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It’s time to show Zoe what happens when I have to be the bad guy.
When I walk into the house an hour and a half later, Zoe is sitting on the couch.
She’s got herself curled into one corner with a notebook in her lap. There’s a pencil shoved through her messy bun and another one in her hand as she scribbles down music notes.
“You’re home later than expected,” Zoe says, looking up at me with that sweet smile of hers. “I made dinner. Yours is staying warm in the oven. I can heat it up for you if you’d like.”
“That’s not necessary.”
Her eyes narrow as I step into the dim lamp light.
She springs to her feet and crosses the room, already reaching up to fuss over me. “Why is there blood on your face and clothes? Are you hurt?”
I take her hands and gently move them away from me before taking a step back.
Right now, I need to be cold and distant. I need to teach her what to expect in the cartel, and I can’t do that with her so close to me.
“There are some things you need to know about what it means to be married to the head of the cartel.” My tone is gruff as I turn and walk back out into the front hallway. “Come with me. I have some things to show you.”
“What things?” She follows behind me.
I wait while she grabs her coat and slips on her shoes. “You’ll see when we get where we’re going.”
“Anything to get out of the house.” Her tone is cheerful.
More guilt rolls through me.
I hate keeping her locked up like this, but I still think her dad is going to come after her.
Time will come when I’m going to need to loosen up a little bit, but today is not that day.
Not when there are more important matters at hand.
I can’t find anything to say to her on the way to the car. There is no way to explain what I’m about to do to lessen the hurt.
She is never going to look at me the same way. Not when she sees what I’m capable of doing with my bare hands.
Hell, I can’t look at myself the same way after knowing what I’m capable of.
She is silent as we drive through the dark streets, heading away from the city.
I clench the wheel until my knuckles turn white, trying to remind myself that this is for the best.
“You need to see the truth about the world you’re living in.” I turn off the main road and onto a hidden one. “I have people who are coming after me. They try to kill me whenever they can.”
Zoe bites her bottom lip as she looks at me. Her chest rises and falls with the shuddering breath she takes. “And what does that have to do with what’s happening right now?”
“There’s a body in the trunk of my car.” I keep my eyes on the road, needing something to focus on while I talk to Zoe. “And we have to dispose of it.”
To her credit, she doesn’t react.
The car is silent as I pull up to a small cabin set deep in the woods.
Zoe stares at the cabin as she takes slow breaths. I know she is trying to keep herself from freaking out.
Anyone in their right mind would be freaking out right now.
Sooner or later, we would’ve had to get to this point. Without knowing about the monsters that lurk in the night, she is vulnerable in this life. She needs to know this is my life, and it isn’t pretty.
