Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“This isn’t only on Imogen,” I said then cringed because I didn’t want to make Mum feel bad.
“They blackmailed you because I ran. I should have known. It’s not like the Devaneys to let something drop. I always wondered why they never made me pay. Now I know. But, Aislinn, please don’t do this only because of me. I can hide. I know how these mobsters think.”
“Mum, how will you go into hiding with Finn? He needs medical treatment, and you need money. The Devaney clan will catch you in no time, and then we’ll have to suffer even more. I can handle this. Let me find Imogen and then we can decide what to do. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
“Aislinn,” Mum said quietly. “Don’t ruin your life.”
“I can handle it,” I said firmly, and by it I meant Lorcan. Maybe he was a sadistic sociopath—and that was very likely—given what I’d seen today, but he apparently had some interest in me. That might give me an advantage in the beginning. I just had to make sure to find Imogen before Lorcan lost interest in me.
The next morning Gulliver announced that Lorcan and I would have a preliminary conversation with him in church that afternoon. I knew these conversations were meant to implore the importance of marriage and the mutual responsibilities of the couple, which was completely unnecessary in our case. Our marriage wasn’t based on any moral reasons and my uncle knew that. Forcing me to endure a conversation like that was unnecessary, but maybe Lorcan was behind that too. He obviously enjoyed torturing me, even before I was officially his wife.
“Lorcan asked me to tell you that he thinks you should buy a couple of dresses, especially for church.”
I gritted my teeth. I still had the money from my night at the Doom Loop but the thought of using it to buy anything for myself made me feel sick to my stomach. Maybe that was what Lorcan intended, to remind me of the mortifying beginning of our bond. As if I needed reminding.
“I think Lorcan has a point. You should buy a few dresses to make a good impression in our community. They’ll soon look to you for guidance as Lorcan’s wife.”
Guidance for what? I was the wife of a mobster. I was nineteen. The only thing I was really good at was cooking, taking care of Finn, and stacking dozens of shot glasses so I wouldn’t have to run back and forth to clear tables.
I nodded, saving every kernel of my fighting spirit for my marriage with Lorcan. “Is there a nice boutique in the area?”
Gulliver gave me an empty look, and with a muttered “Never mind,” I excused myself and grabbed my purse and some money. Maybe I could use the chance to ask around a bit. There had to be people who had seen Imogen. She was tall and striking, and just had a way of drawing attention to herself, but not always the good kind.
As I meandered through our Irish community, several people I’d never met greeted me. Was there a newsletter sent out with my photo and a wedding announcement? I really wouldn’t put it past Lorcan.
I nodded awkwardly and walked faster until a secondhand shop caught my eye and I slipped in. A woman, maybe in her late twenties, stood behind the counter and her smile became tighter when she saw me. “This is all hand-me-downs. I’m sure you’d rather pick something else.”
I cocked an eye. Her shop was elegant and the dresses and skirts on display were right up my alley. Not to mention that Imogen, considering her lack of money, might have come here to buy affordable clothes to get her noticed.
“I like what I see, thank you,” I said. The woman kept watching me, and slowly I was beginning to wonder if she was so wary of me because I was the future Mrs. Devaney. Or maybe she thought I looked like someone who might try to take something without paying. My clothes today weren’t my prettiest pieces. That made my cheeks flame. I hadn’t paid much attention to my hair either. It was probably a wild mane.
“I’m not a shoplifter, you know,” I said when I couldn’t bear the woman’s attention any longer.
Her brown eyebrows inched up her heart-shaped face rose. “If Five-leaf Clover accepts it as part of my protection money, take what you want and I’ll put down a ridiculous price.”
“So you know who I am.” That made me feel better than her thinking I was a thief.
She smiled strangely. “It was in the communal newsletter this morning. I usually don’t read it but today I was stuck on the metro.”
My cheeks flamed. A newsletter? Really?
I shook my head and was tempted to leave the shop but then I kicked myself internally and took Imogen’s photo out of my purse. “Do you know her?”