A Necessary Sin (The Sin Trilogy, #1)(64)

“Sweet Bonny,” I say against her ear before kissing the side of her neck. “I have to go to my meeting.”

She twists in my arms to face me. “Are you very worried? Because I am—enough for both of us.”

I won’t lie about this. It’s too important. “I have some very serious concerns about what the outcome will be.”

She looks as though she might cry. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Aye, I do.” My mum is right. I must put Abram in his place now. “It’s necessary for more than one reason.”

I pull her close and she squeezes me hard. “I’m scared for you.”

I’m not incredibly confident myself. “I could be gone for a while depending on how this goes.” I kiss the top of her head. “Don’t fret if I’m not back by morning.”

She pulls away to look at me. “Are you serious? You could be gone all night?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I shrug. “Sterling is coming for you in an hour. He’s going to drive you to my parents’ house. It may not be safe for you to be alone tonight so you’re staying with my mum.” Not a single Fellowship member would dare to seek her out at my parents’, even if Abram ordered it. They all fear my father’s wrath. My place is obviously a different story since he’s already sent one brother in.

“Is that really necessary?”

I don’t like to think so, but I’m not sure where Abram’s head is right now. “I don’t want to find out too late that I should have sent you away.” I’ve told Bleu I would protect her and I plan to keep my word. When I can’t actively do that, I will always make provisions for her safety. “You should probably take a bag since you could be staying the night.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is far more serious than you’ve made out?” Because it is. She’s come to know me well enough to predict the story within the book before opening it.

I press my forehead to hers and rub our noses in an Eskimo kiss. “No worries, my Bonny Bleu. Everything will be fine and well this time tomorrow night.”

“Sin. I …”

I know what’s coming, the words she’s toying with in her mouth. I can see affection pooling in her eyes, threatening to spill down her face, so I put my fingertip to her lips and shake my head. “Shh … don’t. Save it for a better occasion, a happier time.”

She snickers and a tear drops onto her cheek. “I can do that.”

“I must go.”

She holds my face and kisses me hard. “Come back to me when you can.”

“No fear. I’ll return the moment it’s possible.”



* * *



My father has taken his place at the table’s head in the conference room while Mitch and I sit opposite Abram and Jamie. If one didn’t know the chain of command, he could easily guess it by our seating arrangement.

Abram will lose his footing at the top once I finish my traineeship. He has acted as second-in-command to my father for years. It’s what he and my father agreed he would do until I was of age. That occurred a while ago, but I was needed elsewhere. I volunteered to become sole solicitor since my father still had years of leadership left in him. It made sense at the time but now I’m not sure about my decision. Abram enjoys exerting control and power far more than he should.

“As you’re all aware, we’re here to discuss my relationship with Bleu.”

“You’re f*cking her,” Abram groans. “That doesn’t constitute a relationship.”

This is going to start off on the wrong foot.

Abram—and everyone else as well—is completely in the dark when it comes to Bleu and me. “You know nothing about our relations so you don’t get to have an opinion about its authenticity.”

He slams his hand on the table. “There shouldn’t be an interrelation at all. The Fellowship prohibits any pairing with someone outside the circle of the brotherhood. You know this, yet you’ve chosen to continue seeing her. What do you think they’re going to say when they figure it out?”

“The brothers know,” Jamie says. He looks at me. “Leith called me while I was on my way here. He says it was the only thing being discussed at Duncan’s tonight.”

How very convenient—the brotherhood finds out right before we hold a meeting to discuss a solution. I’m certain I have Abram to thank for that shitstorm.

“Do tell, son. What do our men think about their future leader consorting with an outsider?” Abram looks so satisfied with himself.

“They’re not pleased.”

“As one would expect,” Abram says.

Jamie looks at me instead of his father. “Bleu is seen as a loose end. There’s talk of eliminating her.”

“She can be trusted. She’s more like us than you could possibly imagine. If you knew her, you’d see this.” She never stops amazing me. It’s as though she was born to be a part of us.

“But we don’t know her and there’s a reason for that. She isn’t one of us.”

“I asked the council to meet so we might come together for a solution.” I say.

“You’re breaking one of the most vital rules we have. You want us to pat you on the head and say it’s okay because you’re Thane’s son. We’re expected to roll over and accept this American because you do, but let me ask you this: what’s going to happen when one of the brothers wants us to bend a rule for him and we tell him no?”