people will know I stood in your shadow for twenty-six years; not because I was afraid, but because I enjoy the shield… From there I’ll rise just like Grandfather. The second son. His elder brother ruled for a while too…yet who remembers his name?”
Like Dona, Wyatt had a talent for knowing exactly what to say to get on my last damn nerve.
“Are you going to release my wrist or am I going to have to break your hand?” I asked him patiently. He did, stepping back and heading towards the doors. Just as he opened it, I called out to him once more. “Welcome home, little brother.”
He flipped me off as he walked out, and when the door closed I moved back to sit in my chair. Hearing a small click behind me from the secret door of the bookcase, I turned around to see her frowning as she stepped closer to me.
“Eavesdropping now?” I asked her as she came forward to sit on the edge of my desk. “I would have told you later, Ivy.”
“I know,” she said, brushing her blonde hair behind her hair. “I just happened to be walking by.”
My eyebrow rose at that. She just so happened to be walking by in the secret passage route through the mansion? “Would you like time to think of a better lie?”
“No, I’m just going to change the subject.” She tried to smile but that worried frown on her face was still there. “What did Wyatt mean by you both knowing fortune favors the second son?”
“My grandfather and my father were not supposed to be Ceann na Conairte. They were the seconds sons, meaning they had elder brothers who were supposed to take over. My grandfather’s elder brother - Uncle Declan’s father, Killian - was murdered, so my father’s brother stepped back and allowed my father to take over.”
“So, it’s a curse—”
“Two hardly constitutes a curse,” I cut her off quickly. I’d heard more than a few whispers about the Callahan curse and I preferred not to hear them from her. “And even if it were, don’t you think I’d be well prepared for it?”
She rolled her eyes; “Of course… What’s your plan? I mean you brought him back, so obviously you aren’t going to kill him.”
“Obviously.” She spoke of killing Wyatt so easily, as if the thought had just crossed her mind.
“So…” she pressed.
“Audentes fortuna iuvat and omnia vincit amor.” She waited, annoyed that she couldn’t understand. “Fortune favors the bold and love conquers all…”
“I don’t get it.”