My gasp isn’t even the loudest sound in the room after the ear-shattering echo of the gun fades to silence. Blood blooms across the front of Tommy’s shirt while he sputters and gasps, clutching his chest like that will make a difference. Men who I guess are his guards rush forward, but Liam clicks his tongue and shakes his head, aiming for them next. “I wouldn’t,” he warns before they can reach for their weapons.
I shouldn’t watch, but I can’t help myself. Slowly, the light leaves Tommy’s deep-set eyes until he’s nothing but a sack of meat slumped in his chair. “What about the rest of you?” Nothing about Liam has changed. Nobody would know he just shot a man dead. “Does anyone else at this table want a night with my wife? Let me know now so we can clear up any misconceptions you might have.”
One by one, the men sit back in their chairs, adjusting their ties, releasing the breath they were holding. They’re shaken, all of them. All it took was a single bullet delivered with no emotion, no hesitation.
“That’s what I thought.” Liam lowers the gun to the table, where it stays in clear view as he lifts his wineglass in a toast. “To our new partnership.”
And that’s all it takes. That’s all he needed to do to get everything he wants. They couldn’t stop him.
I’m starting to wonder if anything can.
8
LIAM
“Ithink that went well.” Settling back in my seat, I release the sigh a man releases when he’s got everything he wants. It all went exactly as I planned, right down to a show of force if necessary. These are proud men. They won’t all back down as easily as some lawyer.
Aurora says nothing. It seems like she’s decided silence is the way to go.
I don’t like that. Tonight of all nights. Why can’t she play along? I’m not asking for enthusiasm. No, I’m hoping for the opposite. I didn’t know until now how I crave her dread and fear. And how irritating it is when she leaves me hanging.
“So what did you think about dinner?” I nudge her with my foot until she turns her face away from the window she’s been staring out of. “Isn’t this what husbands and wives are supposed to do after a dinner or a party? They get in the car and rehash everything, right?”
“I wouldn’t know.” She sounds weary. Unaffected. That can’t be true. Again, I know what she grew up around. For all I know, Donovan committed executions on the regular in that mansion of his. Murder could be as familiar to her as the back of her hand.
She’s an interesting person. I imagine someone as sheltered as she’s been would break down easily. Blackwell guarded her the way a dragon guards its gold—jealously, hovering, protective to the point of obsession. Mine. But so far, there have been no tears. No breakdowns. She watched me murder a man in cold blood and hardly reacted—just like she didn’t react to him demanding a night with her. Is she that disconnected? Still in shock? Or is she like a weed growing through a crack in the sidewalk, stronger because she’s had to take care of herself?
“Tell me something.” I angle my body toward her, watching her intently. “What would you have done if I said yes to that asshole back there? If I let him have you for the night?”
Either she doesn’t plan on answering, or she’s thinking it over. She leaves me hanging for a while before she shrugs, still pressed up against the corner of the seat. Is it defiance or fear? “I would have grabbed a knife off the table.”
“Is that so?” I can’t help but chuckle. She’s so confident. “And then what?”
Slowly her head turns until she’s looking at me. We pass a cluster of cars waiting at a red light, and the glow of their headlights makes her eyes gleam and flash when they meet mine. “Why don’t you ask the guard who tried to rape me? Oh wait, you can’t, because he is dead.”
“So you mentioned,” I say, keeping my voice even, though her bringing it up again bothers me.
I knew Donovan was a piece of work, but how could he not even protect his own daughter, and how did I never realize how badly he treated her during all my recon. I guess I didn’t care to look. I wanted her to be like her father. I wanted to hate her.
Aurora goes back to staring out the window. Without looking at me, she says, “I don’t know why you didn’t let him have me, but thank you either way.”
Something about her words and the way she says them makes heat uncoil low in my belly. Like a snake who senses its prey nearby. My throat is too tight for a response, so I don’t give her one.
We remain silent the rest of the way back to the penthouse, but the mood in the car is calmer than before. I keep glancing over at her, wondering what she is thinking about. I notice she looks a little more relaxed than normal; her hands are loosely placed on her lap instead of white-knuckling something, her shoulders are less tense, and her head is tipped back against the seat.
Is she starting to let her walls down? Maybe even trusting me a bit? It certainly seems that way.
For some reason, I like that idea, which I really shouldn’t, since I know damn well I’m going to betray her trust.
I shove that inkling of guilt I sense away before it can fully take hold of me. Every single thing has gone the way I planned. There’s nothing to do now but celebrate. At least that’s what I keep telling myself until we get back to the penthouse.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way. “It’s about time!” Ethan greets us as we step out of the elevator. Judging by his bloodshot eyes and the slight slur in his voice, he is deep into a bottle of champagne. He lifts a flute to his mouth and takes a deep gulp before grinning. “The party is waiting.”
He turns and heads toward the living room, where the rest of my team is waiting for me. Aurora stiffens beside me. I can only imagine what’s going through her head. I’m sure where she’s standing, there’s nothing to celebrate.
“Give me a minute,” I tell him before directing my wife to the bedroom. Tonight, we celebrate the culmination of more than a decade of work. First, I have to make sure my bride is secured.
“Don’t let me keep you,” she mutters as we enter the room, where she turns on her heels and faces me with arms folded. “You have so much to party over, right?”
