Husband Read online

  “If you like your two front teeth where they are, shut your mouth.” Hades didn’t raise his voice because we were in public, but his message echoed off the walls anyway. “You don’t have to respect me. But respect my wife.”

  Ash actually backed off, wiping that smile from his lips. “That’s fair.” He turned back to me. “I apologize…Mrs. Lombardi.”

  I drank my wine.

  We returned to painful silence, and Ash stared at me again.

  This was a terrible match, and I was a horrible referee.

  “Back to what you were saying.” Ash pulled his glass toward him. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “I’m the manager of the Tuscan Rose in Florence. My father founded our line of hotels twenty years ago, and now they belong to me and Hades. It’s my life’s work, and I’m proud of everything we do.”

  “Ambitious,” he said appreciatively. “That’s sexy in a woman.”

  I ignored his comment. “Hades and I live with my mother at his estate in the city. We don’t really have a lot of hobbies right now because we’re still newlyweds, but I enjoy golfing… Maybe we’ll start in a few years.”

  “You golf?” Ash asked, his eyebrow raised. He grabbed his scotch and took a drink, his eyes staying on me. His throat shifted as he swallowed. The glass hit the table again with a quiet thud once he was finished.

  “Why is that so surprising?” I kept my fingers around the stem of my wineglass. Hades’s fingers still rested on my thigh, slightly touching me, slightly possessive. Copping an attitude wouldn’t fix the situation with Ash, but I couldn’t control my innate response to his sexist assumptions.

  The corner of his mouth rose into a smile, practically a sneer.

  “I don’t know too many women who golf, let alone pretty women. What’s your best score?”

  “Whatever it is, it’s lower than yours.”

  I could see Hades’s slight smile on his lips, amused by the defiance I showed his brother, the most formidable man in the room other than himself. My husband appreciated my fire, my sass. And that made me appreciate him as a man.

  Ash was visibly amused by me, his smile still prevalent on his handsome face. He glanced around the restaurant as if there was someone else to see before turning back to me. A quiet chuckle came from his throat, a raspy sound that mirrored his brother’s chuckle. They were so identical that if I couldn’t see Ash’s face, I would’ve assumed that laugh belonged to my own husband. “Wow, you’ve got a mouth on you, don’t you?”

  “Why do you think Hades married me?” I sipped my wine and stared at him over the rim of my glass.

  Ash turned his gaze to his brother across the table, his fingers lazily touching the rim of his glass. For most of the night, he’d been focused on me, but now he directed his attention to Hades, the reason he was there in the first place. His eyes showed an intimacy that wasn’t there before, but they also showed his obvious distaste for his brother. A moment passed, and there seemed to be a sense of camaraderie between them. Maybe I just imagined it, or maybe it happened so quickly I wasn’t sure if it happened at all. “I’m not sure why he married you. I didn’t know you existed until a few days ago.”

  Hades met Ash’s look, his fingers digging a little deeper into my thigh. The brothers faced off in a silent battle.

  Ash turned his attention back to me. “But based on your looks, I can figure it out.”

  The waitress returned to the table, carrying the entrees we’d ordered for the evening. After she set them down, her attention went back to Ash, probably because he was available, unlike Hades. “Looks like you need a refill.”

  Ash raised his glass. “You know how to take care of a man.”

  The waitress grabbed the glass, gave a slight smile, and walked away.

  When Ash turned his attention back to us, the quiet discomfort returned.

  Hades had brought me to this dinner for a reason, and it wasn’t to get chummy with his older brother. It was to build a relationship, to repair the damage. Their father’s death had caused an irreparable rift between the two, making the two brothers strangers.

  How was I supposed to fix that?

  Maybe I couldn’t. But maybe I could bring them closer together. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself? I don’t know anything about you.”

  Ash rubbed the back of his head, his fingers gliding through his short hair. “Glad to know that my brother talks about me,” he said sarcastically. “When did he tell you I existed in the first place?”

