I’m just not the prisoner I expected.
Although I’m still very much trapped here.
The elevator doors ring and slide open. Nobody ever comes up without permission, and I know it’ll be him the second it makes that noise. Mass strides into his apartment and glances at me, his body tense and radiating a masculine energy. He’s intense and big, beautiful and terrifying. I sit up whenever he’s around.
He pours himself a drink and studies me for a moment. “Have you eaten yet?”
I take a second to understand what he’s saying. “I’m fine.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I ordered down to the kitchen a little while ago.”
He nods like that’s good. “You need to make sure you’re eating. Satya said she was worried.”
“Like I said, I’m fine.”
“Have something now.” He walks to the cabinets. “Did Rosie eat? What is her diet like?”
“Please, stop it. My daughter’s food isn’t your concern.”
“Our daughter.” He brings down a box of crackers. “Have some of these.”
“Quit trying to feed me. I’m fine, honestly.” I can tell he doesn’t like my answer. He takes a moment to glare at me before putting the crackers back. “What am I supposed to do around here all day while you’re out working?”
“Anything you like.”
“Back home, I had family and friends. I could go visit people. I had a phone. I had the internet.”
“You’ll adjust.”
“I’m afraid that’s not true.” I feel like I’m walking a fine line. It’s one thing to complain, but another to become annoying and whiny. I don’t know how he’ll react if I can’t keep myself under control.
Mass gives me a hard look before drifting into the living room. He looks out at the ocean, drink in one hand. “What do you know about the Dragons?”
I take a second to process this abrupt change in conversation. “Only what my father told me, but that’s not much.” Mass continues to stare ahead without speaking, so I keep going. “He said you’re like crime lords, only bigger. He said there are rules most families follow to keep everyone in line. Otherwise, law enforcement would be all over us, and nobody could get any work done. He said you’re powerful.”
He nods as if that’s good enough. “All of that is mostly true. But it misses the central reason the Dragons exist. For a very long time, crime families have existed in loose affiliations witheach other. Daughters of one Don marry sons of another. Bloodlines mingle. Clans grow, shrink, and grow again. All this intermingling got complicated over the years, and eventually, it became worthwhile to create five judges who could rule over any disputes. Those judges gained vast amounts of power, and eventually, the Dragons were born.” He finishes his wine and cradles the empty glass. “That was two hundred years ago. I am the twenty-sixth man to hold my position. The transfer of power has never been clean. There’s always a vast amount of blood and treasure involved.”
“Why are you telling me this?” My heart races as I watch him. Mass is beautiful in the reflected moonlight glow. He turns his stern and distant face toward me, and I wish I could read his emotions. But like always, he’s completely closed.
“My life is a constant battle. I’m not telling you this to complain. I enjoy the struggle. I feed on the pain. But I always have enemies. There are dozens of men who would happily cut my throat and take my place. There is one who could potentially do it.”
My eyes widen. “Someone’s as strong as you?”
“No, he isn’t, but he wants to be. His name is Medved. He was like me once. A young man from a very hard place. That hard place forced him into a sharp edge. Medved has wanted a Dragon position for as long as I can remember, and recently he turned this attention to me.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“So you understand. You are in danger. The moment I took you into my life, I exposed you to threats you will never fully understand. That’s why you’re here in the Fortress. This is theonly place in the world where you’re safe. That’s why you aren’t allowed to leave. Out there, I can’t guarantee my enemies won’t hurt you.”
I let that slowly sink in. I knew he lived a dangerous and violent life, but I hadn’t fully connected that back to me.
I’m his wife now, and everyone knows it. Stepping into my dead fiancé’s place at my own wedding in front of dozens of people guaranteed the whole world would hear what happened.
If there’s one thing that constantly surprises me about hardened criminals, it’s how much they love to gossip.
But an even worse realization hits me.
