“They won’t try to hurt her if we say we’re married, right? Who’d target us?”
“It wasn’t a blood wedding, Dec. So, yeah, someone might try. But why would someone target her?”
“Maybe it has to do with her da?”
“Or it could be that stalker?” He squeezes my shoulder. “Look, she’s protected by us, and we’ll make sure that rumor’s killed before it spreads. No one wants a war with us. We control too many important routes. Don’t lose your shit.”
He’s right. Cal’s always right. But I can’t sit around with my dick in my hand. I’ll clear her name. Smoke out her father’s enemies. End the stalker. Hunt down this Mario prick.
And when it’s over…
I’ll do the one thing I’m already dreading.
I’ll let her go.
Before she realizes she should have run from me in the first place.
FOURTEEN
marlowe
Dancing ismuscle memory—one of the only things I still recognize about myself.
Ballet was never my obsession. I loved it, sure, but it didn’t own me the way it owned the other girls in the company. And yet, ever since Declan “injured” me and yanked me out ofSwan Lake, it’s like my body keeps begging for the structure. The form. The escape.
I miss modern. I miss street. I miss moving like I’m not caged.
But here, in my sham husband’s house, this is all I have. A few minutes of music. A few feet of floor. A stolen slice of air where no one is watching.
I close my eyes, let my body take over, let everything with Declan fall away.
And then?—
I feel it.
A shift in the room.
Someone’s watching.
Little Raff stands at the edge of the mat. He’s got Lola tucked under one arm, the cat’s belly exposed, yellow eyes fullof hate as his tail swishes angrily. He’s with two girls, one about his age and one who is taller, maybe about six or seven—telling the age of small humans is hard—stands behind him, her hand locked in Arnold’s fur as Clawzilla and Petal sit at her feet. Monarch and Fiona cower in the doorway of the gym, as though they’re unsure if they want to cross the threshold.
The little girl is gorgeous with big, curious eyes. “What’s under the floorboards? Pepper said it’s under the floorboards, and I didn’t see a thing. Then he said bad words.”
“Very bad,” Raff says. “Like fuck. What are you doing?”
“Dancing.”
“Why?” the taller girl asks.
It’s a fair question.
“Some people like it.” I do a plié.
“Dumb people.” Raff giggles as he lets go of Lola, who hisses and swipes the air, stalks up to Petal, smacks the dog, and then stalks away.
I haven’t seen Declan since last night, and I decided to come in here to shave the edge off my stress. I need some semblance of normalcy back in my life. But right now, I wouldn’t put it past Declan to have the entire house spying on me, making sure that normal is a luxury just out of my reach.
“Can you show us?” the younger girl asks.
