Page 12 of Obsession
I smile. “Not by that name.”
Varina’s chair slams back first. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Oisín whispers, “Varina.”
Canon rises slower, which makes it worse. “Explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” Oisín says quickly, the panic in his voice doing more to confirm the truth than anything I could’ve said. “It was nothing.”
I don’t like that. My smile stays where it is, but my attention locks onto him hard enough that he feels it. “Careful.”
His eyes snap to mine, and there’s fear there, embarrassment bright enough to burn, but underneath both sits the same response I remember from the club, the part of him that recognizes command before his pride can shield him from it. He hates that I can see it. He should hate me a little right now.
Varina steps in front of him, enough to cut the line of sight between us. That earns my attention and more respect than she’s managed all morning.
“You don’t get tocarefulhim,” she says.
Bricks murmurs, “Well, that’s about to be a problem.”
Canon’s voice drops. “What did you do?”
Oisín’s face goes white beneath the flush. “Nothing that concerns the club.”
Canon starts toward him. “Oisín.”
I stand, the room tightening so fast it feels like the walls move.
“Sit down, Canon,” Sol says.
Canon stops, not because Sol ordered it, but because ignoring Sol in our meeting room with Obsidian officers on both sides would turn humiliation into strategy for us.
I keep my gaze on Oisín over Varina’s shoulder. “Contract says Ward family.”
Varina goes still. Canon turns back to me slowly. “The understanding was Varina.”
“I’m not interested in the understanding.” I pick up the contract and turn it so Canon can see the clause, though I know he won’t look at it. “The agreement requires a Ward. He’s a Ward.”
Rook says, “You think you can just swap them like horses?”
Bricks lets out a hearty chuckle, glaring at the Rogue. “You want to keep talking?”
Moth’s voice cuts between them. “The clause is valid as written.”
Canon snaps, “Stay out of this.”
Moth looks at him for the first time. “I wrote it.” That shuts the room down for half a breath.
Sol finally leans forward. “Canon, your side reviewed the language.”
“My side reviewed an agreement made in good faith.”
“Good faith doesn’t override ink.”
Varina laughs once, not quite believing what she’s hearing. For the first time, her composure seems to crack as she drags a hand through her hair. “So that’s it? I get replaced at the table because Saint fucked my brother somewhere before breakfast?”
Oisín makes a wounded sound under his breath. “Varina, stop.”
She turns on him. “Did you know who he was?”
