Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
I didn’t flinch. But I also didn't offer him a polite smile. That would be too fake, and he’d see right through it. A man who smiled at Dante Alfero was dead before the mistake was even made. A smile was too familiar for Dante; it spoke of a relationship of middle names, private meetings, shared whiskey and secrets. I didn’t have any of those things with him, I was barely lucky enough to stare at him in the face. Men had spilled their own blood for his favor, and he was hugging me; I’d keep my smiles to myself thank you.
Dante pulled back just enough to make eye contact, shoving a tumbler of dark liquor into my hand. “Don’t think marrying into my family means you’re safe,” he murmured, voice like smoke and warning. “I’ve buried men who thought rings meant protection.”
Tempest stepped in, hand on my arm, injecting steel into her tone. “Dad, he’s not a threat.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the vial of whatever the hell I’d drank or Dante himself, but a sudden chill washed over my body. Horrible timing.
Dante’s eyes never left mine, just like his hand was still on my arm. Even with Tempest wrapping me in her embrace, he reminded me who she still belonged to, who was still under his protection. “No, he’s not. Yet.”
Behind her, a scoff.
“Wow,” Raven said under her breath, emerging from the knot of elites by the bar. “And here I thought he went hard on Ace for showing up. I half expected a strip search in front of the florals. And Louis is supposed to be the safe one.”
Tempest shot her a look, but it was too late. I’d heard it all. Her voice was familiar—too much so. I wasn’t ready to face her, not again. I’d made her cry. I didn’t deserve to see her happy and know it was for the best. I’d rather live with the guilt of what I had to do to expose my twin and the evil he was working with—we were forced to work with. The evil Ace took over without as much of a blink. A crime family of unwanted bosses and bloodlines who only held loyalty to themselves—and him, a De Lange. The boss. In a strange way it made sense that he’d be in charge of the strays, and in another life I might have respected him for it.
But he was with the girl that should have been mine.
And I’d just married her sister.
Shit, things went sideways fast in this business.
I knew I needed to put on a show. Dante had already pulled back. Raven was staring at me like she expected me to be in love with Tempest… and Ace, he was measuring me with that same stare.
Raven pulled Tempest into her arms and hugged her tight, they walked a few steps away from us while I downed the rest of the whiskey in my glass and set it on the nearby tray. Whispers and murmurs began around us, and then Ace spoke up. “You’ve been married a day and you’re already ready to let her leave the room without a kiss?”
Bastard.
8
TEMPEST
When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.— Frederich Nietzsche
You could hear a pin drop.
Embarrassment washed over me. We should have rehearsed this. We weren’t used to being with each other, which meant we weren’t used to touching. I’d forgotten all about that when Raven walked in with Ace, when they both stared at me with what felt like pity when really I knew it was concern. I could almost hear Raven say ‘I hope you know what you’re doing’.
And by the look in Ace’s eyes, he too, was wondering if I had my head screwed on straight and if this was the best course of action. Shotgun wedding rather than an arranged one between the families.
The wild one settling down.
The wild one picking the boy her sister used to love.
God, it was so twisted, wasn’t it?
I grabbed a glass of wine when Louis turned on his heel and started walking back toward me. The crowd parted like the red sea, everyone wondering what he was going to do, and in front of my dad. How brave was this new man who shot his brother in cold blood and swore to protect me and the five families until his last breath?
How good of an actor was this pawn I took for myself?
For the first time since marrying him, I was nervous, I was afraid people would see through it all and I’d see more of it—the pity. I hated it so much. I just wanted to be seen as someone worth protecting, someone strong enough to protect herself at the same time. Why was it impossible to have both?
False smiles and cautious steps, Louis looked lethal, calm and collected all at once. When his eyes briefly went to Raven he almost looked regretful, but as soon as it appeared he shielded them and then he only had eyes for one person in that entryway.