Lover (Betrothed 3)

“Then we’ll make it possible. I want to kill this fucker as much as you do.”

No. No one wanted to kill him as much as I did. “If we can’t hunt him down, then we need to lure him out.” But that was easier said than done. He had his henchmen to do all his dirty work. He only poked his head out when he wanted to have a good time. “The only way to smoke him out is to affect his business. Get his drugs off the street. Force him to confront us, since he has no other option.”

Damien gave a slight nod. “That’s not a bad idea. It’ll take time…but it’ll happen.”

“We can find his distributors and kill them. Without those men, he has no way to get his drugs on the streets. We know enough people, we have enough connections, we should be able to pull it off.”

Damien tapped his glass against the surface, getting the guy’s attention.

The bartender refilled Damien’s glass. When he tried to fill mine, I simply shook my head.

I couldn’t drink the way I used to.

Damien took a drink, then turned in his chair to face me. Now that we were talking about something bigger than the two of us, it started to feel like old times, it started to feel like us. “The guy takes things personally. And he’ll personally come after us. He’ll definitely be pissed off.”

“Good. I want him to be pissed off.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that? I mean, you haven’t recovered all the way yet.”

It would take a long time to be back to normal, but I was well enough to do what needed to be done. “I’m ready.”

Damien stared at me for a while, as if he were reading my gaze. He didn’t object to what I said, just let it be. “Then we’ll start as soon as possible. No going back.”

I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to finish this. I wanted to do what I should’ve done a long time ago. “Then we’re done here.” I rose to my feet and prepared to depart.

Damien grabbed my arm. “Hang on.”

I twisted out of his hold and gave him a venomous stare. “Don’t touch me again.”

Damien returned his hand to his thigh. He looked at me for a while, apology slowly coming into his gaze. “I don’t want it to be this way. Hades, you mean the world to me. I would die for you…I mean that. I love Sofia like a sister, and I hate myself for what happened to her. I just want you to know that.”

I stared at him for several seconds, and I almost felt the sympathy in my heart. But it disappeared quickly, evaporating like boiling water. I turned my gaze away and walked off, leaving him alone at the bar.

When I walked in the door, it was past midnight. I gently shut the bedroom door behind me so Sofia wouldn’t wake. It was dark because all the lights were off, so I slowly crept to my closet and undressed.

When I walked back to the bed, I realized she was awake.

Wide awake.

I stopped at the edge of the bed and looked at her, seeing her expressive eyes. She didn’t look tired at all. Instead, she looked exhausted but unable to sleep.

She stared at me with unblinking eyes. “Where were you?”

“Out with Damien.” I pulled the sheets back and got into bed.

She seemed uncomfortable with that answer. “With Damien at this time of night?”

Did she not believe me? Why was that so hard to believe? “Yes.”

She turned her gaze away, visibly closing herself off from me.

I leaned against the headboard and stared at the side of her face. “I’m missing something.”

She looked out the patio doors even though the view was blocked by the closed curtains.

When she didn’t say anything, I pressed further. “Talk to me.”

She refused to look at me.

“Don’t make me ask you again.”

She slowly turned her gaze my way, her eyes reflecting the sliver of light in the bedroom. “Don’t lie to me.”

My heart started to slam in my chest. My initial response was anger.

No. It was rage.

I was an honest man, so honest, it got me into deep shit all the time. And the idea that I would lie to her, my own fucking wife, was bullshit. I had to carefully swallow those emotions and not explode at her. “I’m not lying.”

“You hate Damien. And you have no reason to talk to him in the middle of the night.” She looked forward once again.

I had to take a couple breaths so I wouldn’t do something stupid. “And what do you think I was doing?”

“You already know.”

I reminded myself of everything she’d been through…due to my mistakes. I reminded myself that she was emotionally stunted. I remembered her view of marriage before she became my wife. All she’d ever known was rich men with mistresses. Now that our relationship was rocky, she assumed the worst. If only she knew how much I loved her, she would understand how fucking stupid she sounded. I wanted to tell her then and there that I was madly in love with her. I’d rather spend a lifetime with her not getting laid than spend my nights with endless beautiful women. “I’m gonna cut you some slack, ’cause shit is hard right now. Let me remind you that I’m painfully honest. If I’m fucking someone, I’ll say it to your face. Spoiler alert. I’m not. If I tell you something, it’s the complete truth. I was with Damien at the bar talking about Maddox.”