Page 109 of Married to the Devil

I press the gun to his head. “You deserved worse.”

I pull the trigger.

Nunzio’s skull bursts from the point-blank bullet. Blood and brainmatter stain my shoes and slacks. I remain where I am for a moment, looking at the ruin of my former friend and trusted ally.

It’s always been ash. Everything around me has burned from the moment I was old enough to understand. Nothing is permanent, not loyalty, not friendship.

But blood—and love⁠—

I turn to find June tucking Marnie back into bed. I shove my gun back into my waistband.

“You’re a good friend,” I tell Marnie. “You were trying to help her, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, well, I fucked up the first time.” She grimaces and smiles sadly. “Couldn’t do much this time either.”

“You’re better than half the trash I have working for me.” I hold out a hand to June and pull her to me. I kiss her hard, holding her tight, making sure she’s not hurt. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she promises, running her hands through my hair. Tears fall freely down her cheeks. “God, Rafe, I was so scared he was going to hurt Hattie.”

“Never again. I swear it, love. Never, ever again.”

“What are we going to do?”

“First, we’re going to make sure you’re all really okay. Then we’re going to take care of our enemies the only way I know how.”

“With blood?”

“Blood and fire, baby. Blood and fucking fire.”

33

JUNE

Light streams down through a small tree. Vines on the back wall flutter in the breeze. Hattie laughs, running in circles as Priya pretends to chase her.

I stretch my back, my shoulders getting tired from being tense all the time.

Byron’s dead. I wanted to go to the funeral but Rafe wouldn’t let me. I understood but it still hurt. Rafe swore he’d take care of Byron’s family and would always honor his name, since he was the only one who tried to save me.

Hattie’s been having bad dreams. I sleep in her bed most nights now. I miss Rafe’s warmth, his arms around my body, but we both know Hattie comes first. In the morning, when she wakes with tears streaking her face, she always asks why I seem upset. When I try to explain about her dreams and her thrashing, she looks confused, like she has no idea what I’m talking about.

I hate what this has done to her.

Rafe does too. I can see how heavy it hangs in his chest.

Knowing we might’ve scarred our daughter.

At least Priya stuck with it. She’s full-time now and doing what she can to work through Hattie’s trauma.

There are fewer guards here at the townhouse. I don’t know how I feel about that. Since it’s smaller, Rafe says it’s slightly easier to defend. I still shy away from the men when they’re around, and Rafe makes sure to order them to be as unintrusive as possible. The guards are polite, but I don’t know what will make me trust them again.

I’m not sure anything will.

“I had a feeling about that fucker,” Marnie says over the phone a few hours later. Priya’s giving Hattie math lessons in the basement while I sit in the kitchen. “Nunzio was so fucking creepy, we should’ve known from the start.”

“Rafe put his faith in him.”

“Yeah, and maybe your husband doesn’t have the best taste in people.”