“Nice of you to drop in, Mrs. Costa.”
I don’t get it.
I stared at him, bewildered. “But we’re married already.”
“Well, obviously.” He rolled his thumb over my ring, a black opal sitting on a platinum band.
“Oh my God. I fucking love this ring.”
“I’m glad, hon.” He leaned over and kissed me behind my ear. “I can’t tell you how intimidating it was to pick an engagement ring for a jewelry designer.”
“It’s beautiful but…I thought it looked different. And we did this months ago.” I gaped at the fresco on the ceiling, mouth dropping open. “Okay, this isn’t right. Our wedding was nothing like this.”
Tony grabbed my drink. “I think you’ve had enough of this.”
He drank, making an appreciative sound. I couldn’t get over his friendly vibe and the megawatt smile. He was older, but he sparkled with life and energy. Then Tony’s arm slid across my lap. He hovered close until I counted every lash hiding his slanted gaze.
“You seem happy.”
“I am. I feel like I hit the jackpot with you. Can’t wait until our honeymoon,” he whispered in the shell of my ear. “I’ve booked five-star hotels all over Italy. The Mediterranean. Amalfi Coast. Rome. Florence.”
“Shit, really? I’ve never been out of the States.”
“You’ll love it, Evie,” he promised, his eyes gleaming. “Everything’s better—the coffee, the prosciutto, the wine—”
“Pizza?”
“That, too.”
My pulse raced. “Can we sightsee?”
“We can do anything. As long as you’re in my bed for most of it.”
My heart thudded once, then settled into its natural rhythm.
“I hope I’m not coming on too strong, Evie. It’s just that I feel so lucky to have you, and I’ve been waiting for the right girl for years. I’m excited. I can’t wait to start a family with you. I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
I almost fanned my cheeks. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“We can change the subject.”
“No, it’s okay. I think it’s sweet. It makes me feel special.”
“You are.” His raking gaze slid down my neckline. “Everything inside me aches for you. I’ve fantasized about you becoming my wife and the night I get to fuck you in this dress when you’re legally mine. I’ve dreamed about knocking you up, what it’ll be like when your body swells with my baby. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
I’d heard Italian men were forward, but damn. This guy gave the bikers at home a run for their money. Heat stole across my face as he grasped my chin.
“Do you want kids with me, Evie?”
“I-I mean we just met, but yes. I’d like that, someday.”
“Of course. I don’t want to rush you.” He kissed my cheek and smiled. “Tell me something about you.”
I played with a strand on my collar. “My birthday is March fifteenth. I work in jewelry design. It’s my passion. What about you?”
“I was born on Valentine’s Day, which is the worst day to have a birthday for a man. My girlfriends always made it about them.” He pulled an ankle over his knee. “What else? I graduated from Bourton’s with a major in Psychology. I’m on the board of several nonprofit charities. I’m a decent piano player and an amazing dancer.”
“Thank God one of us is.”
“You don’t know how to foxtrot?”
“No. Dancing wasn’t exactly a priority, growing up.”
Tony offered me a hand, beaming. “We should open the floor anyway.”
“I’m hopeless at dancing.”
“You just didn’t have the right partner.” Tony gave me an affectionate squeeze, and my heart flipped. “Come.”
We stood.
I floated on his arm like a puff of dandelion as he brought me closer to the music. This man could’ve led me anywhere, and I would’ve followed.
A current zagged through me as he nuzzled my neck.
“Try to avoid looking at your feet,” he said when I bumped into him, laughing. “You’re doing so great, hon.”
Hon. “You’re a million times nicer than I’d imagined.”
“Only because my bride blew my every expectation out of the water. I thought you’d hate me. Most girls don’t dream of marrying a man like me, in these circumstances.”
I swallowed hard, revolving in his tight embrace. I was dizzy from all the dancing. “All of this feels too good to be true.”
“That tends to happen when you find the right person.”
“Honestly, I’m not quite sure how I got here.”
“That’s okay. We have plenty of time to figure it out.” His lips pressed into my neck, and I shivered. “The rest of our lives, in fact.”
My eyes burned. “Thank you for being…so perfect.”
“You’re easy to please, but I’ll take the compliment.” Tony pulled me close, until I could feel his heartbeat pounding my palm. “A man is measured by his actions. What he does and doesn’t do, not the pretty things he says to his wife.”
“I can’t believe we’re married.”
“I know. Isn’t it wonderful?”
He was full of sunshine.
We danced through the next song as a burning question fought to escape from my chest.
I could ask.
He wouldn’t mock me.
