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jaxon
The past twoweeks with Inessa had been blissful.
She was always willing to try something new in the bedroom, allowing me to introduce her more and more to my kind of life. She was sweet and obedient, and lately, it seemed like she lived to please me. And God, I loved seeing her eyes light up when I praised her.
I hadn’t even had to give her a single punishment yet.
So, for her good behavior, I was rewarding her by letting her see her family. I thought she would have been excited to see her parents and siblings again, but instead, she seemed a bit apprehensive about it.
I didn’t push for information. I would just stand and observe. If she wanted me to know why she was apprehensive, she would open up to me about it. But I was observant enough that I knew I would get my answers today.
Inessa seemed happy as she embraced her sister, tears glistening in my wife’s pretty eyes as they hugged. I kept my hand on her lower back, a small reminder that she wasn’t alone no matter what happened today, and that I was always here as her protector. She had become my property when I agreed to marry her, and now that she was my wife, she had not only my protection, but the protection of the entire Jackson family.
Sometimes, it felt weird that my name was just a different spelling of James’s and Darren’s last name, but I was mostly used to it anymore.
Watching Inessa, I could tell that she was grateful for this, especially when they separated from their embrace and Inessa shot me a look that said it all.
I shook hands with her father and kissed her mother’s cheek. I then pressed a kiss to the back of her younger sister’s hand, noticing that she was wearing baggy clothes just as Inessa had been.
And I didn’t miss the distasteful look Inessa’s father cast Inessa’s outfit. My wife was wearing a pair of jeans that were snug around her ass and thighs, showcasing them perfectly. She was wearing a loose, flowy white top that was a little see-through, but she had on a stylish, black bralette beneath it. Hell, I’d seen Emmaline walk around in just jeans and a bralette, so in my opinion, Inessa was still being conservative.
Keeping my face impassive, I led Inessa’s family to the large lounge room. James walked up to me from the back hall, beckoning me to him. I looked down at Inessa. I didn’t want to leave her side, but when James called, I went. “I’ll be right back,” I told her softly.
Nervousness rang in her gaze. I leaned down and soothed my lips over hers before I fingered the diamond collar around her throat that marked her as mine. “Breathe, bunny,” I whispered for her ears only.
I moved across the room to James, keeping an eye on Inessa and her family. I didn’t trust them, even though our wedding was supposed to have formed some kind of permanent alliance between our families. I just had a gut feeling that this wasn’t what her parents had wanted, no matter how much the don of their family had.
“Got some news,” he quietly told me, keeping his voice low so we could still hear whatever words were exchanged between Inessa and her family.
“What’s that?”
“Might have some inkling as to who is behind this whole fuck-up,” he informed me.
Now that caught my attention. “What are we facing?” I questioned, already calculating the number of men I could spare to send out on this hunch James had.
“I’m thinking the cartel is trying to rebuild itself, and they’re looking for retaliation.”
My eyes snapped to his for a moment before I quickly put them back on my tense wife. “Fuck,” I swore. “You really think that’s what’s happening?”
James grunted and nodded. “Got a gut feeling. Shit came to me in the middle of the night. Gut feeling won’t go away. I haven’t brought it to Darren’s attention yet. You know how he is about this shit.”
Yeah; I did. If I thought James was protective over Emmaline, then Darren was a goddamn monster when it came to Juliana. He’d found her completely broken—mute. And he’d slowly built her back up. I knew she had grown a lot since then, but I also knew she still didn’t really like talking to others.
Her father, the old leader of the cartel, had fucked her up good.
And what James said made sense. Our family had gained control of everything when it had all fallen to Juliana. She signed over everything to the Jacksons, not wanting any part of it. If the cartel was rebuilding, there was a very high possibility they would be looking to gain back everything they lost.
“I’ll get some men together later to look deeper into this,” I quietly told him.
James nodded and clapped his hand to my shoulder before he disappeared from the room. I poured myself a glass of whiskey, now one hundred percent back to listening in on the conversation Inessa was having with her family.
“You’re a traitorous bitch for agreeing to this sham of a marriage,” her father hissed. “And to think you’ve already let him between your fucking legs.”
I quietly walked over, noting how her father quickly schooled his expression into a nice, fatherly one. But I’d heard clearly. Not to mention, Inessa’s face was still pale from his scathing words, not having a chance to collect herself yet.
I gripped the old man’s wrist and brought my face close to his, tightening my grip to the point his bones ground against each other. He clenched his jaw, his face turning red with pain. “If you value having breath in your lungs, you won’t disrespect my wife again,” I hissed.
With that, I let him go and took a seat next to Inessa. I drew her against my side, and with my eyes focused on her father’s, I pressed my lips to her temple. While his face remained impassive, maybe even pleasant, his eyes glittered with rage and darkness, giving him away.
But Inessa was mine, and everyone that didn’t like that better get the fuck on board.
And fuckers like Inessa’s father had better watch their tongue with my wife.
* * *
