Plausible Deniability

He had a ring picked out. Aila stares down at the band on her finger. She doesn’t know how Niall knows her ring size—she’s never told him, and she hasn’t bought any rings for herself. But he knows it anyway. The silver band forms a Celtic knot, each twist leading to a brilliant blue gem surrounded by tiny diamonds.

“It isn’t going to disappear if you blink, darling.”

She lifts her head and sticks her tongue out at Niall. “Let me revel in its beauty for a minute, will you?”

“Of course, whatever you want.”

He drops to lie with her on the bed, his hand settling on her belly. Aila blows out a breath, blinking against tears. She said yes, and now she has a wedding to plan. Guest lists to make.

“Fuck.”

He lifts himself onto his elbow and frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“Your dad is going to be angry, isn’t he?”

“No, of course not. Darling, he may not like you—”

“No need to remind me.”

“Hush now. He may not like you yet, but he wouldn’t dare try to ruin this for us. I’ve shown him I won’t allow him to do anything to make you leave.”

She sighs but nods. He’s right. Of course he is. The fight has gone on long enough that Bobby has surely realised his son is serious. Undeniably, irrevocably serious. That Aila is too important to Niall for him to accept interference. Still, she chews on her lower lip.

“Let’s not tell him yet.”

“Okay. We won’t. But I can’t hide this from Ma. She would throttle me herself if I tried.”

“Your ma is fine to tell. I trust her to keep the secret.” Rolling onto her side, Aila pushes at his shoulders until he sprawls on his back. “Know what the best part of an accepted engagement is?”

“Sex?”

“So. Much. Sex.”

She swallows down his laughter as her hand slides along his stomach. Soon enough, he isn’t laughing anymore.

“You two are disgusting,” Tania announces when Aila and Niall walk into the parlour almost two hours later. “The ring fit?”

Aila pauses, clearing her throat. “Yeah, perfectly.”

“Good. By the way, you sleep like the dead after you and Niall fuck.”

“What?”

Tania finally looks up from her dagger though the whetstone doesn’t stop scraping along the blade. “Who do you think measured your finger for that thing? You didn’t even move.”

“I mean, you are a sneaky little shit, so it doesn’t surprise me.”

Niall puts an end to the banter before it can truly begin, and Aila pouts as she drops to sit beside Tania. She quite enjoys this side to Tania—witty, friendly, almost nice. So for Niall to ruin the back-and-forth is… frustrating, to say the least.

Aila leans over to kiss his cheek. His arm comes up to wrap around her shoulder, tugging her into his side, and she can’t help wondering if this is where she has been meant to be all along.

The Rogue stands tall in front of Aila, and she stares up at the bright sign for a moment. Her stomach tightens—they aren’t supposed to be here. Tania said it was off-limits. Yet Niall chose the club to celebrate the engagement.

Liam nudges her shoulder. “Don’t be so scared. Niall knows what he’s doing. Besides, this is the only place where people aren’t afraid of him. He isn’t in control here. Nothing’s going to happen.”

She nods shakily and hopes Liam is right. She doesn’t want tonight tainted with a fight. Or worse. So Aila laces her fingers with Niall’s, staying close to his side as the group steps into the club. He leads her through the crowd of people, and she stumbles a bit when she sees a woman straddling a man’s lap in a booth. It’s dark in the club—the night has barely begun—but there is no mistaking what the woman is doing.

Thankfully, Niall comes to a stop at the far end of the balcony. The rectangular table is slightly smaller than the one in the dining room at home. Harry, Mully, Zayn, and Louis take one side. Liam, Niall, Aila, and Tania sit on the other. Niall frowns as his gaze skims over the dance floor; the lights begin pulsing, throwing colours over faces and bodies dancing to the beat.

It isn’t much, this celebration, but Aila loves how laidback it is. How no demands are made of her attention, so she can sit here with Niall and bask in his warmth. His arm stays draped over her shoulder even when he scans for trouble. She joins in on conversations at her leisure, stays quiet when she wants. All she has to do is drink and be merry, and she does so with enthusiasm.

“Niall.”

Everyone stops talking at Mully’s voice. As one, the group follows his eyeline to the door. Aila’s brows furrow when her friends tense up. Tania notices—of course she does. She leans over, lips brushing against Aila’s ear.

“Don’t pay mind to them, it’s alright. They know better than to start something here.” Her gaze cuts back to the door. “Just thank—“

Another man steps inside. His face is familiar, though Aila can’t place it. She glances at Tania, but the woman doesn’t say more. Her pale face grows ashen, eyes hardening in the multi-colour throbs of light. Louis sits forward, and Aila nearly recoils at the dark glimmer in his eyes.

“That’s Irwin’s kid,” he explains as he pulls Tania into his lap.

