“I’ve got some information for you.”
I sit up straighter and turn off the TV so no distractions. “What’d you find out.”
“They’re married. Or at least were.”
“No.”
“Yep. Three weeks ago. To Luke Cabot.”
I’m not surprised. She’s nothing but a lying, vindictive bitch who will do whatever Daddy tells her to do. “Thanks, man.”
“Hey, Ty. I’d watch my back if I were you. Her father is trying to set you up for something.”
“I know.” When two families merge, especially powerful ones, there is always a big scene made about it. It might come a week later, but it comes nonetheless. That’s what we do. We show off our power, our wealth. Why hide the fact that Luke is her husband?
“He was never goingto be married to you, Lake,” I say truthfully.
“Was he going to stand me up?” She frowns, not understanding. Why would she? Lake doesn’t know what kind of man Luke really is.
I grab the backpack Ryat brought and pull out the file, holding it to her.
She opens it up and gags when she sees the pictures. I reach out for her, but she takes a step back, eyes still on it. “What … this is her?” Her wide, watery eyes meet mine. “Tyson, this is the girl.”
I nod, following her as she walks to the pew closest to the doors and falls down into it. I stand in the aisle, bloody hands shoved into my jeans. “Who did this to her?” Tears fall down her cheeks. “W-hy?” Her voice cracks on the single word.
When I don’t answer, she looks up at me. Her eyes go to Luke who still sits tied to the chair at the front by the altar. “He did this?”
I don’t answer.
“Why would he do this to her?” She angrily wipes the tears from her eyes.
“Because she was at Blackout,” I say simply. Four women have gone missing over the last six months from Blackout. Only one had been reported. The others never will. They’re long gone. On a boat or on a plane. They’ve been sold to the highest bidder and will spend the rest of their life begging for death to come sooner rather than later.
“Bethany told me Frank blackmailed her into sending pictures of you, but she lied. It was Whitney.” She shakes her head, and I nod. “I found the pictures on Whitney’s phone. Your father said you would receive initiations on the phone he gave you, but that was a lie. He gave it to you to gain access inside of the club.” My wife is staring at the floor, unable to meet my stare at the fact she believed everything her told her. “Frank wanted to know what was going on, on the inside of Blackout because he knew that Luke and Miller were taking girls from my club.”
My eyes are on hers, and her head snaps up at those words.
“They wanted attention on Blackout. They wanted to frame me for the disappearance of all those women. They had tried before and failed.” Her brows pull together, confused by that, but I’m not going into detail right now. “They thought this time would be different, but their plan backfired because you forgot about the phone.” Her father didn’t gain anything from it. So, Whitney followed Lake around, took pictures, and then sent them to her, hoping to get a rise out of her, but again, it didn’t work as planned.
“He was targeting you?” my wife wonders, but before I can answer, she jumps up and runs down the aisle.
“Lake.” I follow after her, but she’s quick. The moment she reaches him, she knocks over his chair. He makes a gurgling sound of drool and blood as I pick her up with an arm around her waist, spinning us around. “Get him out of here,” I bark at Ryat who hasn’t left yet. “Put him downstairs in the basement. I’ll take care of him in a minute.” He deserves to suffer a little longer.
I set her down in the front pew, and her watery eyes meet mine.
“Was he targeting you because you married me?” she asks, licking her wet lips.
I sigh, running a hand down my unshaven face. Technically, her father started way before I married her, but that doesn’t matter right now.
“Why did he care that I married you if he wasn’t going to?” she wonders, her face scrunched with confusion and anger that she can’t understand it.
I can’t say the words. My tongue is all of a sudden heavy, my mouth dry. I wanted her to know how sick these people were, but now that I’ve found out what they had planned for her, I can’t do it.
“Tyson?” She snaps my name. “Why did he care…” Her voice trails off. “The honeymoon suite.” Her eyes search mine, and I keep my stare as blank as I can. “My brother said… Oh my God, were there cameras in there? If I wasn’t going to marry Luke, then why would there be cameras in there?” She nibbles on her bottom lip. She’s getting warmer. “Then Luke told me that I better pray I was pregnant. Because I’d finally know my worth. Whitney…” She chokes on her sister’s name. “You asked if she was going tosellme…” Her voice trails off, and her eyes meet mine. They fill with fresh tears before they spill over her bottom lashes and roll down her gorgeous face. “You saved me,” she whispers brokenly, her shoulders shaking.
I reach out and cup her tear-streaked face, and her chest heaves. “Take a deep breath, Lake.”
“Why?” she gasps.
