They’d gotten out. Joined the mainstream. They were as normal as apple fucking pie.
But Mikey? Mikey was one of us to the bone.
He should hate us. Our father had gotten his father killed. But he didn’t. He’d never blamed us for any of that shit.
None of them had.
“So, Evie, how was your first day back at class?”
I cast a sidelong glance at my bride, sitting there primly as her cheeks turned bright pink.
“It was good to be back,” she said, sliding her eyes toward mine. “A little weird, to be honest.”
“Last time, you were just a college freshman, eh? Now you’re an old married lady,” Michael said with a chuckle.
“Something like that,” Evie answered uncomfortably. I decided to take pity on her and change the subject as Ruth brought us all drinks.
“How is that boyfriend in London treating you, Louisa?”
She shook her long, dark hair and gave me a peevish look.
“Oh, he’s old news. I’m seeing someone new.”
“He’s from Stockholm,” Daniel said in an exaggeratedly posh voice. “The man wears turtlenecks.”
We all cracked up as Daniel and Michael tortured their sister, taking turns imitating her new boyfriend’s accent and apparently, extremely odd mannerisms.
“You are both ridiculous,” she said sternly, but the corners of her mouth were twitching. I had a feeling the new boyfriend wouldn’t be around for too long. Louisa was kind of like the men in the family. She went through men like tissue paper.
Of course, she was beautiful and brilliant. Not unlike my wife. Just not nearly as sheltered or inexperienced.
I had a chilling thought. What if Evie decided to leave me someday? What if she realized she could have any man she wanted?
The thought was like an ice pick to the heart.
Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the chill inside me during the otherwise pleasant dinner.
My bride dozed in the passenger seat on the ride home. I’d been keeping her up every night, I knew. And it was getting late.
But part of me thought she should be a little bit too nervous to sleep. Nervous about what was to come.
Nervous about how angry I still might be. It wasn’t a blazing hot anger. It was righteous anger based in fear. I’d been fucking terrified when Tiny had called. He’d been pretty fucked up, too. Tiny was also on my shit list, even though I knew it wasn’t his fault.
Still, he’d be smart to lie low for a while.
My bride, on the other hand, was letting out cute little snoozey sounds every couple of minutes. I wanted to yank her into my lap and explore her curves at my leisure. Hell, I was ready to pull over and do just that.
But she needs to learn. She needs to understand the seriousness of the situation. It’s for her own good, ya wuss.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I didn’t want her to be scared of me. I wanted her sweet and sleepy and waking up in my arms as I undressed her.
But anything could have happened to her today. She needs to know that it’s not safe. That the world can’t be allowed to touch her.
Tiny and the guys were a buffer. The mansion was a buffer. And buffers worked. They kept the world at arm’s length.
We had enemies. It wasn’t just that she was a tiny, beautiful girl. It was that the world was already dangerous enough without the Feds and competing families breathing down our necks.
Not to mention all the clubs that weren’t on our side.
I pulled into the gate that guarded what used to be the carriage portion of the mansion. Yeah, it was that old. My military-grade SUV fit snugly in what used to be seven or eight horse stalls.
Evie didn’t wake. I sat there for a long time, watching her sleep. Finally, I made a decision.
I lifted her up and carried her through the house.
Chapter 42
Evangeline
“Lie over my lap.”
“What?”
I blinked up at my husband as he sat in the bedroom chair and looked up at me expectantly.
“Don’t make this worse than it has to be,” he said calmly. But that calm was deceiving. I knew it was.
Antonio was furious.
He waited, pressing his fingertips together. I swallowed, not sure how to actually get over his lap.
“I’m waiting, Evangeline.”
I nodded and stood by the side of the chair, awkwardly bending myself forward. He caught me and guided me firmly across his lap. One huge palm came to rest on my bottom, which was sticking up in the air. He started making slow circles through the red silk dress. I stiffened at the humiliating position.
“Do you understand why I have to do this, Evangeline?”
I nodded. I knew he had been scared. Even more than his anger. I’d seen it when he first saw me in Sara’s dorm room. His relief had been overwhelming.