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“My brother did. I only want to love you. There’s no crime in that, so do as I say. Do you understand me?” The car begins to move again, and I swallow, nodding in agreement. “Good, Sweetness. That’s good,” he croons as if I’m a child needing to be babied. His eyes stay locked on the road, and his right-hand flexes as he grips the steering wheel. The veins in his hands pop, and his knuckles turn white. His left hand disappears between his seat and the door.
I might be many things, but dumb isn’t one of them. I hear the click of a gun and hold my breath. “Dri? What the hell is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything to you, but first, I need you to get down, okay?”
“Now?”
“Now!” he shouts at me, and I practically throw myself into the backseat and crawl onto the floorboard.
He fires, shattering the passenger side window.
Gunfire rings around me, and I cover my head, screaming when the car jerks to the side. Next, brakes squeal and metal crunches, but it isn’t from the car I’m in.
I sit up and look out the back window, watching the SUV roll until it’s nothing but scrap metal.
Adrian pulls the car over and reaches for me, pulling me onto his lap. His hands are everywhere, checking me for injury, and he is completely frantic.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, but he doesn’t hear me.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay? Where does it hurt, Sweetness? I’ll fix it. Show me. Show me, and I’ll take care of you.” His hands rub down my arms, then my legs. He lifts my shirt to check my stomach, then pulls me over his shoulder and checks my back.
“I’m okay. Adrian!” I pull away from him, taking his cheeks in my hands and looking him in his wild, untamed eyes. “I’m okay.” I press his hand against my chest so he can feel my heartbeat. “I’m alive. I’m here. You protected me.” I don’t know why I’m trying to calm him down when I’m the one who should be freaking out.
The haze from his eyes finally clears, and the sun drifts through the window, gleaming against the amber color of his irises. Flecks of gold glimmer with concern, and his forehead drops to my chest.
“I was so scared I lost you again.”
Again?
What does that mean?
He kisses my chest and neck and brings my head down to rob my lips. He kisses me the way he feels, desperate and afraid.
He clutches me as if I’m about to fly away, rocking me against his lap, and I gasp when I feel how hard he is under me, but he breaks the kiss before I can wonder what’s about to happen in the car.
“Protecting you is my life now. Nothing will ever happen to you, Mable.”
But he’s wrong.
He’s happened to me.
But is he the worst thing or the best thing?
Because right now, I can’t tell.
Chapter Eight
Adrian
She had so many questions for me last night, like who was in the other car? Why was I shooting a gun? What do I do for a living?
And I answered none of them because I wanted her to marry me first. I want her to be stuck with the fact that she’s my wife and can’t go anywhere because she’s mine.
When I wouldn’t tell her anything, she slammed the bedroom door in my face, and once again, I spent the night outside my own bedroom.
It’s fine because while she slept, I made the necessary calls to make sure the wedding happens today.
Her dress is here. The gardens are prepared. The caterers have arrived.
