Cruel Surrender by Terri Anne Browning

Bain

Carefully,I shifted Ciana as Brody opened the back of the SUV. She’d fallen asleep about two minutes after the plane was in the air and had been passed out ever since. One minute, she was wide awake, glancing around at my men and everything else on the plane with fear in her eyes. The next, she’d dropped her head onto my chest as if she didn’t have the strength to hold it up any longer.

The feel of her breath against my neck had told me she was still alive, but when I’d tried to wake her, she wouldn’t respond. A text to Darcy had let me know this wasn’t uncommon for Ciana. With the babies growing steadily, they were draining her of every ounce of strength she had, so all she did was sleep. That, on top of the adrenaline rush of what had happened back at the Vitucci compound, added to the stress of being abducted by Sheena, and she was running on fumes once everything calmed down for her.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I gently placed her on the seat before getting out of the car and then reached in for her. She whined pitifully, and I realized my hand must have been too rough on her burned skin. But instead of waking up, she buried her face in my neck and fell right back to sleep.

I began to climb the steps leading up to the house. Halfway up, a shadow caught my attention, and I lifted my gaze from Ciana’s face to find both Conor and Declan waiting for me.

“About fucking time,” I growled in a low voice so as not to disturb the sleeping beauty in my arms. “What took you two so long?”

Declan smirked as I stepped onto the landing. “Figured you had everything under control, mate. Besides, getting the package you wanted was a little more difficult than we anticipated.”

“Well?”

Conor grimaced. “She’s in the library.”

“Good,” I bit out, but the rumble of my voice made Ciana whimper, and I quickly touched my lips to her brow. “Shh, mo chroí. Sleep, my love.”

But my stubborn beauty blinked her eyes open. When her lashes lifted and she met my gaze, she jerked. “Fuck. It wasn’t a dream.” Declan chuckled, pulling her attention to him. The moment her brown eyes landed on him and then Conor, she clutched at my shoulders. “Where the hell are we?” she whispered.

“Home,” I assured her. “These two idiots are Declan—” he bowed his head to her “—and Conor.”

She glanced at him, and he gave a firm nod, but he kept his own gaze on me. “Maybe you should get her settled first?”

“No,” I said firmly. “Let’s get this shit over with now.”

“G-get what over with?” Ciana muttered, turning her focus back to Declan. I heard her swallow hard, her nails biting into my skin through my shirt. Her reaction to my best friend bothered me.

Declan was a good-looking man with his jet-black hair, blue-green eyes, and square jaw. He was an inch or so taller than me but a little leaner in the shoulders. His bed was never empty. All he had to do was wink, and women dropped to their knees to suck his cock. Jealousy ate at me, thinking that Ciana was attracted to him.

With force, she turned her head so she could look up at me. “What do you need to ‘get over with’?” she demanded in a stronger voice.

I brushed another kiss over the top of her head. “It’s not something you need to worry about. I’m going to take you to our room, and then I’ll bring you a present.”

She wiggled in my arms. “I don’t want anything from you,” she seethed. “Put me down.”

“You’re still too tired from traveling,” I argued, shifting her so she was more comfortable against me. I walked past my friends. “I’ll be down in half an hour.”

“Take yer time,” Declan called after us. “You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves. No need to rush on our account.”

Ciana was quiet as I climbed the stairs to the second floor and carried her to the east wing of the house. She glanced around, taking stock of everything we passed. I waited for her verdict of what she thought of her new home, but she kept her mouth pressed into a hard line until I pushed open our bedroom door with my foot.

“I’ll give you a full tour later,” I promised. “For now, I want you to rest. You need your strength for our little ones.”

“Your friend…” she said as I carried her to our bed. My fingers bit into her without meaning to.

“Which one?” I asked cautiously as I gently laid her head on a pillow.

“Declan,” she spat his name.

I straightened, a frown pulling my brows together. “What about him?”

“Keep him the fuck away from me.”

My jealousy over her earlier reaction to him faded, only to be replaced by confusion over how she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. “If that is what you want, then he won’t come near you. But I’d like to know why.”

