1

MADDIE

It felt like an eternity as I waited for the clock’s hands to move.

And waited.

I must have spent half of my life waiting for the men in my family.

Raised voices crashed against the door, causing Gregor to shift awkwardly from foot to foot.

‘You could just let me in.’ I narrowed my eyes at my minder and tapped my acrylic nails on the table.

‘You know I can’t do that, Maddie. Your brothers would have my bollocks off.’

‘I should be in there. Esther is my sister, too.’ I didn’t blame her for running from the arranged marriage between her and the creep that is Harry King, but to ditch me for love, twice? Ugh. She’d fallen for the guy my brothers had trusted to haul her arse home and left us all to deal with the fallout. I couldn’t entirely blame her. She was expecting a baby, and I wanted them to be safe. I’d thought that Alec, the enforcer who stole her heart, would have dealt with Harry before fleeing. Instead, my father was half dead, and the situation was worse than ever. The bitter rivalry between the two biggest crime families in Glasgow had mutated from trying to broker peace to an all out war.

‘You know the rules, lass. It’s men’s business.’ Gregor, at least, had the decency to avert his eyes at the utterly sexist statement.

A familiar white fiery anger bubbled up from my stomach. My life may have been pretty gilded. The best education, the finest clothes, the swankiest parties, but it was all just smoke and mirrors. I was just another pawn.

My brothers Landon, Erik and Mac would be behind the door making decisions which would affect all of our lives, while they left me out in the cold. The baby. The girl.

Useless.

There was nothing to do but wait. I’d hoped that with my father being in a coma, my brothers would have relented on the old-fashioned nonsense. But no. Patriarchy still ruled.

They emerged almost an hour later as I was dozing against my arm. A simmering undercurrent of excitement surrounded them. Mac ruffled my hair as he took a seat beside me while I grimaced and flattened it back down. I’d never admit it, but he was my favourite sibling. With only two years between us, we’d grown up in cahoots, forever causing mischief at our parents’ soirees before snatching a plate of desserts and disappearing to stuff our faces. As we grew into our twenties, the family business had truncated us somewhat. Dad expected Mac to be ruthless, to enact orders without hesitation. The few years he’d been a vital part of the business had already worn on him.

‘What’s the plan?’ I asked as my other brothers, and their closest organisation members, drifted off.

‘You know I’m not supposed to tell you anything.’ The glint in Mac’s eyes told me he very much wanted me to keep prying.

‘Come on,’ I wheedled. ‘I’m as mad as you guys are about Esther having to be on the run. I want her to come home.’

‘They have invited us to a party. To make amends allegedly.’

‘Why do we want to make amends? Dad had made the deal about Esther marrying that sleaze-ball. It’s not looking likely he will wake up. Landon should cut ties once and for all with those arseholes.’ I was torn about whether I wanted Dad to wake up, however heartless it made me. Living under his iron fist had stifled us all. He made enemies as fast as dealers sold coke. I didn’t wish him dead, but I’d far rather have my brother, Landon, at the helm than him. Maybe it would save me from being promised to someone I hate, too.

‘Landon wants to make allies. Hopefully Harry will pass over the reigns to his eldest son soon, and if we can be on good terms, it would be better for everyone.’

‘It sounds like a stupid fucking plan to me.’ My shoulders slumped. Harry’s power had grown in the city, and far beyond, in the years since Dad and he had fallen out and disbanded their joint organisation to go their own ways. Their bitter rivalries had led not only to my mother’s demise but also to my eldest brother Malcolm Jr’s death and now our father’s coma. Trying to make ties while Harry was still in charge wasn’t just stupid. It could lead to more of us six feet under.

‘Me too,’ Mac sighed. ‘Me too.’

Light streamed from the kitchen as I walked through our home, followed by the low chatter of voices and the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle.

I stalled by the ajar door and watched as Landon poured some red wine into a handful of glasses.

‘What are we going to do?’ Erik said, after taking a deep swig of the wine and swallowing hard.

‘We’re going to have to play their game. Harry is still furious about Esther, not to mention the knife he took to the shoulder.’ Landon ran a hand over his jaw as he spoke. Being thrust into leadership was difficult at the best of times, never mind when your family was teetering over a war with your rivals.

‘What does he want with this party?’

‘He wants Maddie.’

My stomach dropped into the pits of hell at his words. Over my dead body.

‘No fucking way is she marrying that piece of shit.’ Mac’s chair clattered as he stood up abruptly, his face reddening with anger.

‘I’m not Dad, of course I won’t marry her off to Harry. But we need to buy time until we can hit them hard. They have stronger connections locally, and a lot more money to bribe their way out of shit. We need to either build some alliances or find some way to ruin their existing ones.’ Landon swirled his wine in his glass, staring into it as if it might hold an answer.

‘So you want to parade her in front of him to appease him, but draw out any deals long enough to fuck him up?’ Erik said, looking from Landon to Mac.

‘We need time.’

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves before stepping into the marble laden kitchen. ‘I’ll do it.’

‘Maddie... you weren’t supposed to hear that,’ Landon said as he glanced over my head to the cavernous hall behind me.

‘Don’t worry, Gregor went to check the cameras and touch base with the others.’ I poured myself a glass of red wine and leant back against the countertop. A small sip was about all I could manage without screwing up my face. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t like the bitter drink. ‘I’m not the baby anymore. I want to help.’

‘You can’t. I won’t let you go throw yourself in front of that arsehole as bait.’ Mac’s jaw tensed as he spoke, the words laced with fury.

‘You guys can’t keep me wrapped in bubble-wrap forever. I’m a part of this family and if I can help, I want to. As long as I don’t actually have to marry the pig, then I can do this. You’d all be there, right?’

Landon nodded.

‘Then what’s the harm? As long as the party is in neutral territory and we have our guys there for protection, then no-one is going to hurt me. He wants to marry me, not abduct me. I can string him along for a few weeks while you guys do your thing.’ I tried to sound confident and convincing, despite my stomach flip flopping and a terrible taste of sick at the back of my mouth. Even the thought of being near Harry made my body shrivel. His obsession with my mother had led to all of this. And since he couldn’t have her, only dad’s daughters would do. I’d seen him hurt my sister, consoled her after he tried to force himself on her. It was risky to even play at the game.

‘No.’ Mac slammed his glass down onto the gold flecked marble as the red wine sloshed out and pooled around the base.

‘Do you have a better plan?’ Landon eyed him coolly.

‘We go in there and take them all out. Every one of those King fucks. Then we’ll be done with them for good.’ Mac’s voice had raised to a near shout as anger poured from him.

Erik grabbed a cloth and mopped up the wine. ‘I’m with Landon. If Maddie wants to help, we need to let her. We don’t have another choice and we need time to get into Harry’s contacts. It’s three against one Mac. Sorry.’

Mac sent me a pleading look and I let my gaze fall into my still full wine glass. I was hurting him, and I hated it. He was the closest I’d ever had to a best friend. I cleared my throat as he threw up his arms and left the room.

‘I don’t like this either, Maddie. You’ll need to do exactly as we say. Never be alone at the party. And this is a onetime thing. Once it’s done, you’re out of it and getting on with things as usual.’ Landon spoke with an absolute authority he’d clearly been practicing since Dad’s absence, each word firm and final.

I’d hoped offering to help would solidify my place as one of them, but as always, I was still on the outskirts. Demoted because of the misfortune of being female.

I’d prove to them I was just as essential to the business.

But first, I had a party to prepare for.