Second Read online

  I shouldn’t care. I was married to Liam, so Damien’s personal life shouldn’t bother me. He was sleeping with this gorgeous woman, but I was sleeping with a gorgeous man, one who loved me. I forced myself to be indifferent, to let it go.

  Damien reached the table and looked at everyone but me, as if he knew this awkward. “Charlotte, this is Sofia.”

  “So nice to meet you.” Charlotte came to her chair and shook her hand.

  “You too,” Sofia said politely.

  Damien turned to me next, a slight look of dread in his eyes. “And this is Annabella…”

  Charlotte moved to me next, ignoring the frown on my face as she smiled wide. She extended her hand. “Hello. I love your dress.” She seemed to be trying hard to impress us because she thought it mattered to Damien. That meant she had no idea that Damien used to be mine, that I wanted him to be mine forever. If she knew, she wouldn’t want to touch me.

  “Thank you.” I shook her hand and quickly pulled away.

  She seemed to pick up on my dismay because her smile faltered. She turned away, suspicion written on her face. And because my luck was terrible, she sat in the chair directly across from me.

  Now I had to stare at this stunning model all night.

  God, this was going to suck.

  Charlotte was all over him.

  It almost seemed purposeful, as if she wanted me to know I had lost and she had won. But if she didn’t know about me, then this was just who she was…a woman smitten with her man. Anytime she laughed, she pressed her hand into his chest to steady herself, and whenever Damien spoke, she stared at him with a gaze so focused, it was like she was listening to a lecture. She hung on every word, finding Damien to be the most amazing man to walk this earth.

  It hurt to watch.

  Damien didn’t return the affection, keeping his still position as he focused on the conversation. He didn’t look at me or try to talk to me. When she grabbed his hand on the table, he didn’t squeeze her hand the way she squeezed his.

  Liam had his arm around my chair, oblivious to the pain I was in.

  “I’m going to use the restroom.” She grabbed Damien’s shirt and pulled him close. She kissed him on the mouth, a long kiss that was inappropriate for the situation. But she didn’t care…because she wanted the world to know he was hers.

  I couldn’t keep a straight face because the sight of him kissing her made me feel like shit. I remembered those kisses, remembered grabbing him in the exact same way. When he was mine, I got lost just the way she did…falling so hard. I wanted him every second of every minute because no amount of time was ever enough. I dropped my gaze because the torture was too much, the flashback of memories painful.

  I felt her look at me, felt her blue eyes pierce my face. So, I turned back to her.

  The stare lasted just a few seconds before she walked away. But that look was purposeful, like she was looking for something specific.

  Very specific.

  At the end of the meal, Liam and Hades went to the restroom, and since Sofia had to pee all the time, she joined them. Charlotte tagged along too, leaving Damien and me alone at the table.

  Somehow, this was worse.

  The tab had been paid, and the receipt lay in the leather folder in front of us. Empty wine bottles were scattered across the table, and our glasses were empty.

  Damien didn’t look at me.

  I didn’t look at him.

  Silence stretched, and the conversations at the other tables were suddenly loud because there was nothing else to focus on. I hadn’t enjoyed my dinner because I felt sick the entire time. If it wouldn’t be obvious that I had a problem with Charlotte, I would have asked Liam to take me home. I couldn’t do that, so I sat there and suffered.

  Damien finally turned his chin my way. “I didn’t want to bring her—”

  “You don’t have to explain anything, Damien. It’s fine. Really.”

  He continued to watch me. “I know she acts like we’re serious, but we aren’t—”

  “It doesn’t matter. She’s very beautiful, and if you’re happy…I’m happy for you.” I had to force the words out, to take the high road with as much as dignity as I could muster. It killed me to stare at a woman so beautiful, the kind of beauty I could never compete with. It killed me to see her cherish him just the way I used to. She didn’t take him for granted, knew he was one hell of a catch. He pleased her every night, and she wouldn’t let him go without a fight. It was like watching a little movie of our time together, because she loved him just the way I’d loved him. But she got to keep him…and I didn’t.

  “Annabella.” His voice softened, packed with pain. “She said she would do a favor for me…if I brought her tonight.”

  “What kind of favor?” I asked.

  “I need her to get close to someone. I’m trying to hire a hit man to take out the Skull King, but he said no. So now I’m trying to find another way to convince him. It’s complicated…”

  “I’m surprised she would make a demand like that.” She should help him because she wanted to, not make it conditional. That was manipulative and selfish.

  He shrugged. “She knows what she wants, and she’s willing to do anything to get it.”

  I knew that feeling all too well. I would have done anything to keep Damien. Charlotte caught the same disease I had…and went insane.

  “I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea…because she doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  I was married to Liam and I loved him, so he didn’t have to say that to me. He didn’t have to console me when he was free to do whatever he wanted. “Whether she does or doesn’t, it’s okay. Really, it’s okay…” It wasn’t okay, but I did my best to make it seem that way, to convince myself that was the truth…even though it was obviously a lie.

  I sat at my vanity and pulled off my wedding ring. Then I unfastened my earrings and set the diamonds on the surface.

