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“Anyone out there?” Heaven whispers.
I shake my head and step out. “All clear.”
We follow Heaven to the end of the hallway. She pulls out a key card and swipes it over the lock. The door clicks and we rush inside. The place is huge, and under other circumstances, I’d be listing out all the places where I’d want to fuck my bride.
But shit’s gone sideways… way worse than I thought it could.
“I had clothes delivered for both of you.” Heaven waves her hand toward a few shopping bags and pulls her phone out of her handbag. “I figured you’d need to get out of those wedding clothes. I’m going to call Matteo.”
Heaven takes Aisling by the hand and leads her into one of the bedrooms. Val paces in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, her fingers twisting the ends of her hair. “Heaven said something when we were on the roof, something about revenge and two Mulligans.” Her eyes narrow at me. “Is there some link between the cartels you both attacked?”
I scrub a hand down the front of my face. “Don’t know. I didn’t ask for a list of known associates when I went after El Azul.”
“This was obviously a planned hit on you and your sister. Taking Aisling like that when they could have easily just gotten to either you or Heaven, instead? That was a message, and the idea was to make you both suffer, not outright kill you.” She pauses, her forehead pinched. “That means they know you’re here, and that can jeopardize our whole mission. You’re supposed to be Liam McDermott, not Quinn Mulligan.”
“Relax. You’re making a lot of assumptions without any facts.”
“I don’t need facts. The situation is pretty damn obvious to me.” She storms over to me, her hands on her hips. “You went after a drug lord and now they’re back for blood. Yours, your family’s. I’m not getting sucked into a black hole because of your bad judgment call.” Bright-red spots color her cheeks, her blue eyes darkening more and more by the second. “I’m calling Alek. There has to be another way for me to get to Branko. Withoutyou.”
I capture her wrist in my hand and press it to my chest, forcing her closer. “How far do you think you’re gonna get on your own? You know the way inside, and you need me next to you; otherwise, the doors will slam right in your face. Even if you hate hearing that.” I grit my teeth. “You can’t control everything. You’re not playing by your rules right now, sweetheart. It’s not your show anymore.”
“Fuck you,” Val seethes, struggling to break free of my monster grip, which isn’t about to happen. “I’ve worked too hard to get Branko. I gave up everything to avenge my family. You’re going to ruin this for me, you arrogant bastard. And just so we’re clear, I don’t give a damn what you think. My rules got me this far.”
“This far?” A dry laugh escapes my lips. “I don’t know if you realize it, but you’re spiraling, babe. You’ve got nothing right now without me. No entry. No hope. No fucking backup plan. And if this guy managed to escape you, Sev, and all of his other fucking peons for this long, guess what? You’re gonna need more than luck to catch him. You’re gonna need a goddamn miracle because he’s way the fuck ahead of you guys.”
“I guess the same could be said for your family.” Her voice drops, her words breathless. “Revenge is revenge. And people will wait as long as they need to get it. Isn’t that right, Quinn? You get it. So does Heaven. And so do I. You’ve got your own army to battle all because you let your hot little head explode instead of thinking of the consequences.”
Her heart thumps, beating fast, her chest flush against mine.
“Seems to me like you’re going to need a pretty big miracle, too,” she hisses.
Val’s lips twist like she’s just tasted poison when I lock her in place. Her chest heaves, a vein in her forehead pulsing as our eyes battle a flaming duel. “So, good luck with that. Because I most definitely won’t be part of it. Just consider this marriage fucking annulled.”
Chapter13
Valentina
“Idon’t give a fuck who showed up at the hotel. This marriage is nonnegotiable. You will play the part, find that motherfucker, Branko, and do the work to kill him.”
Alek’s jaw tenses as he stares at his laptop screen, his eyes focused on something other than us. I know what it is.
Shark Attack.
It’s the computer game he plays when he needs to unwind, which is pretty much all the time. I remember the first time I caught him doing it. I watched over his shoulder as he demolished underwater cities. He’s not the guy you’d ever expect to be a video gamer, but I guess we all have our outlets.
Alek’s involves all-out destruction, which I guess is his occupational hazard.
I glare at the screen on my iPad. “You can’t be serious. Look, I get that you want to help a member family of Red Ladro, but this is putting my life at risk, too. And if I die, how the hell are you going to get to Branko?”
Alek lifts an eyebrow. “Sorry to break this to you, Val, but everyone’s expendable. You’re the best.Right now. Don’t think I can’t train someone else to be just as good, if not better.”
My jaw drops. “You are such an insufferable asshole.”
“If only that was the worst thing someone could say about me.” He clicks his mouse furiously for a second, his lips stretched into a tight line.
“Sorry, I don’t mean for my drama to interrupt your fucking video game.” I pace in front of the desk. The wedding dress lays in a heap on the floor a few feet away and I’m now wearing a t-shirt and shorts. So much less constricting. That damn dress felt like a noose around my body.
Ironic that it tugged as tight as the one around my neck.
