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“Put me down!” I shout, but he keeps walking until we’re in the bedroom and he dumps me on the bed.
“I called Cal. He and Zelda are coming for a visit. They’re bringing Belle, so you need to get yourself together.”
“Me!” I can’t believe what a pig my husband is being.
“And stop stealing from the business owners of Monagasco. I won’t have the queen regent branded a thief.”
My mouth drops open, and for a second, I don’t have a comeback.
That makes him smile. “At least we agree on one thing.”
“Everyone knows I’m a thief. They knew it before we got married.”
“Before we were married, you stole because you needed food. The people can forgive that.” He’s pacing the room, and I’m watching him from where I sit on the bed.
“I can’t help it,” I confess. “Sometimes I need to steal.”
His movement stops, and he steps forward, reaching out to cup my jaw in his hand as he studies my eyes for a moment. His touch is so gently now, and again, he captures my heart with the way he takes every word I say so seriously.
“Why?” His voice is earnest, his need to understand sincere. “I will give you anything you desire.”
Diverting my eyes, my voice is quiet, full of shame. “I don’t know. It helps me feel calm. Like I’m in control somehow.” His thumb moves across my cheek, and I blink up at him, trying to justify. “At least if it’s a business, it’s easier to return what I’ve stolen. When it’s a person, it’s more complicated.”
“Like Vega. Like where we are today.”
My cheeks flame with embarrassment, and my face drops. “That was an accident.”
“I know.”
I study my hands, my light fingers. “The situation has gotten more complicated.”
“And more dangerous.”
Glancing up, I catch his gaze, and I know somehow he knows what’s going on. Somehow he’s found out. “I don’t know what to do, Rowan.”
“I will handle it. You will do what I say and stay with Hajib.”
“He threatened Bella.”
Anger flashes in my husband’s eyes. “He contacted you?”
After the way Rowan acted when I walked in the room just now, I’m a little afraid to tell him the whole truth. “He emailed the account I set up for the orphans. He said if I don’t return the money, he’ll take something from me.”
This time my husband’s strong hands are a soothing caress. “He isn’t taking anything from you. Trust me. I will handle this man. Now, will you do what I ask?”
Exhaling a deep breath, I nod. “I won’t go anywhere without Hajib.” After a pause, I add, “until this situation is resolved.”
He smiles, and his fingers go behind my neck. Leaning down he kisses me gently. “My beautiful wife. I do love your fire.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 13
Rowan
Cal paces the war room, considering everything I’ve just told him. “So Ava stole money from this criminal low life, and now he’s threatening her?”
“It’s quite a lot of money,” Freddie adds.
