“We’re going home,” he says through gritted teeth, beginning to pull me toward the door. “This little adventure of yours is over.”
I dig in my heels, but he’s stronger than I expected. “Mark, stop! You’re hurting me!”
“You’ve embarrassed me enough,” he hisses, dragging me down the front steps. “What do you think people are saying? My wife runs off to Ireland and shacks up with some criminal?”
I struggle harder, panic rising as he yanks me toward his rental car. “Kane isn’t a criminal! And I’m not your wife anymore. I told you, we’re getting divorced!”
“We’re not getting divorced,” he says with terrifying certainty, popping the locks on the car with his free hand. “You’re coming home, and we’re fixing this.”
My heart hammers against my ribs as he reaches for the passenger door. I need to do something, scream, fight, anything—but fear has frozen my vocal cords. This isn’t the Mark I knew. This man is a stranger with my husband’s face.
“Let her go.”
Kane’s voice cuts through my panic like a knife. He stands at the top of the stairs, his body coiled with tension, eyes cold with fury, while holding a manila envelope in his hand.
Mark’s grip tightens painfully on my arm. “This doesn’t concern you. This is between me and my wife.”
Kane descends the stairs slowly, deliberately, like a predator stalking its prey. “I won’t repeat it. Let. Her. Go.”
“Or what?” Mark challenges, though I can feel a slight tremor in his hand. “You’ll beat me up? Add assault to your record?”
“Kane doesn’t have a record,” I say, finding my voice at last. “And even if he did, I’d still choose him over you.”
Mark’s face contorts with rage. He shoves me roughly against the car, his free hand grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You think you know him? You’ve known him for what—two weeks? I’ve been with you for five years!”
“And you slept with my sister,” I remind him, anger finally overtaking fear. “You betrayed everything we had.”
“It was a mistake!” he shouts, spittle flying from his lips. “One fucking mistake! And you throw away our marriage for some—”
He doesn’t finish the sentence because Kane is suddenly there, moving faster than I thought possible. He pins Mark to the car with his forearm pressed against his throat.
“She asked you to let go,” Kane says quietly, his voice more frightening for its softness. “She asked you to leave. Both reasonable requests that you ignored.”
Mark tries to swing at Kane as his face turns bright red, but Kane sidesteps easily, twisting Mark’s arm behind his back in one fluid motion. Mark yelps, going up on his tiptoes to relieve the pressure.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Kane continues in that same soft, dangerous voice. “You’re going to take these divorce papers— he smashed the manila envelope into Mark’s chest — You’re then going to get in your car and drive away. You’re going to stop following Kori. You’re going to sign the divorce papers when you get home. And you’re never going to contact her again unless it’s through a lawyer.”
“Fuck you,” Mark spits, though the pain in his voice undermines the bravado. “She’s my wife.”
“No,” I say firmly, stepping away from the car. “I’m not. Not anymore.”
The front door of the mansion bangs open, and suddenly the drive is filled with people—Declan, Rory, Kat, even Mia, who moves with a fluid grace that reminds me she was once trained to kill.
“Problem?” Declan asks, coming to stand beside Kane.
“Mark was just leaving,” Kane replies, releasing his arm with a slight shove that sends him stumbling.
Mark rubs his wrist, looking from face to face as he realizes how outnumbered he is. His eyes come back to me, and for a moment, I see genuine hurt beneath the anger.
“This isn’t over,” he says, but the threat sounds hollow now.
“Yes, it is,” I tell him, feeling strangely calm. “We’re over, Mark. Go home.”
For a tense moment, I think he might try something else, but then his shoulders slump. Without another word, he gets into his rental car and starts the engine. As he pulls away, I feel a weight lift from my chest—like I’ve finally cut the last tie binding me to my old life.
Kane is at my side instantly, his hands gentle as they examine my arm where Mark grabbed me. Angry red marks are already darkening into bruises.
“We should put some ice on this,” he says, his voice carefully controlled. “Are you okay?”
