been sure there were at least a few resident ghosts. Now she knew better. The only one who haunted these halls was Carrigan, floating from one room to the next, never free enough to actually leave, never restful enough to just go along with the path her father had set out for her.
Marriage.
That was the only path for her and both her sisters. They would be married to an appropriate man—meaning, one who would serve the family business—and then go on to extend the empire with as many children as possible. The only chance she had of avoiding that fate was joining a convent—her father would be willing to give up a breeder for a nun.
She just wasn’t sure she was.
It was far too tempting to dwell on the choice that was bearing down on her, closing a cage around her ribs until each breath burned. She didn’t have much time left, the clock in her head ticking down in time with her biological clock, the buzzer ready to go off at any moment. More and more, her father kept making comments about her advancing age and how there wasn’t much time left at all if she was going to be good marriage material.
Easier to focus on her little brother’s problems than her own. She’d have to talk to him soon, to let him know she knew the sacrifice he was trying to make for them. He was selling his soul in the process—once the feds got their claws into you, you were never truly free—and that was the best-case scenario. If their father found out…
He’d kill Teague.
The realization settled in her chest, an added weight to the anvil she currently carried. Father might say family before all, but what Teague was doing was a betrayal no matter which way they spun it. He was a rat, and Father was famous for saying “Thou shall not suffer a rat to live.” He wouldn’t suddenly develop a forgiving streak just because it was his own flesh and blood slipping secrets to the enemy.
She closed her bedroom door behind her and sank to the floor. “God, Teague, what are you doing to us?”
* * *
Callie pushed the button on the treadmill to bring her speed up, desperate to outrun the thoughts and worries plaguing her. She would have preferred to run outside, but her father had forbidden it, given the situation with the Hallorans. Three days in this house and she was on the verge of going mad. Every time she turned around, there was some sort of furtive movement or quiet conversation—all of which stopped the second she walked into the room. She knew her father was trying to protect her. But she should be right there in the middle of all the planning instead of relegated to hurried updates from Micah between his running her father’s errands.
Papa told her to use this time to plan her wedding. As if picking out the perfect flowers and catering options were somehow more important than—or even equally important to—dealing with the Halloran threat.
She ran faster, until her breath sawed through her chest, and her legs felt like they couldn’t manage another step without toppling her onto her face. Only then did she hit the button to stop. She needed to get out of here, even if only for a few hours. If she didn’t, she was liable to start screaming and never stop—not the actions of a leader.
God, she was so incredibly tired. Tired of wearing the mask and pretending she was okay. Tired of fighting a losing battle with her father. Tired of acting like she wasn’t waking up every hour on the hour, sweat-soaked, with a cry just inside her lips, the memory of Brendan’s hands around her throat imprinted on her waking mind.
Her body shook as she climbed the stairs to her room, and she comforted herself by blaming it on the workout. But she couldn’t lie to herself as well as she seemed to be able to lie to those around her. Her once steady hands had become as jittery as an old woman’s. Once upon a time, Callie had thought herself a woman with nerves of steel.
Now she knew better.
She stripped and stepped into her shower,
Marriage.
That was the only path for her and both her sisters. They would be married to an appropriate man—meaning, one who would serve the family business—and then go on to extend the empire with as many children as possible. The only chance she had of avoiding that fate was joining a convent—her father would be willing to give up a breeder for a nun.
She just wasn’t sure she was.
It was far too tempting to dwell on the choice that was bearing down on her, closing a cage around her ribs until each breath burned. She didn’t have much time left, the clock in her head ticking down in time with her biological clock, the buzzer ready to go off at any moment. More and more, her father kept making comments about her advancing age and how there wasn’t much time left at all if she was going to be good marriage material.
Easier to focus on her little brother’s problems than her own. She’d have to talk to him soon, to let him know she knew the sacrifice he was trying to make for them. He was selling his soul in the process—once the feds got their claws into you, you were never truly free—and that was the best-case scenario. If their father found out…
He’d kill Teague.
The realization settled in her chest, an added weight to the anvil she currently carried. Father might say family before all, but what Teague was doing was a betrayal no matter which way they spun it. He was a rat, and Father was famous for saying “Thou shall not suffer a rat to live.” He wouldn’t suddenly develop a forgiving streak just because it was his own flesh and blood slipping secrets to the enemy.
She closed her bedroom door behind her and sank to the floor. “God, Teague, what are you doing to us?”
* * *
Callie pushed the button on the treadmill to bring her speed up, desperate to outrun the thoughts and worries plaguing her. She would have preferred to run outside, but her father had forbidden it, given the situation with the Hallorans. Three days in this house and she was on the verge of going mad. Every time she turned around, there was some sort of furtive movement or quiet conversation—all of which stopped the second she walked into the room. She knew her father was trying to protect her. But she should be right there in the middle of all the planning instead of relegated to hurried updates from Micah between his running her father’s errands.
Papa told her to use this time to plan her wedding. As if picking out the perfect flowers and catering options were somehow more important than—or even equally important to—dealing with the Halloran threat.
She ran faster, until her breath sawed through her chest, and her legs felt like they couldn’t manage another step without toppling her onto her face. Only then did she hit the button to stop. She needed to get out of here, even if only for a few hours. If she didn’t, she was liable to start screaming and never stop—not the actions of a leader.
God, she was so incredibly tired. Tired of wearing the mask and pretending she was okay. Tired of fighting a losing battle with her father. Tired of acting like she wasn’t waking up every hour on the hour, sweat-soaked, with a cry just inside her lips, the memory of Brendan’s hands around her throat imprinted on her waking mind.
Her body shook as she climbed the stairs to her room, and she comforted herself by blaming it on the workout. But she couldn’t lie to herself as well as she seemed to be able to lie to those around her. Her once steady hands had become as jittery as an old woman’s. Once upon a time, Callie had thought herself a woman with nerves of steel.
Now she knew better.
She stripped and stepped into her shower,
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