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  “Yes, he’s a fucking dumbass. But again, he didn’t do it on purpose. You really think you would ever listen to anybody?”

  I shook my head because the answer was no. “That’s because no one knows what the fuck they’re doing…including him.”

  Ash dropped the conversation, letting the silence simmer for a while. He glanced around the bar and looked at the pretty girls in their short dresses before he turned back to me. “I’m just looking out for you. The two of you have been friends a long time. He made a mistake, and he apologized. Let it go.”

  I just got my brother back into my life, and I didn’t want to push him away. “If you’d ever loved a woman, you would understand.”

  “You killed our father point-blank, and I forgave you. You need to forgive this.”

  I let a cold laugh escape my lips. “Not the same thing. Not even close.”

  “Exactly,” Ash said. “It’s murder. It’s much worse.”

  I wanted to blow up at my brother, but I managed to calm myself down. “I want nothing to do with him. When this is over, I’m done with him.”

  He didn’t have another argument. He turned quiet, like he’d finally accepted my decision. “The person who suffered the most is Sofia. She forgave him.” He looked me in the eye for several seconds. “If she can do that, so can you.”

  When I came home, I was in a bad mood.

  I was relieved I finally had a concrete plan to get rid of that cockroach, but I was irritated that my brother didn’t understand my position. He loved Sofia in his own way, so I expected him to be on my side. Choosing Damien felt like a betrayal. I shouldn’t have to explain myself. I shouldn’t have to be patronized.

  I got undressed in the closet, then came back to bed. My beautiful wife was asleep and waiting for me, pregnant with my first son, and I should be grateful she was there. The anger and resentment should melt off me like sweat. But I was stiff and rigid, the booze unable to freeze my pain.

  I lay beside her without waking her up. I wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep, but I’d made a promise to her and I had to keep it. I turned over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Baby, I’m home.”

  It took her a couple seconds to understand because her mind was foggy. But when her eyes opened and focused on me, a dreamy smile moved across her lips and she cuddled into my side like she hadn’t seen me in weeks.

  My arms wrapped around her, and I placed a kiss to her forehead.

  “I’m glad you’re home.”

  I ran my fingers through her hair and inhaled her scent. It was preferable to the smell of cheap perfume in the bar, the fumes from the drinks. The spot next to her was my safe place, my cloud nine. “Yeah, I’m glad I’m home too.”

  She must’ve picked up on the slight annoyance in my voice because she pulled back so she could look at my face. She shared my home and my bed, so she was around my moods all the time. She could pick up on subtle cues other people wouldn’t notice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Go back to sleep.” I pressed another kiss to her forehead so she would relax and drift off.

  She wouldn’t let it go. She propped herself up on one elbow so she could look down on me. “You can talk to me about anything.” Her fingers lightly touched my chest, trying to bring me into a relaxed state.

  “I know. I just don’t want to.”

  Her voice became a little more forceful. “Well, you’re going to.” She leaned down and kissed me on the mouth. “Right now.” When she pulled away, she gave me an unflinching stare, waiting for me to get the weight off my chest.

  I couldn’t deny her, especially when she was so cute and demanding. “Damien and I aren’t getting along, and Ash thinks I need to forgive him…before it’s too late.” My eyes shifted to the ceiling because I didn’t want to see her reaction. I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep.

  She propped her head on her palm and ran her fingers up and down my chest. She didn’t throw her opinion out at me right away, letting the silence do all the talking. After she’d told me she loved me and I told her I felt the same way, our relationship had changed. We spent less time talking and more time living in the moment with each other. Like we’d both adopted an extra sense for understanding the other, we could communicate just by breathing. That seemed to be what she was doing now…just being with me.

  My arm was wrapped around her waist, and my fingers moved under her shirt to feel her bare skin. Being in bed with her was far more comfortable than that leather booth at the bar. I’d rather drink her kisses than a full bottle of scotch.

  She whispered in the dark. “Why don’t you forgive him?”

  My eyes shifted back to hers, to a pair of the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. I always looked deep inside them when I made love to her. With my other lovers, I barely gave them that kind of attention. “Because I don’t want to.”

  Her fingers continued to caress me. “I was hoping the two of you would have resolved this by now.”

  “There’s nothing to resolve. Everything that has happened is because of him.”

  She rested her hand over my heart. “Including this?”

  I felt my heartbeat pound against her chest.

  “I don’t think it’s fair to put that kind of burden on Damien. I know what happened to me eats him alive. I know he loves me, would die for me. It’s harsh to put all that guilt on him. And besides, the things that happened were terrible, but they brought us closer together.”

  Maybe she was right, but I still couldn’t accept it. “I’m so happy right now, but this with us would’ve happened no matter what. Justifying what happened to you will never be okay. Maddox was provoked by Damien’s stupidity. I don’t forgive him. I can’t forgive him.”

  “What if I want you to forgive him?”

  Even that wouldn’t make a difference. “We identified his biggest distributor at the ports. We’re gonna finish them, and then Maddox will crawl out of the shadows. This is almost over…almost.”

