AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh, my god, Knox had been here. That stupid boy. I wasn’t going to be able to hide him in my closet and feed him cookies this time. Goosebumps rippled over my flesh. Marco wanted to kill him.
I blinked the page back into focus.
At least he qualifies as something old, and I hope his balls are blue. The phone is something new, and the knife is still mine, so it’s borrowed. If you need to stab your husband, I want you to do it with my knife.
Always and forever.
I pulled the blade I’d given back to Knox from its sheath.
Fight to the end or live for nothing.
I still had an hour before the service. An hour before I married Marco in front of his mistress. An hour to still be Allegra Jilani and to decide if I was going to fight for the life I wanted. I couldn’t change Marco, but I could stop him from changing me.
“Mom, will you go get me something to eat?” I raised my voice from the walk-in closet. “I need something to calm my stomach.” And I needed to be alone to turn on the phone and make a call.
“I could use a glass of wine. That dress is awful,” she grumbled from the bedroom. Finally, the door clicked shut.
As I powered up the phone, I dashed into the bedroom and locked the door. I chewed my thumbnail while the seconds felt like minutes for the phone to ready.
Finally, I called the only number in the favorites.
“Hey, beautiful.”
Tears filled my eyes with the sound of his voice. “You are taking too many risks,” I softly said. “How did you get into the house?”
His deep, gravelly chuckle pissed me off. “Last night wouldn’t be the first time I’ve watched you sleep. It was the first time I wanted to kill Marco. He doesn’t deserve you. Please, let me get you out. I can hide you. Save you the way you saved me.”
I slid down the door and sat on the floor. “Everything is so fucked up. He took my phone. Even though he knows I’ve never been with anyone else, he accused me of meeting a lover. I think he’s more upset because I refused to tell him who you are.”
“He’s a fucking hypocrite. You saved all your firsts for him, and he’s fucking his mistress while you’re sleeping.”
I felt as if someone dropped me off a steep and jagged cliff. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t focus on his words with my mind spinning and pain tearing through my chest.
“What?” The word was barely a whisper.
I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew it was true. She touched him too freely. She was here, in my home, at my wedding, to fuck my husband on our wedding night.
I closed my eyes to keep tears from falling but failing. I hiccupped, and a sob exploded from my chest.
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Knox, no, you won’t. Nothing has changed.” I wiped my eyes with my fingertips. These would be the last tears I cried for Marco. “You told me. Mafia men take what they want.” But it didn’t have to mean he could have me. I’d swallow every regret, every ache, every dark, twisted need.
“Fuck, Ally, you have two choices. If you stay, you can’t challenge him. I can hear it in your voice. You can’t go against Marco alone. If you stay, you’re his wife. You’ll be at the mercy of that bastard. Or you let me get you out. Right now. We run.”
This was what we did. We saved each other. No matter the risk. But not this time. “I can take care of myself. Please, take care of Dee. I haven’t been able to talk to her. If you can get to me here, get to her. Tell her. She trusts you. Marco is watching me too closely.”
“Fuck.”
“He’s looking for you.” I gripped the phone tight. “He knows you’re with the Irish mafia.”
“Then he should think carefully about hurting the person I love.”
The door handle jiggled.
“I have to go.”
“Allegra, open the door.” My mom pounded three times.