  I could lie and say something to make Hades look better, but the last thing I wanted to do was make Hades look like a liar. “A few months ago.”

  “And when did he tell you that he shot our father?” The hostility picked up in the air around us. Ash’s gaze was already cold, but now it was arctic. A maniacal sheen was in his eyes, hatred oozing out of his pores like sweat. His fingers didn’t have a glass to grip, so they made a fist on the surface of the wood instead.

  I wanted to cross my arms over my chest, but I refused to let him know he was getting under my skin. I refused to blink. The second I showed weakness, he would prey upon it, choke me with it. “The same evening.”

  “Was this before or after you married him?” When the waitress returned with his drink, he grabbed it without looking at her. Without thinking about what he was doing, he brought it to his lips and took a deep drink. It was another trait the two men shared. They could drink like a horse and still survive.

  “Before.”

  Hades stayed quiet. He didn’t talk much anyway, but he gave me the stage tonight.

  Ash’s eyes were locked on mine like two missiles. “And you married him anyway?”

  Now was the tricky part. I had to think about my answer carefully before I uttered it. It was clearly a sore subject for Ash. To be indelicate could push him away. “Yes.”

  His eyes dilated noticeably.

  I kept going. “He told me what your father did, told me about his cruelty. Don’t act like he was innocent—he was far from it. I don’t blame Hades for his actions because his heart was in the right place. But I also saw how he struggled to accept the consequences of that decision, how it blackened his soul. I could see it in his eyes. He tried to do the right thing, and it cost him everything.”

  Ash hadn’t blinked once.

  I had no idea what was going on behind those brown eyes. Did I just provoke him? Or did I subdue him? “All I know is that he’s sorry. If he could take it back, he would. Of course, I married him, and I stand by that decision.”

  Ash’s fingers squeezed his glass. “You married a murderer.”

  “Better than a trafficker.”

  He tilted his head slightly. “If you’re so repulsed by my career choice, why are you sitting here? Why bother?”

  My eyes shifted back and forth as I stared at him. It was a good question, and I’d better have a good answer. “Because marriage is about being there for the other person, even if you disagree with the situation. His relationship with you is important to him. Therefore, it’s important to me. The two of you need to work this out. You’re brothers. You’re blood.”

  He shook his head slightly. “I don’t need to do anything, sweetheart.”

  “You wouldn’t be sitting here right now if you felt otherwise.” I steeled my resolve as I held the connection between our eyes.

  That charming smile was long gone. “I’m just here for the booze.” He took a long drink and set his glass on the table. “Not the company.” He was like his brother, growing moodier with every sip. “But I admit you’re lovely…even if your reasoning is a little off.”

  It didn’t seem like I’d be able to achieve anything tonight, but I didn’t want to get up and walk away. My husband had already tried his best to make amends, but he failed. If I failed too, we’d be out of options. “Ash, I can read people pretty well. I can see that you’re angry with your brother, that you can’t forgive him for what he did. But I can also tell that you care about him. You wouldn�
��t be drinking your scotch and hating his company if that weren’t the case. We aren’t asking you to forget the past. We aren’t even asking for your forgiveness. Just a chance.”

  Ash looked away from both of us. The steak he ordered was sitting in front of him, abandoned. No one had touched their food because none of us had an appetite. His eyes wandered around, taking his time as he considered what to say. The air was pregnant with tension, packed so tightly my muscles ached. “My brother is no saint. Neither am I. That’s one thing we actually have in common. But we haven’t spoken in years, and I like it that way. I say we go back to that.”

  “I don’t.” The emotion escaped in my voice because I wanted this to work. If this was important to Hades, it was important to me.

  “I watched my father die. I saw his brains splash across the ground. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.” His gaze dropped for a moment, reliving that memory. “It was winter, snow had fallen in the city. When his tissues and blood seeped from his body onto the concrete, I could actually see the vapor rise with steam. That fucking image was burned in my brain forever. You expect me to just forget that? That man wasn’t only my father. He was my friend.”

