Page 40 of Lawless Rivals

His eyes narrow. “Leave a Harrington alone long enough, and they’ll show you exactly who they are. And I’ll never trust any of ya.”

“Any normal person would try to escape,” I bite back, folding my arms over my chest. “I’d say you’d do the same, but you’re clearly not normal.”

His jaw ticks at my jab. “Funny how your da hasn’t sent a single man for ya.”

“Because you lied,” I fire back. “Because you and your brothers told the entire town I ran off. Why would he storm in here if he thinks I left willingly?”

“That’s the thing,” Saint says, leaning in. “If he really knew ya…and if he gave a damn, he wouldn’t wait for confirmation.”

My pulse stumbles at the certainty in his tone.

“You don’t know him,” I whisper.

Saint’s laugh is a low rumble. “I know what indifference looks like.”

“You’re twisting this,” I say, pushing at his chest, but he doesn’t move. “He’s doing what he can. The Garda didn’t show up here by accident.”

“They showed up and left,” Saint corrects.

I look away, throat tight, but he grips my chin and pulls my gaze back to his.

“You wanna talk about safety?” he says quietly. “Screw things up for us and this won’t end well. You won’t like my usual version of hospitality.”

Heat shivers through me

“So what?” I manage. “I have to hang out with you twenty-four-seven? That’s like a prison sentence on its own.”

He leans in closer, and my heart races.

“Staying with me isn’t the worst thing that could happen to ya.” His voice drops an octave. “You haven’t seen the worst yet.”

Chapter 11

Keira

“Sit,” he orders, shrugging off his coat.

“I’ll sit when you remove these cuffs.” I hold up my wrists, staying by the front door.

Saint stops near the kitchen table and turns. His gaze moves over me, slow enough to make my pulse thrum.

“Why should I take them off?” He reaches for the bottle of liquor on the table, unscrews the cap, and takes a drink. “You disobeyed me and almost sunk my family.”

When he moves back toward me, his intense gaze sticks to mine. Before invading my personal space, he stops. Saint owns the air and leaves me guessing if he’ll come any closer to steal all of it from the room.

“I don’t want to be part of this, Saint. Let me go home, and I promise not to tell my father anything about me being here,” I say. “Coming back to Black Heath was a mistake. I should’ve stayed in Paris.”

Hot air shoots down his nostrils.

“Right,” he says. “With your cheating boyfriend.”

I cock a brow. “At least he didn’t cuff me.”

Saint takes another drink, slower this time. His attention settles on the red skin on my wrists as the alcohol moves down his throat.

“Hold this.” He lowers the bottle, pushes it into my hands and waits for my fingers to close around the neck before reaching into his trouser pocket and fishing out a tiny key.

“This is your last chance, Harrington,” he says. “Leave without permission, and you’ll freeze in the barn.”