Sighing, I rose. The idea of saying goodbye to the past was just too hard. Not when I’d been dreaming of going back to it for so long. Luca was always supposed to be my future.
It went against every fiber of my being to give up on him.
Which was why I had to choose him.
But Liam…he might just be my other half. Broken, we made something whole. And that was worth fighting for.
Thanking the guards, I went into the house. The pretty kitchen gleamed. I brushed the counter’s cabinets as I hurried upstairs. The cash was safe in the Tupperware, waiting to be used.
I didn’t make it to the shower before the tears began to fall. It just hurt so much. Why,why? It shouldn’t be this hard! With the lights off, I stepped into the hot spray and sank to the ground. My knees tucked to my chest, and I dropped my head.
“My heart is going to break one way or the other,” I choked. “Does that mean I love him too?”
The image of Liam’s fierce face sprang to mind. He rarely smiled. Occasionally smirked. But he watched. His actions spoke louder than words. On some level, he cared about me. Was that enough to change the course of the winds? To sail in the other direction? Both futures were fraught with perils. If I ran, I would always be looking over my shoulder. If I stayed, I would have to hide my sins.
I sobbed harder. “I just can’t win.”
I didn’t know what to do.
The small things made me pause. The bigger ones, I noticed. In this short space of time, I’d fallen for my husband. But the drop had been so shallow that I hadn’t realized it was happening until it was too late.
***
“Missus, come. Quick!”Connor’s words still rang in my ear.
We wove through the polished mahogany tables and high back chairs with green upholstery. It was hard to piece this space with the masked devil I’d come to know. He lived on a quiet street in a curated, cozy home. This renovated warehouse thrummed with life. The lights overhead were extra bright, casting spotlight pools to better watch the clients. Of course, the customers didn’t seem to care that the exterior and frame didn’t match the interior. The stronger the glow, the more their gems, jewels, and watches shone.
Every single person was dressed to the nines.
And then there was me, wearing a black sweatshirt far too big for my body and covered in wiry dog fur, with a face free from makeup.
At least I was wearing a pair of jeans.
This was not how I imagined arriving at one of my husband’s ellusive gambling dens. The McDonagh illegal gambling rings were legendary. Many of the guys I’d worked with at the restaurant dreamed of making enough to pay the door fee, buy into a poker match, and win even bigger prizes.
The gossip wasn’t an exaggeration.
This place was insane.
We walked by a table where men in tuxedos bet with uncut diamonds. Those small rocks were more than a middle-class family made in years.
Connor pushed through the boisterous throng the same way a great sea creature of old cut through the waves. He didn’t nod to the guards at the back staircase. Those long legs ate up the steps, biting off more than two pieces at a time. He made it to the top before I was halfway up.
His lips flattened as he glared down at me.
I scowled and almost flipped him the bird.
Focus!
And I did. When Connor collected me not forty-five minutes ago, it was with a closed lip plea of desperation. The only details I managed to pluck from the Made Man was that Liam was in trouble.
Connor promised there’d been no bloodshed.
My heart raced, and I was breathing hard when I reached the top step. Following Connor into a short hallway, we stopped before a closed door. The Irishman jerked his chin at the space.
“What is going on?” I hissed.
Connor’s lips thinned. “Liam was acting odd. Kept fidgeting with his bleeding collar. Then one of the tables flipped. He started sweating, came up here, and has been locked away.”
