AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“None. Do you want me to run it for fingerprints?”
“Whoever dropped whatever the bombshell is doesn’t want to be found. There won’t be any.” I took it carefully into my hand, easing the drink down onto my desk. I had every reason to be cautious as whatever the contents, they were damning enough for my most trusted man to risk facing my wrath.
Sighing, a moment of exhaustion seemed to overtake everything else until I pulled the photographs from the envelope.
After looking from one to the other, I realized a cold chill was scouring my system like a Brillo pad used on my soul. When I lifted my gaze a full two minutes later, I was certain was going to have a heart attack. There were no words, no sense of what I was seeing, but my instinct told me that the last week had been nothing but a lie. Anger was ripe, my muscles twitching from the harsh reality of the ugly deception.
“I know what you’re going to say, Dan. That it’s doctored. That’s what I thought too until I looked over the other information that came with the photographs. You should look at it.”
His words of encouragement held a hint of sorrow, as if the man was solely responsible for ruining my life. No, whoever had concocted the game of deceit was behind the shutting down of my feelings. I pulled out the rest, flipping from one page to the next.
The chill remained, the rage becoming impossible to ignore. I tightened my fist around the envelope before grabbing my drink. In one gulp, I finished it. When I tossed the glass across the room against the wall, Kane let off a deep breath.
“Do you need me to handle it?”
I half laughed. “No, I think I can handle my wife. Find Liam. Now. This bullshit needs to end.” I was such a fucking fool. I’d been played. No wonder Liam had disappeared. He’d believed he had a hold so deep and tight he’d learn enough to destroy us. Well, the game was up.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry I had to bring you that, but you deserved to know the truth.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “You know, it’s interesting. The thought of an arranged marriage had never entered my mind as it hadn’t with Constantine. While I understood his reason for suggesting I consider taking a bride I didn’t know, I never considered the fact the choice might be the right one for me.”
There was no reason for me to be sharing my inner thoughts. I suppose I needed to express the truth that I was starting to feel something remotely close to being in love with the girl. What a crock of shit.
“I understand,” he said. Maybe he should be the one to explain it to me including the fact of why I felt so close to… an imposter.
“Not a word of this to anyone and I do mean anyone. Is that clear?” I lifted my head, staring him directly in the eyes.
“Absolutely, boss. Not a word.”
“Find the bastards. Check the airports and train stations. I need to know exactly where that son of a bitch is. Don’t come back to me until you have something. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.”
I grabbed one of the photographs, folding it in my hand, doing my best to keep from crumpling and forgetting it existed. Was I possibly clinging to the hope that the picture and the information was nothing but some sick ploy to direct my attention elsewhere so that the bastard and his son could swoop in and continue the war? Yeah, I was but I was no fool either.
There’d been too many discrepancies from what I’d read on the internet and the reality of what I’d faced the last week. Her actions weren’t as expected. Her red scuffed tennis shoes, for God’s sake. Her preferred affinity for horses and dogs, dirt and nature. Not fancy cars and jewels. Jesus. I’d been a fucking idiot all the way around.
There was no way I could allow this to go unpunished.
Without hurrying, I took the stairs two at a time.
What surprised me more than the brazen act of deception was the way I felt.
Broken and bitter.
CHAPTER 25
Maria
What the hell had just happened? Was the man so protective of me that he was going to kill anyone who dared threaten me?
I bit my lip, tingling all over from the thought. It was difficult to remain angry with Daniel, especially since he’d been so amazing today. I sat down on the bed next to Zorro, rubbing the baby’s head. “Why don’t we put on your new collar? Would you like that?” I’d dumped everything on the bed, allowing him to choose his toy. I felt more than a little ache inside, my heart light yet weighted. The combination made me feel sick to my stomach.
Loving the man was far too easy. Hating the situation kept a lump in my throat.
I laid down on the bed, tickling Zorro, the pup’s squeals not allowing me to notice or hear the door had been opened. Only when I sat up did I notice Daniel standing in the doorway, staring at me with the ferocity of a lion.
Maybe he was furious with me for what I’d said in front of his men. I’d been told in no uncertain terms there was strict protocol in how the wife of a mafia leader acted. I’d also heard how the marriages were handled in Italy, almost all of them arranged. The wives were protected, always shadowed. They didn’t have jobs, had few friends. They weren’t allowed to go out of the house without an escort and they certainly never talked back to their husbands for fear of more brutal punishments than had been inflicted on me.