Aila swallows down the bile. She stares at the face of one of the men who brutalised Tania. Forced her into a weapon. He’d winked at Aila from the balcony that night, back before she and Niall met. He had watched her dance with her friends, as she left the club.

His lips tug into a cold smile, and Tania hurries back to the seat beside Aila as he approaches. The music lowers but doesn’t shut off. Everyone watches.

“Well, well, what have we here?” His voice sends a shiver down Aila’s spine. Smooth, filled with ice. No warmth but cruel amusement. “Coming to our side, Horan? Hasn’t anyone warned you what we do to trespassers?”

“We’re celebrating.”

“Ah, yes. I heard you were getting married. I suppose congratulations are in order to you and your… blushing bride.” His gaze flickers to Aila, brow raising slightly.

“Thanks,” Niall bites out as his grip on Aila tightens. “Appreciate it.”

Irwin sighs as if disappointed and rubs his temple with long fingers. “But, see, that doesn’t change the fact you’re well into my territory. I really don’t like when competition comes into my territory.”

The man to Irwin’s right reaches behind his back. Another man removes a knife from its sheath on his thigh. From the corner of her eye, Aila watches Liam and Zayn reaching for their own weapons. Oh, god, this is going to go horribly. She stands quickly, ignoring the way Irwin and his friends react. The cold, slender hand tugging at her arm as Tania hisses for her to sit back down.

Aila plasters a smile onto her face, pretending there isn’t a blade an inch from her nose. When had Irwin moved? “Yes, thank you so much for your heartfelt congratulations. It means a lot to us that you’d come out of your way to deliver them personally. Not everyone has been so kind. Now please, let us enjoy our celebrations in peace. You could even consider it a wedding gift.”

Irwin doesn’t lower his hand, the blade doesn’t quiver. His lips press together, and he regards her with cool apathy. The blue-haired man smirks—he must know what his friend has planned. Aila draws on the last of her courage.

“And I truly appreciate it if you wouldn’t point that knife in my face.”

He remains immobile for a long minute. Her heart pounds harder than the bass pumping through the speakers, and fingers lace with hers. Tania’s silent plea, her support. A slow grin spreads across his face. It’s a dangerous one, but Aila doesn’t sense malice.

He finally drops his arm, gesturing to his crew. They put away their weapons, and Aila hears her friends doing the same. Her head spins as she recognises the too-close resolution. She doesn’t dare show relief.

“A wedding gift,” he murmurs before grinning again. “I like the sound of that. Fine, consider it a gift to the happy couple. In fact!” He snaps his fingers at a passing server, waves toward the table. “A bottle for our betrothed guest, please. Seal on, if it would make them comfortable accepting my generosity?”

Aila waits with bated breath. If Niall rejects the offer, this could go so much worse. Eventually, he gives a stilted nod. The lights catch on the planes of his face—hard and sharp. The server slinks off, her glittery dress disappearing in the crowd, and Irwin scrutinises Aila as the seconds tick past.

Once Zayn has inspected the bottle and deemed it safe, Irwin pours himself a glass, raising it. “You, Miss Bride, you and I will get on nicely. Horan, I’ll be in touch. Congratulations again.”

He swallows the mouthful of champagne then leaves with his friends. Sound rushes back into Aila’s ears, but she can hardly focus on that. The world tilts around her, her hands shake violently, and she wants to vomit. Irwin could have so easily killed her. What was she thinking?

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Niall snarls as he yanks her back into her seat.

“I… I don’t know. I just—Everyone was reaching for weapons, and I didn’t want things to go sideway. I didn’t, god, I don’t know. Niall, I’m so sorry. I—“

Niall’s face falls when she finally meets his eyes. Her vision blurs, tears spilling down her cheeks, and he pulls her into his chest. “It’s okay, darling, it’s okay. Take a deep breath. It’s alright.”

“Actually,” Tania starts once Aila pulls away, wiping at her cheeks. “I think her recklessness saved us all.”

“What do you mean?” asks Harry before he sips at his champagne.

“You seriously weren’t here for all that? He said he and Aila would get on. That he’d be in touch. Irwin doesn’t say that to be polite. He isn’t polite. He’s cold and calculating and doesn’t mind breaking someone’s bones if it means he has an extra move on the chessboard. If Aila hadn’t taken him by surprise, he would have left here with a plan to murder us all before we could even get out the doors.”

Aila’s breath hitches in her throat, and she reaches for the nearest glass of alcohol. “That’s fucking terrifying.”

“Yeah, well, that’s fucking reality,” Tania snaps. She blows out a breath, murmuring an apology. “Niall… I think you have to think about the potentials. The risks and benefits.”

“He’s not talking to her.” Niall doesn’t hesitate to respond. The words rip from his lips with a violence that terrifies Aila. This is a side to him she hasn’t seen, even at his worst.