“Tony? Do you think we’ll fall in love?”
He pulled back slightly, a slight frown furrowing his brows. “I think that you’re an amazing girl, and I can’t wait to get to know you.”
A warm glow flowed through me. “I feel the same way about you.”
“Then we have nothing to worry about.”
He took my cheeks and finally closed the distance between us. His mouth covered mine hungrily, breathing life into my lungs. My chest flooded with heat that zipped to my groin. I leaned into the passion of his kiss. I grabbed his head, grinding my body against his. He chuckled in my lips—
Light shot into my gaze, blinding me.
Ow.
I pulled away, clinging to Tony.
He still wore the tux but the room had darkened. I couldn’t see anything beyond us and the glowing floor.
Huh. Where are the guests?
Shadows carved grim lines on his face. “Sweetheart, you need to wake up. You know you’re dreaming.”
My smile faltered as he stilled, no longer dancing.
“This feels like what should have happened.” I caught his worried stare, my stomach sinking. “You’re nothing like this in real life.”
“Get out,” he said forcefully. “Wake up.”
“No, I’m staying. I like this dream.”
“You have to go.” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me, yelling. “Wake up. You have to get up!”
“I don’t want to wake up.”
“You need to!”
He fell away from me, pulled into the darkness.
No!
Light pierced my eyes.
A hard surface dug into my back. The world tipped, and my lungs filled with air. The light blinded me. I was naked, lying on a rough surface. My body shivered. A man in dark blue scrubs hovered above me, flicking a penlight.
“What happened?” I didn’t know where I was, or who this man was. “Why am I on the floor?”
“Look at my light,” the man in scrubs murmured. “Stay calm.”
My body felt lifeless. “I can’t move. Tony.”
He balled my hand in his, squeezing. “I’m here.”
My stomach lurched.
The voice was wrong.
A second face swam into my vision. K’s brows furrowed as he leaned in, stroking my shoulder. “Is she going to be all right?”
“Help me!” I tried to grab at the other man, but my hand was too heavy. “He abducted me. Please help me.”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.” The man in the blue scrubs switched off his penlight and tucked it in his shirt pocket. “You’re
lucky you had an EpiPen.”
“Otherwise, she’s healthy?”
“Blood pressure’s good. Heart and lungs sound normal—”
The men talked over me like I didn’t exist, rattling off a list of things as I slowly got my bearings.
K gave a wad of cash to the man. “Thanks, Doc.”
The man turned away, ripping off latex gloves. He packed a small black bag and disappeared. A distant door closed, and K unzipped his wool jacket. He shoved a thin cigar in his mouth.
“Close shave.” He lit the cigar and blew smoke from his nose. “By the time I got you in the truck, you’d stopped breathing. I stuck you with an EpiPen and hoped for the best. I thought I’d have to spend the next four hours digging a grave, but you pulled through. Good for you.”
He gave me a thumbs-up.
There was no bigger piece of shit in the universe.
I crawled to a seated position, trembling from the cold. I seemed to be in an upscale hotel room. He had to have a phone somewhere. My head swam as I climbed on the sofa, which strained my biceps. I was so weak, I could barely lift my legs.
“Are you feeling better?” He patted my head like I was a golden retriever.
Acid burned my throat.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Remember that you’re a slave,” he repeated, his mild voice rising. “You will address me as master until tomorrow.”
“What’s—what’s tomorrow?”
A bright flare sprang into his eyes.
“I’m selling you at the auction.”
Twenty-One
Tony
2 lines
5 shots of tequila
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Gunner moaned, lifting his dirty, tear-stained face. “Please, stop.”
He hyperventilated as I hogtied him between two other bikers. Gunner had pissed his pants after I’d dragged him into the garage with an ominous, dark brown stain. A metallic tang hung in the air, not unlike the stench in slaughterhouses. The smell of death drove men crazy.
After I slashed the throat of his buddy, Gunner turned on the waterworks. Crying. Loudly. Crimson pooled on the cement as Cloud—or was it Clyde—lay facedown in a pool of blood, drowning. Gunner’s eyes widened as the red tide touched his lip.
Once, I’d experienced the same terror.
It was nothing compared to losing my wife.
“I hate you. All of you.” I pressed the knife into his cheek, and crimson welled around the blade. “I’d happily spend the rest of my life kidnapping scumbags like you, tying you up, and gutting you. I tolerated your filth to spread over Boston, but you’re incapable of behaving like decent human beings. And I’m tired. I’m sick of pretending you don’t disgust me! You’re a dog-shit-covered flea! You’re going to tell me where my wife is, or I will make you suck your dying friend’s cock!”