  She didn’t seem upset by the change in subject. “Be careful. What I learned from Maddox is that he’s unpredictable. Expect the unexpected. Even if it seems like you’ve won, keep fighting like you lost.”

  I took her warning seriously, but it also made me sick to my stomach. I hated to imagine what she had been through to make that kind of observation, to know how he tortured her to become so tactical. I had to kill this man for what he did to this wonderful woman. She was innocent and didn’t deserve that fate. It was wrong, and no matter what I did, I could never make it right. All I could do was kill him, and hope that would be enough.

  “I’m always willing to help. If there’s anything I can do to finish this, I’m happy to do it.”

  I didn’t want her anywhere near him ever again. It was my job to protect her. It was one of the reasons she’d agreed to marry me in the first place. “I can handle it, baby.”

  She returned her head to my shoulder and cuddled into my side. “I know you can.”

  I left the house in the early afternoon.

  Sofia wasn’t ready to let me go. She kept looking at me like I might not come back. Those big beautiful eyes were full of worry, and she wore her vulnerability like a second skin. She kept touching me, grabbing my arm or my shoulder because she wanted to feel me as much as she could before I left.

  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy this. It was the best feeling in the world, to watch the woman I loved love me like this. I was the only man in her heart, and until I was safe, she would constantly worry about me. I was her whole world. It was what I’d always wanted. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” My hands cupped her cheeks, and I brought her face close to mine. My thumb brushed over her bottom lip, and I treasured the sight of her beautiful face.

  “Please be careful.”

  I told her to stay in the house until I came home. Under no circumstances was she allowed to leave. I’d learned my lesson after Maddox had ruined my life. “Everything will be okay. I’ve got lots of men with me, an
d this isn’t my first time.”

  “Well, I’m still terrified. We need you to come home.”

  I loved the way she referred to both her and Andrew, like he was already here. I knew we would have another son, so I would survive this. Or maybe that prophecy was no longer set in stone because I had broken the curse. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  She sighed deeply. “Okay.” She moved into my chest and rested her cheek against my body. Her hands moved up my chest as she held on to me tightly.

  I held her against me, my chin resting on her head. The car was waiting for me downstairs and I needed to go, but I wanted to be there for her for as long as she needed. I wanted to comfort my wife and be everything she required.

  She eventually pulled away and looked at me. “I love you.”

  My hand slid into her hair, and I inhaled a deep breath when I heard those words. Music to my ears and pleasure to my heart, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard someone say. It wasn’t just the words she uttered, but it was the emotion in her voice, the sincerity in her eyes. It was the visible way she loved me, the way she meant it from the bottom of her soul. I’d dreamed of this for so long, pictured myself telling her how I felt years ago. If I had it my way, she would’ve been my wife a long time ago. “I love you too.”

  Ash and I sat in the back seat of the SUV at the docks. Damien was in another car, but we could communicate with him through our comms system. Things were so tense between us that he didn’t even want to be in my vicinity.

  The feeling was mutual.

  It was pitch black outside, and the ships at the dock were dark because no one was on board. We had taken over security and infiltrated with our own guys so we would know exactly when Maddox’s team was about to arrive.

  An hour later, a large ship approached the dock, and two men popped out to secure it. At the same time, one of my guys spoke in my ear. “The truck is approaching.”

  I turned to Ash and gave him a nod. “Any moment now.”

  Ash had an assault rifle around his shoulders, and he held it in front of him at the ready to do what was necessary when the moment came.

  The truck stopped, and a few men hopped out and opened the back. From our camera feed, we could see that it was completely stuffed with meth. There had to be several tons on board, ready to be shipped to the rest of Europe.

  Looking at his product pissed me off. It was inferior to mine, which just annoyed me more.

  I gave the signal to my team. “Let’s go.”

  The bodies were piled on the concrete, and the truck full of drugs had been driven right into the water. I wanted to make sure Maddox couldn’t recover it so he would be at a complete loss. The men on the ship had been executed, and my men would make sure they were stuffed in oil drums to be dropped deep into the ocean.

  Only one guy remained. On his knees with his hands in the air, he shook on the spot. It was dark outside, but it was clear he had a wet outline on the front of his jeans. The pussy pissed himself like a little boy. “I got kids. Come on.”

  My wife had a husband, but that didn’t stop Maddox. “Everyone else is dead. You think there’s any possibility you’re gonna get out of this alive?”

  He dropped his gaze and began to shake more. He even began to cry.

  I wanted to shoot him in the head for being such a coward. When I’d thought Maddox was going to kill me, I held my head high and didn’t give in. He beat me with a bat, and not once did I make a single sound.

  Ash sat beside me, his arms folded over his chest. He looked bored.

  “You know what? I will let you go.”

  The man looked up at me, astonished.

  “Just tell me where I can find Maddox.”

  His face turned white. “I don’t know where he is…”

  I cocked my gun. “Yes, you do.”

  “Even if I did, I can’t tell you. Maybe you’ll spare my life now, but he won’t spare mine later.”

  I held my gun at my side. “You’re taking a gamble, I get it. But if you tell me where he’s at, and I kill him, no one’s coming after you.”