  Liam undressed behind me, his reflection visible in the mirror. “Damien’s a lucky bastard, huh?” Shirtless, he sat on the edge of the bed then slipped off his shoes. Tattoos were on his skin, but not thick enough to cover all the muscles of his body.

  I inhaled a deep breath, irked by my own husband’s admiration of her. “Yes, she’s beautiful.” She’d made Hades laugh a few times, and she was so gorgeous that she seemed like a hologram the entire time. Was I stupid for ever thinking Damien could ever feel the way I did? He was used to supermodels being hung up on him, and I was no supermodel.

  He stilled and stared at me. “That’s not what I meant.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it is. And that’s fine…” I wasn’t jealous of other women because I’d never hated my appearance. I’d always been comfortable in my own skin, confident in what I had to offer the world. But I was jealous of what she had.

  “I think he’s lucky because he has a woman who’s all over him all the time.” He stared at my reflection in the mirror. “I wish you were all over me like that…” His hand rested on his thighs as he looked at me, the top of his jeans open. “You used to be that way, and I miss it.”

  My eyes dropped to my earrings.

  “I know I’m the reason you aren’t that way anymore, but that doesn’t make me miss it less.”

  15

  Damien

  Patricia had the fire ready before I walked inside. The flames heated the bedroom, and I immediately made myself a scotch before I moved to the couch in front of the TV. The wine at dinner wasn’t enough to make me feel like less of an asshole.

  Charlotte slipped off her heels near my bed then unzipped the back of her dress. “I’m glad I got to meet your friends. They were nice.”

  They weren’t my friends. Hades was the only one, but she already knew him.

  In her strapless bra and panties, she walked toward me. With her hands on her hips, she stared at me.

  When her gaze didn’t disappear, I stopped looking into my drink so I could see her face.

  Her expressi
on was cold, as if she were angry about something. In the period of time I’d known her, she’d never gotten upset about anything. When I resisted her affection, she just tried harder. “She’s still in love with you.”

  My expression remained stoic, but my heart raced in my chest. I didn’t play dumb or deny her assumptions. But I felt like shit. Because if Charlotte noticed it…then it was really obvious how terrible Annabella felt.

  “When did you stop seeing each other?”

  I didn’t answer her question. “I don’t owe you an explanation. As I’ve said a million times…” I left my drink on the table and rose to my feet to regard her head on. “I’m not your man. You aren’t my woman. This is just sex—that’s fucking it.”

  Her eyes blinked in sadness, but she still held her angry expression. “You aren’t over her either.”

  My arms rested by my sides and I considered denying the claim, but I didn’t. Because I knew it was a lie…and I didn’t want to start lying now. I still missed Annabella, still felt incomplete without her. Every time I caused her pain, I wanted to put a bullet in my head. I’d never cared about someone else more than myself before. It was a first.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s fine. I’ll make you get over her.”

  Charlotte asked to have dinner with Conway and his wife, Sapphire, and she took me as her date. That was the trade she’d requested. If she took me out, then I had to do the same for her. I did it because it was necessary, but after seeing Annabella’s reaction, I questioned whether it was worth it.

  Too late now.

  Conway was with his wife at the table, her stomach large just the way Sofia’s was. They were engaged in conversation, his fingers moving through her hair as they whispered quietly together.

  Charlotte arrived at the table first. “You guys are so cute.” She leaned down and hugged Sapphire. “How’s that baby?”

  “Ornery,” Sapphire joked. “Likes to kick a lot.”

  Charlotte moved to Conway next, and instead of hugging him, she shook his hand, probably because he was her boss. “Thanks for having dinner with me.”

  “Of course,” Conway said. “I’m always here if you need anything.”

  When Charlotte stepped out of the way, Conway finally saw me. His eyes narrowed and he immediately sighed, disappointed that he’d been ambushed like this. “Should have known…” He rose to his feet and faced me head on. “Damien.”

  I extended my hand. “Would you rather me call at two in the morning?”

  He gave me that same scowl. “I suppose not.” He shook my hand before he stepped back.

  “Nice to see you, Sapphire.” I gave her a shoulder a squeeze before I moved into the chair across from her husband.

  Sapphire and Charlotte immediately engaged in conversation, talking about the baby on the way.

  I grabbed the bottle of wine and filled my empty glass.

  Conway was rigid in his seat, one hand resting on the table as his fingers drummed against the surface. His head was slightly tilted, and he examined me with a defensive expression, ready for whatever I threw his way.

  “Come on, Conway.” I broke the ice by addressing the subject we were both thinking about.

  “Come on, what?” he asked coldly.

  “I’ve done a lot for you. Solved a lot of problems.”

  “And I paid you handsomely for that.” His fingers stopped drumming. “We’re even, in my opinion.”

  “But we’re friends, aren’t we?”

  He looked away for a second, clearly annoyed. “He said no, Damien. What do you expect me to do?”

  “Just put me in a room with him. I can change his mind.”

  He released a sarcastic chuckle. “Trust me, you can’t.”

  “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

  “But I know what he’s capable of—and he’ll never agree.”

