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I blinked in surprise. He’d used our marriage and my birthday for his code? Why? It was obvious I’d never meant anything to him. Had I been wrong about him forgetting me completely? I nodded, then he locked me into the small space.
There was a bank of black-and-white monitors on the wall. The screens were the only source of light, and I watched in horror as three men searched the house. Were they looking for Casper? I couldn’t think of any other reason for them to be there, unless they just wanted to rob the place. That didn’t seem likely as they passed by valuable knickknacks and paintings. Another shadow slunk along the perimeter of the living room and I gasped as Casper snuck up behind one of the intruders and snapped his neck.
My eyes were wide as he went room by room, taking them down. The last one wasn’t as easy. I couldn’t hear anything, so I didn’t know if maybe he’d caught on. Casper managed to disarm the man and threw a punch. The guy only smiled, and it looked like blood covered his teeth. He spat on the floor and went after Casper. They grappled and fought, landing blow after blow. I started to worry that maybe my husband had met his match when he moved so fast that I couldn’t even tell what he’d done. I only knew one minute the two men were fighting and the next the intruder was dead on the floor. Or I assumed he was dead.
Casper dragged the bodies from the house, and then I saw him moving toward the master bedroom. When the panic room door opened, I flung myself into his arms. I didn’t care that I’d been upset with him, or that he didn’t want me. He was alive and that was all that mattered.
He held me tight, stroking his hand down my hair. “Easy. They’re gone. You’re safe, Carmella.”
“Who were those men? What did they want?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure, but I intend to find out. Right now, I need to get you out of here. Until I know it’s safe, I don’t want you in the house.”
I pulled back and looked up at him. “But where will I go?”
Casper only hesitated a moment. “Dixie Reapers’ compound.”
My jaw dropped a little. He wanted me to go to… the Dixie Reapers? That’s where his daughter lived, and his grandkids. He’d said he didn’t want us to meet. Why would he send me there? He had to be kidding, right?
“Casper, why would you send me there?”
“Because I know they’ll keep you safe.”
I shook my head. No. He’d made it clear he didn’t want me near his family. I wasn’t going to stay with them just because some men had broken into the house. My father hadn’t exactly kept me safe over the years. I wasn’t a stranger to men coming after me, wanting me to die. I wouldn’t run and hide like a good little girl.
“No.”
He scowled. “What the fuck do you mean ‘no’?”
“I’m not running away. There’s no reason I can’t stay here. They cut the power to the house. You just need to set it up so the generator kicks on automatically when that happens. Then no one can take us by surprise again.”
“Carmella, I don’t think you understand.”
I pulled away from him completely and put some space between us. I didn’t understand? Like it was difficult? Did my poor little woman’s brain just not comprehend that men had broken into the house?
“Are you kidding me right now?” I crossed my arms and pressed my lips together. “Do you remember who my father is? Do you think I’m a stranger to the dangers of being with a man like you? I know you don’t obey the law, Casper. If you did, you never would have made a deal with my… sperm donor.”
He growled and ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
“I knew when I married you that there might be times I wasn’t safe, that I was signing on for a lifetime of keeping up my guard. I made a mistake and relaxed, since nothing has happened since we married, but it won’t happen again.”
Casper walked off, slamming the bedroom door behind him. I stared at it a moment not quite certain what to do. Was I supposed to just wait here? It wasn’t even my room. He hadn’t exactly said I needed to stay put. I decided to go wait in my own room. Being in Casper’s felt… like I was intruding on his privacy or something. We were married in name only. I didn’t have a right to be in here.
I walked silently down the hall to the guest room, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. I closed it and twisted the lock. If Casper worried someone might still be around, then that little lock made me feel somewhat safer. I had no doubt a man could bust through the door, but it might take them a minute or two and give me time to come up with a hiding place or escape route.
Even though it wasn’t incredibly late, I found that I was more tired than usual. Probably the excitement of having to hide in the panic room. Kicking off my shoes, I curled up on the bed and closed my eyes. At one time, I’d thought if Casper came for me that things would change. I’d have a family, be happy. I placed a hand over my belly and wondered if I’d ever have children. For that matter, would I ever even have sex?
There were times I wondered if I wouldn’t have been better off staying in Mexico. My father had demanded that I leave, that Casper marry me and take me away, but I could have stayed and hidden in a small rural village. Maybe if I’d done that, if I’d faked a marriage to Casper, then I’d have had a life. I’d only traded one prison for another.
There was a knock on the door. “Carmella, come out so we can talk.”
I snorted and buried my face in my pillow. Why would I want to talk to him? All he’d do was tell me what he thought I wanted to hear, or go on and on about how things would never work between us. I didn’t need him to say it another hundred times. I got it. He didn’t want me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard that before, from my own father, no less.
“There’s nothing to discuss. I’ll stay here until you’re ready to sign the divorce papers. No point in stressing out your family.”
There was athunklike he’d dropped his head to the door, or maybe hit it with his fist. Hard to say for certain.
“Carmella, honey… Please don’t do this.”
