Protected.
Safe.
Right now, I feel as if I’m the butt of a vicious cosmic joke.
Because no matter how I might feel about my new husband being in love with another woman, I’m basically shit out of luck. I can’t do anything about it.
There’s a contract.
In front of four hundred witnesses, vows were made.
To make matters worse, I traded my freedom and Quinn let Lili walk away with Juan Pablo like it meant nothing to him. He would’ve done it anyway. Because I know him a little better now, I understand that if only he’d known about Juan Pablo before he married me, he would have canceled the contract and walked away.
All of us would’ve been free.
I made myself a sacrificial lamb for nothing.
All that goes through my head within heartbeats. Sloane waits for my reaction with a worried look, but I put on a smile and reassure her.
Because, like she said, I would’ve made an excellent politician.
I can lie and smile and wave, when inside, I feel like dying.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s past is past. Thank you for your candor.” I lift my hand and wiggle my ring finger at her. “Can we talk about diamonds now? Because I noticed you’ve got a rock the size of a skating rink. That thing is gorgeous! Did you pick it out, or does Declan just have exquisite taste?”
She laughs, holding out her hand to gaze down at her ring. “Yeah, it’s pretty sweet, isn’t it? He likes to spoil me.”
We go from there. The conversation flows naturally. If she notices anything strange about me, she doesn’t mention it.
About twenty minutes later, I ask where the restroom is.
“Down that hall, third door on the right.”
“Thanks. Be right back.”
“Should I pour us more wine?”
“Absolutely!”
I head down the hall, desperate for a moment of privacy, but get distracted as soon as I put my hand on the powder room door handle.
I hear voices coming from farther down the hall.
It’s Quinn and Declan in his office.
I hesitate, trying to talk myself out of it, but ultimately give in and creep down the hallway toward the cracked open door. A foot outside, I stop and listen, holding my breath.
“…can’t have had anything to do with it. That was twenty years ago, lad. And you killed him. People don’t come back from the grave.”
Quinn sighs heavily. “Aye. I know. But I can’t help thinking I’m cursed.”
“That’s your guilt talking, not your good sense.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. Forget about it. Now tell me about your wife. How’s the situation?”
I lean closer, my heart thudding as I wait to hear how Quinn responds.
When there’s only silence, Declan prompts, “Remember what you said to me when you first asked me to set up the meeting with Caruso?”
“No, what?”
Declan chuckles. “You said, ‘There’s nothing like new pussy to get over the old,’ you cold-blooded bastard.”
That feels like a knife plunged through my solar plexus. I don’t wait to hear the rest.
I turn and walk away, cursing myself for being so foolish as to let him in.
Women can never trust men. They only want to fuck things or break them.
32
Spider
“I was being an idiot,” I reply, shaking my head.
“Aye, I know that. I’m just glad you realize it. So, tell me. How is the infamous Black Widow?”
I say crossly, “I’m not going to tell you how she is in bed, for fuck’s sake.”
“Get your head out of the gutter. That’s not what I’m asking.”
“Then what the bloody hell are you asking?”
He gazes at me for a moment before saying, “She likes you, you know.”
Heat creeps into my cheeks. I say gruffly, “You think so?”
“Aye. Dimwit.”
“How can you tell?”
“The way she looks at you. The way she speaks to you. The way she told her own kin to fuck off when they tried to get you to leave the meeting.”
“Massimo,” I say, my mood darkening at the memory of him. “I don’t like that fucker.”
“Who does? My point is that your new wife’s got your back.” His eyes glimmer with laughter. “Must’ve been some wedding night, boyo.”
“I knew you were talking about that!”
“Ach, be quiet. You’re wound up again. I should’ve forced you to take some time off.”
“I already had time off after the whole debacle in Russia, remember? And I’m wound up about that damn dream, like I told you. I haven’t dreamt of Shannon in years.”
Kicking his feet up onto his desk, Declan takes a swig of his scotch and considers me, sitting across from him in one of his big leather chairs.
“I don’t think this needs to be said, but Reyna isn’t Shannon. She can take care of herself.”
“It’s my job to take care of her now!”
He waves that off. “And just because Caruso hasn’t discovered who the intruders were doesn’t mean it has anything to do with Urosevic.”
Agitated, I rise from my chair and start to pace. “They were mercs, Declan. Hired hands who were totally untraceable. That wasn’t just your average kidnapping attempt. Something bigger was behind it. Someone bigger. And the fact that Caruso can’t find anything out about them proves it.”
Watching me pace in agitation, Declan says gently, “You put a bullet in his brain, lad. He’s been dead and buried for half your life. It wasn’t him.”
“Then who the fuck was it?”
“I made it my business to find out. You’ll have all the information within a few days.”
“How?”
His smile is mysterious. “I’m me, that’s how.”
“You mean you called Killian Black.”
His smug look sours. “You can be a real pain in the arse, you know that?”
I mutter, “Now you sound like my wife.”
“Speaking of wives, we’d better get back out there before they hatch a plot to rule the world and make us obsolete.”
He’s right. Leaving a pair of women like Sloane and Reyna alone in a room together is dangerous. Depending on their moods, we could find ourselves missing a few important limbs when we wake up in the morning or discover they’d commandeered our soldiers to serve under new, all-female leadership.
When we return to the living room, they’re cozied up together on the sofa, drinking wine and laughing like two old pals.
Declan says, “You two look like you’re having fun.”
Sloane grins up at him. “Just girl talk. Come sit.”
Eyeing Reyna, who’s sitting with her bare feet tucked under her and those gorgeous tits falling out of the neckline of her dress, I say, “I think it’s time to call it a night. We had a busy day. I’m sure my wife would like to get to bed.”
Sloane laughs. “I’m sure one of you would.”
My ears are hot, but I can’t look away from Reyna. She’s gazing up at me from under her lashes with an inscrutable look in her eyes. Like maybe she’s got a secret.
I hope that secret involves my hard cock, because it’s already stirring.