She grabbed the blankets and pulled them up over herself, covering her pajama-clad body to her chest. “I…” She shook her head, her eyes going to the door as if she expected Declan to kick it down and come in shooting. “I don’t know. Just keep him away from me.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I cupped her face in both of my hands. She jerked back, but I refused to let her move away from me. “Listen to me, Ciana. You are safe here. I promise you. If anyone makes you feel the least bit uncomfortable, all you have to do is let me know.”

A derisive snort left her. “Safe? You expect me to feel safe around you?” She slapped my hands away, and I finally dropped them onto the bed on either side of her. “You stormed into my family home like some invading army. You killed people I’ve known my entire life. Then…” Her voice caught, and she clenched her eyes closed to hide the sheen of tears that filled them. “You shot my brothers. They could be dead right now, for all I know. And you expect me to trust you with my safety?”

With a groan, I scrubbed a hand over my face. The stubble on my jaw reminded me I hadn’t shaved in days. I must have looked like a maniac to her. My clothes were wrinkled, my hair disheveled from where I’d run my fingers through it repeatedly from the moment I’d learned Sheena had taken her. Since then, my great-grandmother had led me on a merry chase around the globe. Finally, I’d gotten two steps ahead of her. Now I just needed to deliver justice for what she’d done.

“I’ll prove to you that you’re safe here, mo chroí,” I vowed. “Nothing and no one will dare to harm so much as a hair on your lovely head.”

A hiccup-sob escaped her. “Yeah, s-sure.” She fingered one of the locks of dark-red hair. It was so very short now, but she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever set eyes on. “Because there isn’t much hair left for them to harm.” She scooted away, putting more space between us. “When Sheena found out I was pregnant, she decided not to kill me. But I wouldn’t give her the reaction she wanted when she k-killed Nova.”

The catch in her voice, the way the tears spilled down her face at the mention of her cousin, tore at my heart. Her pain was enough to destroy me.

“I fucked up. I never should have let her out of my sight.” Regret thickened my voice. “I was blind to everything but winning you back, and I nearly lost you forever because I let Sheena run wild. But I swear, that ends now. You don’t ever have to worry about her harming you.”

“You think she’s the only one I’m scared of?” Ciana shook her head at me. “There were others there, Bain.”

“I’ll deal with them.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” she asked with a dry laugh. “Maybe because every word you’ve ever said to me has been a lie. You’re a selfish asshole who only cares about himself.”

“Yes, I’m selfish, and I did lie to you about who I was,” I admitted. “But I love you and our babies. The four of you are all I care about. I know… I realize that, in your eyes, that makes me a bad man, but I’ve never had anyone to show me what it’s like to…”

“To what?” she asked hesitantly, but the curiosity on her face was hard to hide.

“To be compassionate,” I confessed. “I take what I want, and to hell with everyone else. But…I can change, Ciana. If you will only teach me with your kind heart.”

She just sat there, staring at me, her brows lifted if she was trying to figure out if I was playing with her or not.

I sighed heavily. “I’m sorry I shot your brothers. They were keeping you from me, and I couldn’t handle that. Once I learned what Sheena had done, I went crazy. I’ll apologize to them if that will make you happy.”

“You’re so confusing,” she muttered. “I can’t figure you out, and that is giving me a major headache.”

“You’re hurting?” She shrugged, tucking the covers tightly around herself. “Do you need anything? More cream for your burns? Pain medication?”

“I think I need a minute to process all this. Could you just go?”

I gritted my teeth but stood, not wanting to push her. Now that I had her with me, we had all the time in the world for me to win her heart once again. “I’ll let you get settled in. The bathroom is through there.” I motioned to the connecting door on the other side of the room. “The closet should be full of your clothes. I’ll be back shortly with something to drink and a snack for you.”

“I-I’m not hungry.”

“This isn’t up for debate,” I told her firmly. “Rest now. I’ll be back soon.”

