“I—can’t—lose—you.”
I close my eyes, the pain I feel right now is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. “Kins, you’re not going to lose me.”
“I—almost—did—once—can’t—do—it—again…”
My hands on her face tighten. “You won’t.”
“You—almost—died—they—nearly—killed—you.” Her breathing is hard, every breath she takes sounds painful.
“Kinsley, I survived that shit. We’re here. Together, we’ve overcome so fucking much. We’re fine.”
“You—don’t—know—that. He—may—forbid—us—seeing—each—other.”
I let out a small laugh, “You make us sound like lovers.”
“You’re—my—sister—Kenna—my—protector. I—need—you—please—don’t—go. Please—don’t—let—him—break—us.” She’s crying now, and it’s adding to the panic.
I suck in a sharp breath, what am I supposed to say to that? She’s right, if we’re not allowed to be there for each other, it will break us.
“I won’t.” A deep voice breaks through mine and Kinsley’s moment. I turn and see Dante, Romero, Alessio, and Finn standing in the room. All of their eyes on us, Dante’s on me, his expression hard. Romero and Alessio’s gazes bounce between Kinsley and me, whereas Finn is having a hard time keeping his emotions in check.
“You won’t?” I ask in disbelief as I stand and position myself in front of Kinsley.
He stalks toward me, “I won’t keep you and Kinsley away from each other. When you’re at the clubhouse, you’ll have three guards.”
I hear Kinsley slowly start to regain her composure, her breathing doesn’t sound as painful as it had.
I step closer to Dante, we’re almost touching. “Just like that?”
His eyes scan my face, almost if he’s searching for something. “Not just like that. Today we marry, then tomorrow, you and I talk.”
I bite my lip, I should have known that he’d have stipulations.
He lowers his head, our lips almost touching. “You’re going to tell me what happened, Makenna. I can’t help you if you don’t.” His voice is gentler than I’ve heard before but it still has a bite to it.
“No one can help me,” I confess and watch as his eyes darken. “But, thank you anyway,” I say and his features soften.
Kinsley gasps and I turn to face her, Dante’s hand goes to my waist and goosebumps break out over my body. “You’re not supposed to see her in her dress before the wedding.”
I laugh, “Kins.”
She shakes her head. “Kenna,” her lips twitching, “it’s bad luck.”
I roll my eyes, “That’s our middle name.”
She laughs and to my utter surprise, walks over to Dante and hugs him. It’s awkward as he’s got his arm on my waist but that doesn’t bother Kinsley. “Take care of her.” I hear her whisper and Dante’s hand on my waist tightens.
Finn clears his throat, “Hate to break this up, but everyone’s waiting on us.”
Kinsley pulls away from us and gives me a smile. “You ready for this?”
I shrug, “Sure, as long as there’s vodka, I’m good.”
She laughs and I’m glad, it’s better than hearing her cry. “Why is it that Irish people drink as much as they want and it’s normal?”
I smirk as I move out of Dante’s hold, “You mean, when you do it, you’re labelled an alcoholic?” She narrows her eyes, “It’s because we can handle our liquor. You, well Kins, you get on top of a bar and start stripping.”
I hear Finn’s chuckle and I turn to see him. “That was once!” She gasps in mock outrage, “Better than stealing a cop car and spending the night in jail.”
It’s my turn to laugh, “You spent the night in jail with me, or did you forget?”
Pain slashes through her face and I feel like an ass. She quickly recovers and snorts, “Hardly. Besides, it was a good night.” She slaps my ass and I narrow my eyes at her. “Your tramp stamp is something I’ll never forget.”
“It’s not a tramp stamp when it’s on my ass, Kins.”
“Who the fuck tattooed your ass?”
“What the fuck?”
Dante and Finn say in unison.
Kinsley laughs and I glare at her. “Fuck, will you both calm the hell down.”
“No, I want to know what fucking asshole put his hands on you and tattooed your ass,” Finn demands and Kinsley’s eyes widen, he’s not as aggressive around Kinsley as he is now.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to kill him,” Dante snarls.
I can’t contain the burst of laughter that escapes me.
“Makenna, this isn’t funny,” Finn growls.
“What’s not funny?” Da asks as he strolls into the room, Patrick and Cian hot on his heels.
“Makenna let some asshole tattoo her ass.”
“What the fuck?” Patrick snaps and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“Shit,” Kinsley whispers.
“You all need to calm the hell down.” I tell them glaring at them all, Da however is standing in the doorway with a smile on his face.
“Tell us, Kenna,” Cian pleads with me.
“Makenna’s right, you all need to calm down. What the hell did I raise? A pack of wild animals?”
Finn turns his gaze to our father, his features cool and calm but I can see him internally battling with his anger.
“Christ. It was Kinsley,” Da tells them. “You know what those two are fucking like when they’ve been on the tear. They do stupid shit, hell getting a tattoo wasn’t even the worst shit they did that night. They thought it would be funny to get a tattoo and I told them both that they weren’t allowed to have anyone tattoo them. So they decided it would be funnier if they tattooed each other. So Kinsley gave Kenna a tatt and Kenna gave Kinsley one. Now do you want to calm the fuck down and relax? Today is supposed to be a joyous occasion, we finally managed to get someone to marry your sister.”
“Hey!” I cry out. “I’m a fucking catch!” Da grins and my brothers laugh. “It’s these fucking idiots you have to worry about. None of them know how to keep their cocks in their pants. No woman is going to want to marry their crotch infested asses.”
“Leave me the hell out of this. I did nothing wrong!” Cian says holding up his hands.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say sarcastically. “I forgot who it was that I walked in on while they were fucking two whores.”
“You should have knocked.” He growls.
“It was in the fucking pool at seven in the damn morning!”
Da smacks him around the head, “What did I tell you about those fucking whores?”
“Okay, it’s time for you all to leave. Makenna needs to finish getting ready and Dante needs to be at the altar waiting for her.”
Everyone except Dante leaves and I turn to him, butterflies swarm in my stomach as I wait for him to say what he wants. He turns to Kinsley, “Can you give us a minute?”