Renewing Their Vows

Thinking ahead to what I have to do, I turn and cross the street. At the end of the block, I start to take a left—

And I nearly knock over Grace.

For a moment, I can’t comprehend seeing her there. On this rough street, looking like a freshly bloomed tulip among the weeds. It makes no sense. Her condition quickly draws my concern, though. She’s pale and shaking, her eyes fixated over my shoulder on the entrance to O’Keefe’s. Where I just shook hands with the man who she sent to prison.

The man who made her fear for her life.

“Did you follow me?” I ask thickly, dread coating my insides.

She doesn’t bother answering, because we both know the answer is yes. I didn’t give her the promise she wanted last night. That’s totally unlike me, considering I’d lay the world at her feet if I could. She knew something was up. “What did you do, North?” she whispers.

“Grace,” I say urgently, starting to tell her everything. That Curtis will kill her unless I throw the fight. But then her hand slips to her stomach, cradling it protectively even though her pregnancy isn’t showing yet. And I second-guess myself. I hesitate. Because I can’t tell my pregnant wife that this man wants her dead. That it’s all going to come down to me getting knocked out at the exact right moment—which isn’t all that easy to time and do it convincingly. I can’t scare her like that when she’s carrying our child. If the stress or fear caused something bad to happen, I would never forgive myself.

And the second reason I hesitate to tell her about my deal with Tennison is this.

I have a backup plan.

The less Grace knows about it, the safer she is.

Our every move is going to be watched by Curtis from now until the fight. I might not be a member of organized crime, but I know how they work. How they use information like a weapon. I need Grace to believe one thing—that I’m throwing this fight for Curtis. If she knows there is an alternate plan in the works and accidentally gives it away, her life is back in jeopardy. And that is unacceptable.

“North?” she croaks. “Why…why were you shaking his hand?”

Acid spears upward inside my throat, my heart rebelling over what I have to do. Lie to my best friend, my wife, my soul. “I came to see him to make sure you’d be safe with him outside of prison—and you are. You’re safe.” I take her by the arms, looking her in the eye to impress that fact upon her. “Do you understand, Grace? You’re in no danger.”

“Okay…” she says slowly. “There’s more, though, isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” I respond hoarsely, looking down because I can’t lie while staring her directly in the eye. Any other time, I think she would be able to see right through me, to detect a falsehood from my mouth, but I’m about to tell her something she will have no choice but to believe. Because a lot of it stems from truth. “You know, Gracie, how badly I want to provide for you. To give you the life you could have had, if you’d never met me. And now with the baby coming…” I swallow hard. “I can make a lot more money for us if I lose this fight.”

Her confusion is obvious.

And I love her for it.

She knows me. She knows throwing a fight is not in my DNA.

If there’s anything stronger than my professional integrity, though, it’s my drive to support and protect and spoil her. It will win every time. “You’re going to lose on purpose?” She flicks a glance over my shoulder. “For…Curtis Tennison?”

“Yes,” I rasp. “There’s always a chance I could get injured down the road. My career could be over and I’d have little to show for it. Or I could take the windfall right now.”

She backs away from me, horror dawning on her beautiful face. “Please tell me you’re lying, North. Please tell me none of this is true.”

I lift a hand and let it drop, heavy as a brick. “I’m sorry.”

Betrayal dances across her features. “That man…his association with my father turned him into a criminal. It turned Simmons into the kind of person who would commit murder. Once they started working together, I realized my father wasn’t who I believed he was and now…” She shakes her head, as if confused. “Are you who I think you are, North?”

“Grace.” The pain brought on by her doubt nearly drops me to my knees. “You know I am.”

“Not if you’re the kind of man who throws a fight to make illegal money. I know you hate that I had to give up my old life completely, but you’ve taken it too far now. You’re letting that useless insecurity change you, ruin you. It’s going to come between us. The crazy part is that we’re happy. Can’t you see how happy you’ve made me?”