As I shut the door, I was rewarded with her annoyed huff. The sound caused me to smile until the weight of her hate hit me once again. Closing my eyes, I pressed my forehead against the hardwood of the door and released a heavy breath. She was finally within arm’s reach. I could protect her here, make sure her every want and need were met. Now, I just needed to be patient and win back her heart.

Jaw clenched, I pushed away from the door and walked downstairs. Outside the library, I passed Brody, who gave me a grim nod before opening the door. Inside, I found Declan and Conor seated in front of the unlit fireplace, glasses of Irish whiskey in their hands. Across from them, Sheena sat drinking a cup of tea, as if she were some royal regarding her subjects with disdain.

She’d never been a fan of Conor, but Declan, she treated more like a grandson than me. At times. But right then, the glare she shot both men suggested she’d been put out and wasn’t happy about it in the least.

As I entered the room, she slowly shifted her head, pretending as if she didn’t sense my growing agitation. Sheena had always reminded me too much of my mother, so I’d never been able to connect with her as most of her grandchildren seemed to do. After the death of my da, my dislike for her had only grown tenfold. I might not have ever gotten the proof I needed, but I knew she’d been responsible for his death. Back then, she’d thought, with him out of the way and no longer able to influence me, she could steer me however she saw fit.

But daring to touch Ciana was the last mistake she would ever make.

“Ah, Bain. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t be joining us. And after the way these two eejits insisted I come all the way to the backwoods to have a meeting with you, mind you.” She took another sip of her tea, her lashes dipping to watch me as she pretended indifference to the growing tension rolling off me.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave Ciana alone?” I asked in a voice that I struggled to keep neutral.

She rolled her eyes. “You spent two weeks between her legs and fried your brain. I didn’t think you meant it.” Her gaze went to Declan. “He tells you lot everything. Was her pussy really that good?”

I slapped my hand against a bookcase, the sound echoing like thunder through the library. She didn’t flinch at the sound, but her eyes gave away her nervousness. “Shut your filthy mouth, hag. Ciana will be my wife, my queen. Insulting her won’t win you any points with anyone in this room.”

“Pfft, I guess it must be sweet as candy,” she sneered. “I can’t believe you picked that hoor over Cori. She has always been the perfect queen for you. Instead, you choose to sully our family by breeding with that trash? You’re not fit to rule this family. I’ve already picked your replacement.”

Taking a slow, deep breath, I tried to calm the storm swirling inside me enough to see through my rage. Pulling my gun from the holster under my suit jacket, I flipped the safety and pointed it straight at her. Her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes widened as she realized her time was officially up.

“You two should have put down a fucking tarp,” I said to Declan and Conor as I pulled the trigger.

“Holy fucking Christ!” Declan bellowed, jumping to his feet. His reaction had both Conor and me lifting our brows at him. Death and torture were something the three of us had experienced together for decades. His freak-out was completely out of place, especially when I’d told him I was going to kill the old woman. “I didn’t think you would actually do it. You’ve always drawn the line at women and children, Bain.”

“It was her or Ciana. I knew who he would choose,” Conor said calmly as he stood and placed his empty glass on a side table just as Brody entered the room, carrying a tarp.

“Yeah, but…” Declan clamped his mouth shut, combing his fingers through his hair as he looked at the blood and gore sprayed across the floor and bookcases.

I moved slowly, carefully flipping the safety back on and replacing the gun in my holster. Then and only then did I look at the woman who’d thought she could play games with the love of my life. The bullet had hit her dead center in the forehead, the look of realization and genuine fear immortalized on her face. For my entire life, she’d seemed to get off on producing that same emotion in every person she ever spoke to.

Looking down at her, I felt more regret that I’d made such a mess than for the loss of a family member. Her reign of tyranny was now over. She might have tried to tear Ciana from me, but she wouldn’t get the same chance to harm my daughters or any other children we were blessed with. Sheena wouldn’t be able to poison them, turn them as evil as she herself had been.

“Once this is cleaned up, bring me her head,” I told Conor and Brody. “Put it in a nice box. I want to gift it to Ciana.”