  “But he wasn’t a good man,” I whispered.

  “And neither am I.” He turned his gaze and faced me head on. “Hades and I are the same. And in my eyes, your husband is no better.”

  The urge to defend my husband sparked in my veins like a shock of electricity. It was a compulsion to fight for his goodness, for the man who deserved more respect. Maybe Hades shouldn’t have done what he did, but he was nothing like Ash. He was nothing like his father either. “Yes, my husband is better. His crimes don’t affect innocent people. Yours do. There’s no way you can sit there and excuse your behavior. Your father was an asshole. So are you.” I refused to kiss his ass to get what I wanted. He wouldn’t respect me if I did. “There’s no way you could possibly disagree. You can’t look at those girls every day and defend what you’re doing. Stop acting like Hades did something terrible. You are the terrible one.”

  Ash turned to his brother. “I don’t think your wife likes me much…”

  Hades shrugged. “She has high standards.”

  I stayed quiet because I’d said everything I needed to say. I didn’t want to win his brother over with lies and deceit. I wanted to be honest. Because a relationship without honesty wasn’t a relationship at all.

  Ash leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. He pushed his steak aside. “What do you expect me to do?” He looked his brother in the eye, his hostility slowly radiating outward. It was like a nuclear star pulsating with energy. “Just walk away from everything I’ve built? Forgive you like nothing happened? Be two pussies who golf all day? You really think that’s gonna happen?” He leaned forward even more, lowering his voice. “This is what I don’t understand. It’s been five goddam years. No calls. No texts. No fucking birthday cards in the mail. And then all of a sudden, you come out of nowhere? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Why now?”

  Hades kept the same stiff posture, remaining calm and confident despite being involved in the most intense conversation I’d ever witnessed. “What does it matter, Ash? I’m here now. This is an opportunity for both of us. We can hold on to the past and be consumed by it, or we could just move on. Mom is still alive but can’t remember either one of us. We are all the other has. Just let it go.”

  Ash actually rolled his eyes, which was somewhat comical considering how intense he was. “Being married has really turned you into a pussy, hasn’t it?”

  “No,” Hades answered. “Loving a woman has made me into a man. And a man rights his wrongs, admits his mistakes, preserves his family. I’m not asking you to change your stance overnight. I’m just asking for the chance to make things right. We can go back to pretending that the other doesn’t exist, but I’d rather not. I don’t think you do either.”

  Ash stared at his brother a moment longer before he turned to me. Conversations continued at the tables around us, but it was deadly silent for us. We were in a strange vortex, an alternate reality where anything could happen.

  Hades turned rigid as he waited for his brother to say something.

  Under the table, I rested my hand on top of his, keeping him close as we waited for his brother’s decision.

  When Ash reached into his back pocket and grabbed his wallet, I knew this night had been in vain. He took out a wad of cash and threw it on the surface of the table. “I’d rather be strangers than brothers. I’d rather be enemies than friends.”

  16

  Hades

  That was a fucking waste of time.

  My wife was asleep in bed wearing my white t-shirt. I should be asleep too, but I preferred to sit on the couch, a glass of scotch to keep me company. The curtains were pulled back from the windows, and I had an uninterrupted view of the cityscape. The suite was so large, she couldn’t hear me cope with my thoughts, didn’t notice the sound of the glass tapping against the bottle, didn’t detect the loud sighs of regret escaping my lips. I pulled out my phone and considered calling the only real family I had left.

  But I didn’t.

  Like he could read my thoughts from over a hundred miles away, his name appeared on the screen.

  Damien.

  I took the call and put the phone to my ear. “It’s three a.m. Why are you calling me?”

  Damien struck back with his spiteful attitude. “It’s three a.m. Why are you answering?”

  I dragged my hand down my face, feeling the stress across my skin. “Because I can’t sleep.”

  “You can never sleep.”

