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I slid a finger under the flap and opened the card. It had a rose on the front, and inside, my chest tightened as I read the words.
To Rosa Amy My Fiancée Wife
Happy 26th Birthday
All my love, Sean XXX
How could he love me already?
This man plucked me off the stage and forced his way into my life. He told me, not asked me, that I was marrying him, and then he’d drugged and kidnapped me. What did it say about me that I cuddled with him all night?
He passed me the larger white envelope, and I slit it open. Photographs tumbled out across the bedding, and my heart lurched. Images of a dead body, swollen and brutalised, made me scramble back.
“What?”
My heart slammed against my rib cage as Sean calmly fished through the pile of images, each more hideous than the last. He pulled out the picture of a hand with a familiar tattoo. I swallowed thickly and looked at the pictures more closely.
“Is that Ivan?”
Ivan hung around with Boyan, and if I were ever home when Boyan visited my mamá, Ivan would leer at me and whisper foul things. For years, I lived in terror of him finding me and doing what I heard him threatening as I hid under the bed that day.
“My first present to you. If I’d known, I would have kept him on ice so you could see him in the flesh.”
I gagged.
Sean frowned. “You better move to the other present before breakfast.”
Trepidation filled me as I reached for the box. The bow fell off, and I removed the lid. A face stared up at me. Niko’s dull, dead eyes gazed out of the box. The smell of dead meat wafted up from the plastic-lined gift box. The scream burst out as my brain caught up, and I scrambled backwards. I fell off the bed, still screaming. My eyes and mouth swam with water, and I retched.
Loch skated into the room, halting dead.
“Why?” My gaze swung wildly to Sean, who remained calmly on the bed.
“Because your enemies are my enemies, and I’ll bring you as many heads as you deserve.” His expression was genuinely frightening.
I staggered to my feet, and dark edges appeared in my vision. He swam in and out of focus as dizziness raced over me, and I swayed.
“Catch her for me.”
My vision went black.
24
“Men are idiots,” a female voice said.
I blinked my eyes open and found myself back on the bed. Trixie was fussing around the room, and Rada sat in a chair nearby. I realised Trixie had spoken as she came over to peer down at me.
“Too much stress isn’t good for anyone. Those boys, honestly.” She clicked her tongue. “Do you want some chicken soup? Or maybe a hot chocolate. Yes, sugar would be better. I’ll bring you both one.” She disappeared without waiting for me to answer, leaving me with Rada.
I sat up against the headboard, glancing around.
“Sean and Loch had some business to attend to. Something about a shipment.”
“You are married to Loch?” I asked.
“Yes.” She smiled, and it lit up her sharp features.
We fell into silence.