  “How about you let me worry about that? Just tell me where he lives.”

  His eyes turned cold. “Never.”

  I didn’t understand why Conway was so loyal to him. “Just get me in a room with him. Let’s meet for dinner or something—”

  “It’s not going to change anything.”

  “You never know.”

  He shook his head slightly. “There are a lot of other guys you can hire—”

  “We both know he’s the best. I don’t want less than the best, not for this. There can’t be any mistakes.”

  “Then why don’t you do it yourself?” he asked, grabbing his glass and taking a drink.

  “Too complicated.” When I glanced at the girls, they were still absorbed in their conversation, talking about baby clothes and schools. “He has a special way of simplifying everything.”

  Conway shook his head again, his eyes looking defeated. “He’s been out of the game awhile. He’s probably rusty anyway.”

  I laughed because we both knew that was bullshit. “Conway, do this for me, and I’ll owe you one, alright? That could really help you down the road, redeemable at your convenience.”

  He sighed loudly. “I don’t need help. But I suspect you aren’t going to let this go…”

  “No.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest for a long time and stared at me. “Fine. I’ll arrange a meeting.”

  “Thank you—”

  “But he’s going to say no. You’re wasting your time, Damien. And he’s gonna be in a bad mood because he has to meet you at all.”

  “So, you’re going to tell him?”

  He nodded. “I’m not gonna mislead him. He’ll meet you because I asked him to. But there’s nothing in this world that will convince him to say yes.”

  “Why are you so close?” They had nothing in common. Conway designed and sold lingerie, and Bones killed people for money. They didn’t have the same interests…unless women counted.

  Conway stared at me with his hard eyes but never answered. “I’ll get you the meeting.”

  A few nights later, I sat alone in the bar.

  It was half past two, and the bar stayed open just for me. A glass of scotch was in front of me, and Charlotte was waiting for me at home. She’d pissed me off, but then she dropped to her knees and sucked me off, so I let it go.

  It was my second drink, and when I glanced at my watch and saw the time, I wondered if he was coming at all.

  Then the front door opened.

  It’d been years since I’d last seen Bones in the flesh. He was a large man covered in tattoos, the ink covering most of his fair skin. He had bright-colored eyes, but they were somehow demonic.

  He looked the same.

  He stopped in the doorway and stared at me, his gaze unforgiving and potently hostile. After a pause, he walked past the empty tables and approached me, wearing a gray t-shirt even though it was still cold outside.

  His left hand had a tattooed wedding ring.

  His presence was heavy, filling the air in the room with inherent danger. He didn’t need to say a word to issue a threat. He didn’t need to pull a gun to kill someone else. He had the spirit of an emperor, someone who ruled with an iron fist.

  He left an empty stool between us when he sat down. He tapped his knuckles against the bar and spoke in a deep voice. “Scotch. On the rocks. Make it a double.”

  The bartender gave him what he wanted without speaking. When we both had drinks, he excused himself to the back room, knowing this conversation was private. The bar wasn’t owned by either of us, but we ran it like we did.

  Bones downed the whole thing in a single gulp before he wiped his lips with the back of his forearm. “No.”

  “Bones—”

  “The answer is no, asshole.” He pushed the empty glass away and stared me down, one arm resting on the granite surface. “It’s not about the money. It’s not about the connection. I’m out of the game, and I’m not coming back in for anything. You think getting Conway to stick his neck out for you impresses me? Bitch, nothing impresses me.” He turned the glass over and slam
med it down, so it made a distinctive thud.

  It looked like Conway was right. “The Skull King took my father—”

  “That’s who you want me to kill?” he asked incredulously. “Even if I were in the game, I wouldn’t take the job.”

  “Why?”

  “I made a truce with them a few years ago. My hands are tied.”

  “Why did you agree to a truce?”

  He stared at me coldly, like he wouldn’t answer.

  He was more vicious than I remembered, which was odd considering he’d been retired for years.

  “You want something to get done?” he whispered. “Do it yourself.”

  “I would. But if I fail…he’ll kill everyone I care about.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t do this shit anymore.” His thick arms stretched the sleeves of his t-shirt, his biceps and triceps huge.

  I thought I could change his mind, but seeing him in person made me realize it wasn’t possible. He wasn’t the same person I used to know. “Alright. I’m disappointed…but I get it.”

  He still wore the same scowl.

  “You were the best. You could fetch any price you wanted. Why did you get out of the game?”

  He held up his left hand, where his tattooed wedding ring was noticeable. “I told you I got married.” He lowered his hand again. “I have a son. And I’m gonna have another kid soon. I’m not going to risk my life killing people, when I only risk my life to protect my family.” He rose from the stool. “You’re paying for my drink since you’ve wasted my time.” He turned to walk away.

  “Why are you and Conway so loyal to each other?” The type of closeness reminded me of Hades and me, and we’d been friends for over a decade. We were business partners, worked together on a daily basis. But I didn’t see the connection between them.

  Bones stopped and remained still a long time, his powerful back stretching the fabric of his t-shirt. He considered the question at his leisure, and when he thought it was worth a response, he turned around. “His sister is my wife.”