  Untrue. After I got married, everything was different. Sofia became my dream catcher. She took away the nightmares I battled every day. It was always the same nightmare every time, smoke rising from the barrel as my father lay dying. But somehow, she took that all away. “Why are you awake so late?”

  “You know, booze and whores.”

  “On a Tuesday?”

  “Uh…like every day.”

  I’d chuckle, but my mood wouldn’t permit it.

  When Damien realized I wasn’t going to speak, he carried the conversation. “Sooo…how bad was it? Like, there was a shootout? Or you know, just some wrestling in the middle of the floor? Maybe a bitch-slap? Maybe two?”

  “I wish.”

  “For the bitch slap? I can do that for you.”

  I sighed into the phone. “Shut up, Damien.”

  “If I did, this would be a really boring conversation. I’d just have to sit here and listen to you stewing all night long. No thanks. So tell me what happened.”

  “Not much to say. Ash wants nothing to do with me. That’s the bottom line.”

  “And Sofia had no pull?”

  “No. She cast her spell, but it didn’t work.”

  “Hmm…maybe he’s gay.”

  “No…just stubborn.”

  Damien was quiet for a while. “So, you think this is hopeless?”

  “Yes.” I took a drink before returning the glass to the table. “But I can’t give up. If he never forgives me, then I can never break the curse. That’s a life I refuse to accept.”

  “Well, if your brother is anything like you, he’ll always be stubborn. Maybe it’s time to take a break. Come home, wait a couple weeks, and then try again. If you come at him day after day, you’re not gonna wear him down. You’re just gonna piss him off. Well…there’s another option… But you’ll never go for it.”

  “I’m desperate. I’ll go for anything.”

  He released a sarcastic laugh. “Not this, man.”

  “What is it? Damien, just spit it out.”

  Damien released a long sigh into the phone. “Well, he hates you, but he doesn’t hate beautiful women. Sofia is beautiful, and damn, she’s persuasive. I’m sure the conversation would be much different if it were just the two of them.”

  “Yeah… you’re probably right.” I stared at my glass on the table, repulsed by the
idea of leaving my wife alone with a man like Ash. But I couldn’t deny Damien’s logic. At dinner, Ash was noticeably different speaking to my wife. Softer. Calmer. Kinder. But once his eyes were on me, it was full-blown hatred. Sofia balanced my coldness, offset my rough exterior. She was an asset that could help me immensely. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to use her.

  “I think that’s your best bet. I know you don’t like that idea. Neither do I. But maybe give it a chance. And if that doesn’t work…throw in the towel. If your brother was gonna do something, he would’ve done it by now.”

  “But if I send her in there, I’ll be sick to my stomach.”

  “Then have him meet her somewhere else.”

  “I doubt he’ll even take my call at this point.” Our relationship seemed to be worse by the end of that dinner rather than better. Sofia did all she could, but her charms couldn’t fix what I’d done. I would just give up and go home, but there was too much at stake.

  “That’s why you have her call, idiot.”

  In any other situation, I wouldn’t even consider it, but this had to be done…no matter the cost. “I gotta go, Damien.”

  His grin was audible through the phone. “Get that shit done.”

  When Sofia stepped out of the bathroom, she was dressed in a dark blue sundress, a gold necklace around her neck. Her hair was in soft curls, and she looked ready for the runway, not an average day. She ran her fingers through her hair and shifted her gaze to look at me. “Morning.”

  I stood in my black sweatpants, a coffee mug in my grasp. I took a drink, and I looked at her, marveling at how pure her beauty was. It was simple, easy, but so profound. Makeup or no makeup, it didn’t make a difference. She was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. I was so absorbed in the moment, so consumed by my own thoughts, I’d already forgotten what she’d just said.

  As if she knew exactly what had happened in my head, she gave a bright smile. Her palm pressed against my bare chest, and she leaned in and kissed me. “It’s nice to see you drink coffee. Your breath always smells like scotch.”