Tania snorts and leans forward to rest her elbows on the table. “You can’t simply dismiss this just because you think he’s a raging dick.”

“He is. He’s a prick, and he’s dirty. He’s nearly as bad as Strickland in terms of cruelty. He’s worse than we are.” Niall glares at Tania, fingers tight around his glass of whisky. His eyes flash. “Or have you forgotten what he and his father made you do? He is not talking to her.”

Tania’s jaw drops. The group stills. Silence reigns over the booth despite the techno music over the speakers, the loud laughter and chatter from other patrons. Aila swallows thickly.

“Shut up. Now. Stop talking about me like I’m not right here. Niall, that was you low. You know it was. You shouldn’t be a prick like that just because you’re angry. Tania is… She’s right. I hate to admit it, but she is.”

“Your faith in me is astounding,” scoffs Tania, and Aila rolls her eyes.

“Shut up, you know I like you. Anyway. Niall, please. If Irwin wants to talk to me, we have to consider it if means keeping the peace. Don’t argue,” she begs of him when his mouth opens. Her throat tightens, eyes burning, as his expressions hardens further. “I want us to be happy together. That can only happen if people aren’t trying to kill us constantly.”

Niall doesn’t blink for a long minute. Aila swallows thickly as the silence stretches on. His face gives away none of his thoughts, how he feels about her pleas. Finally, he sighs and leans around Aila, tapping on Tania’s forehead.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. But I guess I understand. Trust me, Niall, I don’t like the guy. I don’t like the situation we’re in. You said it yourself ages ago, though. Irwin could be a benefit if was working with us. Looks like all we needed was Aila and her reckless courage,” she teases as she nudges Aila with a sharp elbow.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It isn’t guaranteed.”

“Yet.”

Niall’s face twists up, mouth opening as if he wants to argue, but he lets the subject drop. Aila leans into his side and watches the people dance as if they hadn’t come within inches of a fight breaking out. A fight that could have gone so poorly, all because she opened her mouth.

Tania announces she and Aila are going to join the crowd on the dance floor, and Aila follows her down the stairs. It isn’t like dancing with her friends. Tania’s every move is drenched in danger, a calculated edge that was engrained into her from a young age. Her pale eyes skim over faces the entire time.

Unfortunately, Irwin’s presence dampens the spirits. Aila glances up at the balcony where Niall sits, and he crooks a finger. She sighs, debating whether she can ignore him, but a flash of yellow light catches on his face. Highlights the cold ‘Don’t disobey me’. So she taps Tania’s shoulder and points to their friends.

The heavy weight of scrutiny presses against Aila’s back as she walks toward the exit hand-in-hand with Niall. She glances over her shoulder, toward the booth next to the railing. Irwin lifts his glass and winks just as he did the night she first saw him. She squeezes Niall’s hand as she turns around.

The others fan out, disappearing through various doors, when they get back to the manor. Aila barely waits for the bathroom door to shut before she pulls off her dress. Niall nips at her shoulder then steps around her to start the shower. His body holds a tension she has only seen when he yelled at her. When he told her the truth of his life. She steps in and plasters herself to his back.

His nails bite into her skin when she wraps her arms around his waist. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again. You have no idea what Irwin is capable of. You could have gotten yourself killed before any of us knew it was happening.”

“I’m sorry. I really am.” She rests her forehead against his spine, closing her eyes against the water dripping down over the curve of his shoulders. “Should I fear for my life now?”

“No. Tania was right. He doesn’t show... courtesy like that if he’s only going to turn around and kill you.”

“But?”

“If he wants to talk to you, he’ll want to do it without me around.”

Aila’s grip tightens, and she squeezes her eyes closed. Her stomach roils at the thought of facing Irwin alone. He could easily take her life, and no one would know until it was too late. Goosebumps ripple along her skin when she recalls the icy amusement, the gleam in his eye that promised danger.

“I’m guessing taking Tania with me is out of the question.”

“It would only end up as a game of cat-and-mouse.”

“I meant for her mental health.” Aila sighs and steps back. Brushing her wet hair from her face, she considers her options. “What about Harry? He’s the least intimidating of you lot. Except Lou, but I have a feeling he’d slit Irwin’s throat just as soon as look at him.”

Niall turns and loops his arms around her shoulders. “We’ll plan strategy when the time comes. For now,” he murmurs as he kisses her, “I should probably warn you I have things to do this weekend.”

“Messy things or things to prevent said messy things?”

“You’re clever, darling. Preventative measures, hopefully.”

Instead of replying, Aila leans forward to press her lips against his collarbone. He inhales sharply as she trails hot kisses along his chest, her hands slipping around his waist to press into his back. A groan fills the steamy air when she lowers herself to her knees. She winks up at him before wrapping her lips around his cock.

If she scared him so badly, it’s only right for her to make it up to him.