My eyes darted between Nex and my brother. “And you damn sure weren’t supposed to marry him…” Merrick was furious.
“Don’t you dare be upset with Nex.” I shoved my brother in the chest. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t auctioned me off…”
“It wasn’t real, Ci. I only needed Harte to believe it was. Things got fucked up when Arlo found out about the wedding.”
“I don’t understand. So this whole thing was a game?”
Merrick closed his eyes briefly and exhaled a sigh. “No, it wasn’t a game. Dad really got in over his head. He was in debt to Harte, who wanted you as payment. I would never let that happen.”
“But you said…”
“I know what I fucking said. I had to make it sound real. They were at the house when you got there. The plan was to get them out of there, explain things to you, and send you somewhere safe until I had this figured out. But you fucking ran, Ci. I didn’t get the chance.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You sold me off to Warren Harte.”
“He didn’t,” Nex cut in, stepping to my side.
“If that’s not the case, why did you come looking for me?”
“Arlo found out. He sent Nex, hoping to stop a wedding that was never going to happen in the first place. Arlo didn’t know that. He hired Nex to grab you. I had already placed a call to Nex to find you. When he did, he offered an alternative. If I was willing to pay, he promised to keep you safely tucked away from Arlo and Warren to give me time to figure this out.”
Merrick’s angry glare moved to Nex. “But he fucking married you, which wasn’t part of the deal.”
My eyes shot up to Nex in time to catch his cocky grin. “I told you that was your sister's idea, not mine.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “You could have told me what my brother’s plan was and I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me.”
Nex smiled wider. “Do you want a divorce, Little Flame?”
“Yes.”
He slowly arched a brow and I huffed. “No.”
“What the fuck do you meanno,” Merrick growled.
“I mean no. I married him and we’re staying married. If you don’t like it, blame yourself because this is all your fault. You should have just told me.”
I inched closer to Nex. I wasn’t happy with either of them but if I had to choose sides at the moment, it was Nex, and not my brother.
“He should have told you,” Merrick argued.
I shrugged. “That’s beside the point. What’s done is done. He’s my husband. I’m his wife, deal with it.” I glared at my brother, then lifted my chin to look at Nex.
“Do you have to like dostuffto handle them or can we go?”
I had no idea how this worked. Even though things like this happened in the backdrop of my life all the time, I hadnever once been a part of it. There were two dead bodies ,which couldn’t be left here out in the open, or maybe they could. Who knows? I certainly didn’t.
Nex barked a laugh. “No, I don’t have to dostuff. Merrick will take care of this.”
“No the fuck I will not.”
With a stare so icy, Nex took a step forward, but unlike the last interaction I experienced between the two of them, my brother didn’t back down. After a dangerous war of wills, Nex smirked. “Glad to see my partner has grown a set of balls.”
“Partner? You work for me.” Merrick’s voice was laced with agitation while Nex’s was overflowing with amusement when he responded.
“In case you’ve forgotten,brother. Cia and I are married and we just got rid of Harte. That means we both have a claim toMaloneinterest as well as his. We’re partners. The quicker you accept that, the better things will be for all parties involved. I also think your sister would rather be anywhere other than here. So again, you can handle this and I’ll get her back to our hotel.”
Merrick took a step in Nex’s direction but I eased between the two of them. “He’s right. I’m ready to go. You two can have your pissing contest another time. Take care of them. You owe me this much since all of this is your fault.”