  He lowered his hands to his thighs and considered what I said. There was a small look of hope in his eyes, a dream he might be able to get out of this. But then that shine slowly faded away. “No.” He shook his head as he gave his final answer. “No one can kill him. No one.”

  Every single one of his men refused to roll on him. It was the kind of loyalty I couldn’t explain. Maddox was a psychotic madman. How could he scare these men so deeply? “You should’ve put your money on me.” I raised my gun, aimed between the eyes, and pulled the trigger.

  He fell back with a thud, his blood everywhere.

  Ash didn’t react at all, not even to the sound of the loud gunshot as it echoed off all the cargo bins. “It’s like they’re robots.”

  “He must have dirt on all of them. Must keep track of all their affairs, their debts. He probably promised to ruin their legacy if they compromised him before they died.” Maddox was thorough and paranoid. He left nothing to chance…which was why I couldn’t get rid of him.

  Damien walked over to us, mostly looking at Ash and avoiding me. “Maddox is officially finished. We could either wait for him to call, or we could call him first.” He turned his eyes on me. “What do you wanna do?”

  I clicked the safety on my gun and stuffed it into the back of my jeans. “I need to think about it.”

  Damien continued to stare at me, like he had something to say. A full minute passed, and his gaze seemed to become more formidable. “I’m the one who tracked down every distributor. I’m the one who tailed all the guys. I’m the one who was out every night trying to get this shit done.” Like that was supposed to be enough to earn my forgiveness, he waited for me to acknowledge his sacrifice.

  It only pissed me off more. “Congratulations. You finally did your job.”

  24

  Sofia

  I couldn’t sleep.

  Knowing he might die tonight made it impossible for me to relax. He had Damien and Ash along with the rest of his men, but that wasn’t enough for me. Until I knew he was safe and unharmed, I would sit in the dark with my hand on my stomach, waiting to hear news about my husband.

  I kept glancing at my phone to make sure it wasn’t on Do Not Disturb.

  It was two-thirty in the morning…and still nothing.

  I considered calling him, because he’d told me I could. But I didn’t want to bother him when he had more important things to worry about. And if he didn’t answer, that would only stress me out even more.

  It was crazy to think that this man had meant nothing to me at one point in time. He was just a good lay, man candy. But now, he was the love of my life, the man I dreamed of when I went to sleep. I couldn’t lose him. I just couldn’t.

  Thankfully, my phone started to ring with his name on the screen. I took the call right away and breathed into the phone. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, baby. I’m fine.”

  I clutched my chest and breathed harder into the phone. I was so relieved I could barely catch my breath. “Where are you?”

  “Just finished cleaning up at the docks. We’ll be home by late morning.”

  I still wasn’t sure if I could sleep until he came home. “Okay, are the guys okay?”

  “Yeah, Ash and Damien are fine.”

  “Good. Tell them I said hi.”

  He didn’t respond to that. “I gotta go. I just called because I knew you’d worry.”

  I felt like an overprotective mother who couldn’t let her kids grow up, but I didn’t care if I was overdramatic. I wanted my husband to come back in the same condition as when he left. “Thank you. I’ll see you when you get home.”

  Before he got off the phone, he had one more thing to say. “I love you.” It was the first time he’d said it to me over the phone, the first time he’d said it to me in the way couples usually did. It was so normal. But it was such a lovely thing to hear, such a comfo
rt since I was home alone.

  I loved my husband so much, I could barely take it. I didn’t know how this happened, how I fell so madly in love with a man. I’d been detached my entire life, never clinging to any man I met. But now I was obsessed with my husband. “I love you too…”

  He came home just before noon. In the same clothes he’d worn when he left, he looked the same as he stepped inside. There were no new bruises or scars, and no signs of blood or injury. The only difference was he seemed exhausted.

  I ran into his arms right away and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was still in his t-shirt because I didn’t get ready for the day. I’d been too stressed to sleep or shower. “I’m so happy you’re home.”

  He lifted me from the floor and held me so we were eye level with each other. He hadn’t been able to pick me up in a long time, but now he was strong enough to lift me effortlessly. His large hands gripped my ass as he carried me back to the bed. His lips moved to mine, and he kissed me as he held me in the air. He should be tired and eager for a shower, but he cared more about curing my broken heart. “I told you I would come back.”

  “I know. But seeing your face is so much better than hearing your words.”

  He studied my gaze for a while, looking into my eyes like he could do it forever. “You didn’t sleep.”

  “How could I, when you weren’t next to me?” I’d never committed to a man before, but now I was the clingiest woman the world had ever seen. My priorities had changed, and the most important things to me were this man and the little boy we’d made together. It was crazy how so much could change in the blink of an eye.

  His eyes softened slightly, so subtly it was hardly noticeable. My husband was a strong man, the strong and silent type, the kind that thrived in the shadows and winced in the light. That was why I was so attracted to him in the first place. So when I saw him soften for me, have emotion for me, it spoke volumes. His hand moved to my cheek, and he brought our foreheads together. His fingers moved down to my neck, and he lightly pressed into me as he held me. “I’m here now. And soon, this will all be over.”