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“You’re happy?”
She nods, her blonde hair dancing around her face. “I am. Luke and I have a connection that I just can’t describe. I miss him when he’s not around.”
I don't feel that kind of connection to Kane, and I doubt I ever will. If anything, what I feel for him is loathing. The man is tapped in the head, and the last thing I want to do is share a bed with him.
“You'll find your happiness with him.” I slide my eyes towards Sariah, unsure that her words are true. It doesn't seem like I will have a moment's peace with Kane Fraser as my husband.
“He is the most difficult of the three brothers,” Bailey admits, “but family is everything to him. He will die to protect those he cares about.”
“Are you saying I shouldn't be fooled by his brooding, dark exterior? That inside beats the gooey heart of a well-meaning man?”
Bailey's laugh is a little sinister. “Absolutely not. Kane is a killing machine and probably the most dangerous man I've ever come across, and that's saying a lot because I grew up in an MC, but for those he cares about, he will go over and above.”
If her words are meant to make me feel better, they don't. The rest of the afternoon continues with meaningless chatter. Yet I find myself engrossed in these three women. They are nothing like me, but we share a common thread. We have all been married to men who are dangerous and difficult.
When it is time to leave, Parker Weston steps up to the table with three other bodyguards. At least I assume that's what they are. Each man is suited and booted, and there is a bulge under their jackets. Guns.
Weston directs me towards the door, his eyes everywhere as he scans the room. He steps out before me onto the street, signalling for me to wait a moment. I never had this much security under my father. I suppose that at least Kane is taking my safety seriously. I have no doubt there are men who would want to kill me to stop our wedding from happening. I am the easy chain to break. At least, that's how they see it. I'm no damsel, never have been. My father said I was a wildcat with claws and teeth. He wasn't wrong. If Kane wants to believe that's what I am, I'm happy to perpetuate that falsehood. Better he doesn't know the truth.
As we step outside the restaurant, Sariah and Aurelia chat animatedly. They don't notice the man across the street, but I do. He's wearing a dark brown leather jacket that reaches his thighs, and he looks out of place, though I can't say why. I notice him at the same time Parker Weston does.
“Down!” he screams. All of us hit the deck as gunshots ring out. There is a large sedan-type car in front of us, parked at the side of the road and protecting us from the worst of the onslaught. The men move towards the edge of the car and start firing back.
My heart races. Stupidly, I thought I was safe. I couldn't have been more wrong. From the moment Kane Fraser put that engagement ring on my finger, all vestiges of safety slipped away. I will never be able to breathe easily again. Because as his wife, I will also have power that men will fear.
The pavement digs into my chest, but I don't move from my prone position on the ground. I wish I had a gun, some way to defend myself, but I’m at the mercy of a man I just met to protect me and keep me breathing. I hope the Frasers trust their guards, otherwise we’re fucked.
With nothing else to do, I cover my ears and as shots continue to ring out.
Is this going to be my life?
Dodging bullets and assassins?
After a moment, the shooting stops and Weston grabs me by the back of my jacket and pulls me to my feet.
“Easy on the goods,” I mutter. Weston doesn’t even crack a smile, not that I expected he would.
I'm ushered away from the other women. I try to see where they are taken, but I'm pushed into the back of the car and told to lie down on the back seat. I comply and lie still as the car peels out into the road. All I focus on is the movement of the vehicle as we raced towards…
Towards where?
I have no idea where we are going, but I put my trust in this man to keep me safe. I put my trust in the fact that I am worth more to the Frasers alive than I am dead. Weston goes on the phone as he drives like a madman, but I don't pay any attention to anything but the heaving of my chest as I try to draw in air.
I could have died. So could any one of the women I just met. My sisters-in-law. Women I actually quite liked. I concentrate on breathing and trying to slow the rapid pulsing of my heart.
After what feels like an age, the car skids to a halt and the back doors are torn open. The figure that darkens the space is not who I expected. Kane Fraser. Of course Parker Weston would bring me here, to my fiancé. He has to make sure the goods are not damaged before he says, ‘I do’.
Kane's eyes roam over my body as he checks for any sign of injury.
“Can you walk?” He barks out the command as if I’m the one who had the gun and was doing the shooting. His tone pisses me off.
“Did you bring me here just to yell at me?” I hiss at him.
If I expected some of the anger to fade from his expression, I was sorely mistaken. If anything, my words seem to make him more furious. “You could have died.”
I climb out of the car, my eyes taking in where I am. There is a huge mansion in front of me, bigger than the one my father owns. It has columns in front of the doors and large latticed windows that overlook a stone driveway and landscaped gardens beyond that. I have no idea where I am, which should make me afraid, but I’m not. Kane will not allow anything to happen to me, not with this deal still on the table.
“And wouldn't that please you?”
