Matteo glances at me, looking like he’s seen a ghost, but it isn’t him who answers—it’s our mom.
“Carlos Santiago was a business associate of your father’s. He trafficked women into the port. But he died years ago, shortly after your father.”
“Who killed him?” I ask.
“I did,” Dominick says, standing in the doorway. “And unless dead men can make orders, there’s no way he’s the one doing all this.”
Doing all this…
What he’s referring to is whoever has been tormenting our family for the last year and a half. We thought it was Anthony, but after I killed him, it continued with shipments being stolen and my brothers’ men getting arrested for distribution. Then Dani was taken the night The Underground was ambushed during my brother Matteo’s fight. We thought it was Enrique, until Matteo took him out, and the bullshit continued with them leaving Matteo a note on his wedding day, implying that he wouldn’t live long enough to be a husband and a dad because they wanted Harbor Point and they wouldn’t walk away from it.
“Oh my God!” I hiss, hopping off the table and walking over to the guy Matteo is standing over. “Who were you coming after?” I ask. “You said, ‘We need to find the girl.’ Who is the girl?”
“Nicole,” he chokes out. “Nicole Vanderbilt.”
Before I can ask him why, he starts coughing, and then blood dribbles out of his mouth. Within seconds, his eyes, which are still open, are lifeless while we all glance at my best friend, wondering why the hell they were coming for her. Until it hits me.
“The mayor,” I whisper. “He’s connected to all this.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m okay,” I insist as I run around the room, grabbing a change of clothes.
“No, you’re not,” Kane argues. “Come here.”
I ignore him, but when he pulls me into his arms, I go willingly.
My heart is thumping, and I’m close to hyperventilating. During the ride home, I felt okay, but the second we were through the door, the events of today started to hit me.
“It’s your adrenaline,” he says, as if he can hear my thoughts. “It’scoming down, and you’re going to crash. You were attacked, shot at, and killed multiple men. Give yourself a minute to calm down.”
He envelops me in his strong arms, and a threatening sob releases as I bury my face in his chest. His cologne is woodsy with a hint of spice, and I’m coming to associate his scent with comfort—something I’ll most likely regret when this farce of a marriage blows up in our faces. And how could it not? It’s built on revenge and lies. And the worst part is that I’m doing exactly what I never wanted to do—I’m marrying a man who’s part of the underworld.
When it becomes harder for me to breathe, Kane lifts me into his arms and carries me to the bathroom, once again turning the tub on and pouring the calming bubble bath into the water.
“I have to get to the hospital,” I mutter, the fight in me nowhere to be found.
“Right now, my only concern is you.”
He undresses me and sets my phone on the edge of the tub, and when he’s about to step in, still in his clothes, I shake my head, wanting to be skin to skin with him.
It’s stupid and crazy, and I know I’m setting myself up for heartbreak, but I don’t want anything between Kane and me right now.
He gently sets me in the tub, and I sigh as the warm water surrounds me, watching as he unbuttons his shirt and then takes it off, exposing his perfectly sculpted chest and torso.
“You should come to Pilates with me,” I note.
“Or”—he unbuttons and unzips his pants and pulls them down, along with his briefs, shucking them to the side—“you could give me a private class.”
His cock bobs between his legs, and even soft, it’s a sight to behold.
I probably shouldn’t be thinking about sex right now. I’m still in shock over what happened today, but as I stare at my fiancé, all I can think about is how he’s the perfect distraction. All hard lines and toned muscle. Even his cock is thick …
“My eyes are up here, Miss Antonova.”
He smirks, and I blush at having been caught ogling him.
“True, but your cock is prettier than your eyes.” I lean over the edge, splashing a bit of water over the sides, and wrap my fingers around his shaft.
