The Wife Breaker (Dark Vows Duet 1)

“And yet here I am,” I throw out bitterly.

I try to pick myself up, but my feet won’t hold me and I stumble into Heath’s arms. I push him away.

“Get off me. You’re a monster just like him. I thought you were different.”

He doesn’t answer, his jaw setting into a line as he watches me struggling to get away from him.

“I’m not my uncle,” he says in a quiet but determined voice.

“Then help me,” I hiss. “Help me get the fuck away from him.”

He looks right into my eyes, his gaze apologetic but unforgiving as he says, “I can’t.”

Chapter 6

HEATH

8 years ago

I flatten the piece of paper beneath my palm, glancing at the mountain of letters I’ve already torn up and tossed aside.

This is one of my last letters to Rain before she’s brought out here to marry me, and I want to make it count.

She must be so nervous, wondering what her life will be like once we’re married. But she doesn’t need to worry, because I fully intend on treating her like the queen she is.

A faint smile plays on my lips as I scribble another page for her. These letters have become a routine I’ve fallen in love with. Rain, as far away as she is, has stolen a chunk of my heart. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of her and daydream about what our life will be like once we can finally be together.

But I also know I’m using our engagement to distract myself from the underlying task ahead of me.

Once Rain and I marry, I will become the head of the Scorpion cartel.

The cartel my grandfather created and the one my father inherited will finally be mine to control.

And for the past few years, I’ve been struggling with how I feel about that. After all, I’ve had enough time to learn just how gruesome and cruel the world of the cartels is. It’s the reason my parents are dead. It’s the reason I have to marry Rain without ever having a choice.

Accepting that I’m about to become a monster has shaped my life. I struggle with my decision, knowing if I give up control to my uncle Xavier, I’ll be seen as weak by everybody around me. And worse yet, Rain could be taken away from me then.

But even if I got away, I never could outrun the cartel. Their claws are deep, ensuring I stay tethered to them. I will never live a normal life again.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door just as I crumple another piece of paper in frustration. I turn my head to the side and my jaw sets as I see my uncle standing in the hallway.

“We have an urgent matter to attend to,” he tells me, checking his wristwatch. “Hurry.”

I nod with a somber expression, pushing the letter aside so I can finish it later. I grab my jacket and follow Xavier to the car waiting for us in the Casa's driveway. As the car pulls away, I stare at the fading image of my ancestral home with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Glancing away, I focus my attention on my uncle.

Xavier is my father’s adoptive brother. He is nothing like my father, though - at least as far as I can remember. Xavier is cold, calculating, and ruthless. My father was too soft for this business, and I think Xavier’s worst fear is that I will be, too.

Despite not being related to me, Xavier shares my complexion and dark hair. His eyes are blue, unlike mine. He’s handsome - I know all the women in the Casa are desperate to catch his attention. But he’s also twisted - I’ve seen the bruises he left on some girls leaving his bedroom firsthand.

I always had a strange feeling about Xavier. Even though he saved my life in the car accident that killed my parents, he never seemed to take a liking to me.

“What are you staring at?” he hisses at me now without so much as glancing at me.

“Sorry,” I mutter.

“Don’t apologize for every little fucking thing. It makes you look weak.”

“Do you have to give me shit every time I open my mouth?” I growl at him.

“Yes.” His cool eyes zero in on mine. “Because if I don’t, you won’t be ready for the job we both know you have to do.”

I look away, knowing he’s right. Now I feel guilty as fuck. Maybe I’m too doubtful of Xavier. Maybe he is just trying to prepare me for what life will be like once I take over the cartel from him.

Sometimes I wonder whether my uncle will miss running it. He’s a ruthless business owner and a vicious killer. I’ve seen him shoot people in front of their children. He knows no mercy. I had thought this job suited him, but he never expressed how he feels about it to me.