“Congratulations,” I offered dryly.
Ignoring my sarcasm, he went on. “A standing tradition must be fulfilled before it can be made official.”
“What is this tradition?” I forced myself to ask. I didn’t give one solid fuck.
“I have to marry.” There was no emotion in his tone whatsoever, and all I could do was pray for that unlucky girl. Whoever she was. “And if I want to stay in power, children must follow.”
Stiffening, my heart beat a panicky drum. “I’m not sure how I can help you with that other than to recommend a good dating app.”
Ocean smiled and thought it was a gorgeous sight, but it was a little too sharp and devious for my liking. Still, I found my attention caught by the divots below his cheeks.
Dimples.
This murderous lunatic actually haddimples—deep, distracting ones that made all of his other arresting features fade into the background.
“That won’t be necessary, Coby. I’ve already found my wife.”
I had two opposing reactions to that news—warm relief because, for a second, I thought he was going to say he intended to marrymeand bitter jealousy at the girl who robbed me of my fantasy.
“So who’s the blushing bride-to-be?” I asked when the silence became awkward enough. Maybe the bitch didn’t have friends, and he wanted me to be her maid-of-honor or something.
But there was no way that would pay off a three-million-dollar debt. It was more likely he’d ask me to be their nanny, surrogate, or something.
I almost begged him to just kill me now.
Ocean’s dark gaze held mine for so long that I felt myself falling into his trance again. It truly felt like I was floating higher and higher until his answer dropkicked me back down to Earth.
“I’m looking at her.”
1 My angel.
2 . We honor the blood.
OCEAN
As tempting as it was to tuck her far away from here, I didn’t take Coby to Glamis. My family’s estate was outside of the city, and while it would have been like throwing her in the sea without a life raft, it wasn’t the only reason she wouldn’t be safe there. Coby was my choice, but she wasn’t my father’s, and that made her a threat to everything, but I didn’t give a fuck. I’d never wanted anyone or anything as badly as I did this brave girl.
My angel.
But as she wasted no time showing me the moment I pissed her off, her halo had a dark side too, and now I craved her even more. I was used to getting my way, which meant I never hesitated to stamp out any resistance to my will. It was second nature to me, and I never lost sleep over it.
But I had no desire to trample my future wife.
I wanted to keep her safe, spoil her, love her, and fuck her little ass through a mattress the moment she got over me nearly killing her brother.
We arrived at the apartment I kept in the city whenever my pops didn’t need me by his side. Glainne Tower’s pinnacle was a sprawling three-story penthouse with panoramic views of the sound and every luxury my future wife would ever need. I made sure of it, knowing that it would be her prison before it became her home.
The driver stopped in front of the building where Wayne, the doorman and a sleeper agent of mine, waited. Wayne’s position in the Fola was unknown to everyone, including myfather. Everyone except Abel and me. I had many clandestine operatives planted in and out of Black Veil, living normal lives and earning fair wages from respectable jobs while receiving an untraceable, generous stipend from me for their ears and eyes.
I climbed out of the Denali, followed by Abel, my head of security. Doors from the trailing SUVs quietly opened and closed as the rest of my security team formed a protective radius around me.
Coby, my bride-to-be, remained passed out inside the Denali.
Shortly after leaving the club, she’d fallen asleep curled against the door and as far away from me as she could get. We’d spent an hour making a loop around the city to shake off any tails because no matter how true the rumors or how many monikers the streets attached to me, there was always a motherfucker dumb enough to try me. My mind unwillingly conjured the image of the beauty at the club before I shoved it inside a box labeled ‘Don’t fucking think about it’ and closed the lid tight.
“That went well,” he said, even though his perpetual scowl said otherwise. The motherfucker stayed in a bad mood, so I didn’t press the issue.
“Yeah,” I grumbled, “a littletoowell.” What was the catch? What had I missed? I couldn’t stop thinking about it from the moment I had Coby inside my truck.
