He stands as the other brother does when we walk in, and I glance quickly at the younger of the two. His hair is a neatly combed back shock of ginger, his thick beard the same, and he looks tired. He’s wearing light grey suit pants, tailored neatly as well, and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, displaying heavily inked arms. His eyes are a piercing bright green, and they land on me with a hint of suspicion. The older brother just looks angry.
“Connor. Liam.” Niall inclines his head to the older of the two first, the auburn-haired one, and then to the younger ginger man. “This is Isabella Santiago. My new wife.” He nudges me forward gently, and I press my lips together, inclining my head respectfully, like I would have meeting any of my father’s associates.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” My voice comes out higher-pitched and breathier than I would have liked, and I see a hint of sympathy on the younger man’s face, but the older’s eyes just darken as he looks at me.
“I can’t say the same,” he says tightly. “Connor McGregor. This is my brother Liam.” He gestures to the ginger-haired man. “Niall told us the two of you are wed. And that you’re pregnant.”
“Getting right to business, I see,” Niall says acidly, but Connor ignores him.
“Isabella, you can speak for yourself, aye?”
I swallow hard, fighting the urge to turn tail and run. Connor’s presence is overwhelming, and it triggers a fear in me that I hadn’t had before my time with Diego and Javier, the feeling that I’m trapped in this room, and that terrible things could happen if I answer incorrectly.
Niall would never have brought me here if he thought they’d hurt me,I remind myself.He knows them. He knows they won’t.
“I can,” I say as confidently as I can manage, a tiny quaver making its way into my voice nonetheless.
“Then speak up. Is all that correct?”
“It is.” I lick my lips nervously, fighting the urge to look back at Niall for support. “We married in Mexico. Niall said it was the best way to protect me.” The ring feels heavy on my finger, glinting in the warm light of the room. “As for the other, yes. I’m pregnant. A little less than a month now.”
“That’s early to know for sure.” Liam speaks up, frowning. “You’re absolutely certain of this?” The suspicion is clearer in his voice now, as if he thinks I’d made it up just to get out of Mexico. But the truth is that I never really wanted to leave. I didn’t want to leave my family behind, everything I knew and loved.
I left because I had to.
“A doctor did a blood test, while she was held captive,” Niall says flatly. “It’s confirmed.”
Connor’s gaze swivels towards him. “And you saw these results?”
“No.” Niall’s voice remains emotionless. “But those results weren’t what Diego Gonzalez wanted to hear. The doctor would not have risked answering in the affirmative if it weren’t true.”
“Hm.” Connor grunts. “And this was an accident, Isabella? This pregnancy?”
“I—yes.” I tighten my hands in front of me. “I didn’t get pregnant on purpose, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I feel Niall tense behind me, but he doesn’t contradict me.
“You understand that you’re under our protection now.” Liam speaks up, stepping forward to stand next to his brother. “We’ve agreed to support your father through any conflict that might arise between him and Gonzalez, and to keep you safe, in exchange for other compensation. That part shouldn’t worry you, it’s all business, and we’ll keep to our end of the deal. Particularly if you’re carrying a child of one of the Kings, which Niall will be soon enough—and his long service and our friendship would warrant us protecting you in those circumstances anyway. But there are rules, Isabella, and youmustfollow them. We can’t ensure your safety otherwise.”
“You’ll be given a place to live where we choose,” Connor says, his voice sharp. “You will stay there, and not go out alone, without either Niall, one of us or our wives, or members of security. I don’t care if it’s to get a bloody coffee down the street, you don’t stir a foot out of the building alone. You cannot contact any members of your family, not by any means. I’m aware you have a sister back in Mexico, who you might feel tempted to let know that you’re safe. Don’t.” His voice is a whip crack, slicing the air between us. “Niall and Liam might be happy to provide you safety and comfort, but I’m not. If it were just my voice making decisions, you would have remained with Gonzalez, and let him do what he wished. But it isn’t just me, and so–” he gestures towards me irritably.
“I don’t take this lightly.” I tip my chin up, forcing myself to look him in the eyes. “I know you’ve all put yourselves out a great deal to get me here—no one as much as Niall. I know I don’t deserve it. I’ll follow the rules, I promise.”
“See that you do.” Connor’s eyes narrow. “Remember that your life is in our hands now. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a burden to this organization, and our families, that I’d rather have had nothing to do with. There’s plenty in danger now, because of your actions.”
I press my lips together, feeling them quiver. I want to burst into tears, emotion rising into my throat to nearly choke me, but I force it down. I don’t want to break down in front of this forbidding man, or in front of Niall, or Liam, who has been mostly kind up to this point.
“I know,” I say softly. “I’ll do whatever is necessary.”
“Which brings us to the next point.” Connor’s voice cuts past mine, breaking off anything else I might have said. “Niall has expressed that your marriage was temporary, a means of keeping you safe from Diego until you were here, beyond his reach. He said it would be dissolved once you arrived in Boston—through annulment, I assume—”
“Divorce,” Niall mutters. The word feels like a dagger to my chest, and I stifle the small breath I suck in. It’s not as if this is news to me, but it hurts anyway. Every time I’m reminded that he never intended for this marriage to be real, it feels like salt in a very real wound, regardless of how foolish that is.
Connor snorts. “Leave it to you to consummate even a fake marriage. I’m not even a little bit surprised.”
“Connor—” Liam’s voice holds a warning, and Connor shrugs.
“At any rate,” he continues, “the two of you will remain married until the paternity of the baby is established. Once that’s done, if the baby really is Niall’s—”