David stands up a little too quickly, making the bar stool screech against the hardwood flooring. But Niko’s ready. He thumbs down the hammer and puts it at the back of my former father-in-law’s head. “Sit down, David,slowly,” he orders. His arctic eyes catch mine, before he flicks them back to my wife and David takes a seat. He moves back, out of the way.
“Thank you, Niko.” My wife gets up and smooths down the skirt of her dress. It stretches over the heart shape of her ass perfectly, and I have to keep from biting at my fist. Heels clacking, she grabs a throw cushion from the nearest sofa. When she comes back, her eyes lock on me and Parker. “Oh, hello husbands.” She grins at us and takes a seat. She puts the little pillow in front of the silencer to reduce the noise even more, like a true mafia goddess. And then—
Two shots to the chest, the third in the abdomen, the fourth as close to his crotch as she can get.
Nobody moves.
Nobody makes a sound.
Sabrina throws the pillow back on the couch, twists her torso, picks up her purse from the floor, and pulls out the case for Pixie, her gun. Taking out the microfiber cloth used to clean the gun, she removes the silencer, then cleans off the residue as David takes deep, ragged breaths. She doesn’t say a word. Only continues to silently work on cleaning Pixie until David’s breaths are no longer heard. Her small gun case closes with the smallestclick, but it’s so quiet, it’s louder than a boom of thunder.
Putting it back in her purse, my wife stands up, smoothes down her dress once more, and grabs her peacoat from the back of the barstool. Niko helps her into it, then she throws her pale pink Dior bag over her shoulder. “So… lunch?” she asks, blonde brows pinched together in concern when she looks up at us.
Sasha chuckles from behind her, locks his fingers, and puts his hands under his chin, blinking quickly and making goo-goo-dreamy eyes at me. I roll my eyes at him. Slapping a hand on Sasha’s shoulder and shaking him, Niko laughs. “Sure thing, Boss Lady. What are you feigning for?”
I pull out my phone and text Angelo for cleanup and send him the address.
They walk behind my wife, The Duchess of New York, like they’re her best fucking friends and not my enforcers. “Mmm… I’m really craving calamari from that place you showed me in Queens.”
“Hey, wait a minute. When were you alone with Niko?” I ask, walking behind them. They ignore me, continuing on with their conversation. I look over at Parker and gesture to him, but he’s still focused on David. I pause in my tracks. “What is it?”
“What is it she said that stuck with you again?”
“‘I became the dark of you,’”I quote her.
He looks at me, smiles so wide the corners of his mismatched eyes crinkle. “The ring we got her is fuckingperfect, Maks.”
Chapter Forty-One
Sabrina
New Year’s Eve
I sit at my vanity, put down my powder brush, and look at myself. The slates of gray in my eyes that are winged into points sharper than my stilettos, my lips, my hair. After shooting David, it’s routine now to simply…check. Check and see if I look as different as I feel.
Nothing about me is the same again, except it is. Still blonde. Still green-eyed. Still… here. Damon says I’ll get used to this new normal of mine. I feel different because of everything I have faced. I’m still the same person with new trauma. I am made up of bruises over once-fractured bones.
I get up and go to the walk-in, letting my robe drop. I picked my dress out earlier today. It’s vintage. A sleeveless, baby pink satin mermaid-style dress with a sweetheart neckline and a bow in the center. There’s a slit from my upper thigh down to the ground. I’ve paired it with black satin gloves and black heels that strap around my ankle twice.
Tonight is the annual charity at Eden, it’s also Fight Night. Maksim’s been at the club all day. Parker is currently showering, and I’m standing naked in my closet, staring at the dress. With a sigh, I take the dress off the hanger and put it on, zipping myself up. I go to the other section in here and pluck out tonight’s choice of shoes, then go to the bed and sit. I bend forward and—
“Need some help with that?”
I yelp and toss a glare at Parker from over my shoulder. “You scared me, you cockwomble!”
He chuckles, walking around the bed and takes a knee before me in just his towel. He takes the shoe and slips it on my foot, wrapping the strap around my ankle, never taking his eyes off me. Things have felt off between us for the past few days. We’re to go to the courthouse and marry the day after tomorrow. I’m scared to ask if he still wants to marry me.
He kisses the top of my foot and grabs the other to do the same thing. This time, he speaks softly. “What’s on your mind, baby?”
“Do you still want this? To marry me, I mean? Unconventionally, but still considered a marriage, if what Judge Anna told me is correct. I’m… I love you, you know? I don’t want you to feel forced into this because—” I let out a frustrated groan at my rambling when his brows knit together. “I’m sorry. I know things have been off. You don’t have to marry me, it’s okay. I will still love you forever. That won’t change anything. How’s Rory? Last time I spoke to her, she was flying to California to spend the New Year with Dayton. I—thank you. For my shoes, I mean. This dress is vintage. I should’ve put the shoes on first and then… you know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m going to shut up now.”
Parker once again kisses the top of my foot and lets it go gently but doesn’t move. My heart palpitates in his nearness, feeling so warm already just from the sight of him. His tatted skin looks so incredibly soft, and I know it is. I know if I were to reach out right now and touch him, my fingertips would moan if they could. How he and Maksim manage to look so hard and refined with so many muscles and straight edges but have the smoothest skin will forever astound me. “Yes, Sabrina, I do want to marry you. Rory’s fine. She’s with Dayton and his husband, Steven. I love you, too, and you’re welcome. I know the dress is vintage. That’s why you’ve only worn it once before. You were scared to fuck it up. Then you… gained a few extra pounds and didn’t wear it again because you were afraid to tear the material. And tonight… you are finally wearing it after three years.”
My brows rise. I shouldn't be surprised about how much he remembers, but it’s… flattering that he does. It makes me feel…important. “I…” I trail off as he stands, towering over me. He dips his face and kisses me softly. Putting his arms around my torso, he has me stand, lips still locked with mine. His fingers find the zipper on my back, and he pulls it down the teeth. “Parker,” I whisper against his lips.
“Every cell, Sabrina. Inside and out,” he murmurs with a finality I feel etch across my heart. He tips his forehead to mine as my dress falls away and pools around my ankles. My breasts drop from no longer being held up, and his breath hitches. His fingers hook into the front waistband of my thong, and he keeps them there. “I dreamt of you for so long; sometimes I still have to pinch myself when I wake up next to you. Every day and every night, you were on my mind when you weren’t in my sights, and it felt like I was standing still, not breathing, while the world passed me by until I caught a glimpse of you again. You make me feel every emotion but the one that you make me feel the most… is loved. Every way that you love me is the right way. Be it toxic or healthy, Bri-baby, it’s right. I’ll always want more of you. Forever won’t ever be long enough.”
His words make tears spring to my eyes. “I’m too co-dependent on you.”
