She slowly let out a long breath, trying to tame her conflicted feelings.
George and Harry were safe now. As long as they remained under the Alexander’s roof and she stayed married to John. The Alexanders’ name commanded great respect in polite society. Tomorrow, she’d call Uncle Alfred and let him know about her marriage. She’d also make it clear that if he didn’t keep his hands off the twins, he’d stand to lose everything.
She fell back on the bed, marveling at how the soft sheets caressed her skin. She looked around at the luxurious surroundings. Yet, one thing remained missing.
John.
Is it weird that I miss my forced husband?
* * *
The small Irish pub near Central Park was a little too dumpy for John’s liking, but Markus Alvares, his PI, liked the place for its steak burger and always insisted on meeting there every time John needed his services.
John called Markus to do some digging on the Benedict family while he was still in Vegas. He was surprised when Markus called him back with his findings after just a day.
After John said goodnight to the twins, he kissed his new wife and went out to see Markus. The investigator was in the middle of his second burger when John arrived. A stack of folders waited for his perusal. It turned out Markus had been hired by an insurance company to investigate the death of Lynn Sinclair Benedict—Jane and the twins’ mother. Before Markus concluded his investigation, the insurance company decided to settle with the executor of the estate: Alfred Benedict. Jane did tell him that she received a small sum of money from her mother’s estate every month until it suddenly stopped last year. Alfred gave her excuse after excuse, until she threatened to sue. Supposedly, the attempts on the twins’ life began soon after.
“Did you say you married her in Vegas?” asked Markus between hearty bites of burger.
“I did,” John answered without tearing his eyes from the report.
“Without a pre-nup?”
“Yep.”
“Without a background check?”
“That’s what I asked you to do.”
“After you married her,” Markus said pointedly. “What if she turned out to be a gold digger?”
John lifted his head from the paper, one eyebrow arching “I have good intuition. She isn’t a bad girl. She’s just desperate.”
Markus stared at him with a healthy dose of skepticism. “Hold it right there—I’m going to take your picture. I’m going to show it to you three years from now when you ask me to tail her to find grounds for a divorce.”
Annoyance mowed him down like a freight train. Even though they had been friends for a long time, Markus still had no idea who he really was. Humans get married and divorced all the time. Shifters like him mated for a lifetime. John had never believed that creed until he met Jane. He couldn’t really explain the feeling to a human like Markus. Fuck. He didn’t even believe it until he experienced it firsthand. That feeling when every fiber of his being screamed for her, wanting her to the point he thought he’d gone insane. It was primal instinct at its purest. “I’m certain that would never happen. I assure you—she’s the one.”
Markus laughed boisterously, and it invited some irritated stares from the nearby tables. The investigator wiped his hands on a napkin and gulped down his beer. “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that line.”
“I’m sure you have,” said John dryly. “But I’m not like other people. When I say she’s special, she is truly special.”
“Uh-huh. I find it hard to believe considering your reputation.”
“I think you’re getting a little too personal, considering you’re on my payroll.”
“Sorry, boss.” But Markus didn’t seem sorry at all. “Why did you ask me to run a background check if you don’t care about the results anyway?”
“I still want to know everything about her.” John flipped the pages. “Hmm. I see she got a scholarship to NYU.”
“She majored in Fine Arts. Only lasted two semesters, though. She quit when her mother died. Tragic. Lost both parents in a span of months.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of suspicious?”
“Depends on how you look at it. Every day, thousands of people die from motor vehicle-related incidents.”
“I am asking you if the circumstances behind their deaths are suspicious?”
“The police reports ruled them as accidents. The insurance company pulled the plug on Lynn Benedict’s case before I could dig deeper.”