He whined something, and I slammed my boot into his side. Then I ripped off his patch, threw it on the floor, and stomped it. I smashed Gunner’s nose against the concrete, settling him right beside the corpse. He screamed, which made the other guy tied to him scream. The garage echoed with their crying, and I exchanged an exasperated look with Cainan.
“Can you believe this?”
“Yeah. You started off way too strong.”
Cainan looked out of place in his khakis and a crew sweater, but he was in his element. He cocked his head.
“Some guys don’t last. You know?”
“Isn’t that the truth.” I choked Gunner’s neck, and he gasped like a landed fish. “You might as well get used to this. You’re not leaving until my wife is returned to me. Until then, you’ll know nothing but pain. Humiliation. Degradation.”
Cainan’s hand weighed my shoulder. “T, he needs air.”
“I don’t give a fuck!”
I lifted the pressure anyway. Color flooded into Gunner’s face as he took deep, shuddering breaths. Letting him breathe battled against my instincts. I hated myself for losing my wife to these bastards. I swore I’d stamp out the biker shit when I took her in for her own good, but all I did was grind her spirit to dust.
Fuck me.
I had no idea where she’d gone. As soon as I’d figured out what motel, I called Cainan. He got there faster than I did, avoiding most of the rush hour traffic, but she wasn’t in any of rooms or the parking lot.
All we found was her smashed cell phone and several unarmed stragglers. I offered them a ride to the club. Knocked them out. Brought them to an abandoned auto shop that had plenty of space and no neighbors.
I didn’t have time to waste.
My chest tightened.
Evie. Hold on, honey.
The knot in my throat pulsed.
“Tell me what happened.”
Tears streaked Gunner’s cheeks. “The deal went south. They robbed us.”
“They who? Another biker club? The Mongols?”
“This guy in a suit. Goes by K.” He squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered. “He took your wife.”
Him.
A light-haired man with a warm smile burned in my mind. K was an opportunist who made his living on the flesh market. I’d lost count of the women he’d tricked, conned, drugged, and stolen so he could force them into slavery.
Not her.
Not my wife.
This had to be a nightmare, but the stench of death reminded me that it wasn’t. A horrific pain wrenched my heart in half. The heavy feeling in my gut doubled. I screamed. The agony wounded me from all angles. It was too much. The guilt, hopelessness, and grief—this was the worst torture.
It tore out my insides.
It would end me for good. There was no redemption for a man who failed his wife. I’d tried to protect her. I’d done everything in my power to stop this. Despite that, she was trafficked. And it was my fault because I’d pushed her away.
It shattered me.
I kicked him onto his back and swung the knife. I don’t know how many times I stabbed him. Only that when it was over, he was a pulpy, red mass. My last captive bleated like a terrified sheep. I raised my hand. He would die, too. They all deserved to perish for losing my talented, bright, beautiful wife.
Cainan caught my wrist. His soft look muzzled my rage. “That’s enough, Tony.”
“It’s not nearly enough.”
“This doesn’t help Evie.”
I stood on a canvas of red. Crimson splattered my arms, chest, and face. I must’ve looked insane. I backed away, shaking. I needed to kill the last one.
“Where’s your president?”
“H-hospital. Please don’t.”
As the twenty-something-year-old got to his feet, I pulled out my sidearm.
He raised his hands.
I aimed and fired. The bullet struck him between his pleading eyes. It blew out his skull, and then his body hit the ground.
I stared at the pile of bodies.
I’d never killed three men at once.
I disappeared into the office. Cainan joined me, his gaze sweeping the floor. My boots had tracked biker filth inside. I was messy with my prey.
“How do I save her?”
“Easy. You buy her back.”
I ran a jerky hand through my hair. “He’ll recognize me.”
“Not necessarily. You know how K is. Coked up half the time. It’s wonder he’s still alive. He’ll throw a party just to celebrate stealing the girls he stole from Jett. He’ll probably auction them all. Including your wife.”
I sank into a chair, pain building behind my chest. “You can get me inside.”
Cainan said nothing for a long moment.
I could’ve slashed his throat. “You’re doing this.”
“Since when do I take your orders?”
“Do it, or we’ll have a problem.”
He raised his chin, meeting my glare head-on. “You go in there, you’re one of them. You can’t kill K.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“He’s untouchabl
e. Killing a trafficker is like murdering a prince. They’ll never stop hunting you.”
I rubbed my temples, breathing hard.
“Tony, let me do this for you. I’ll buy the girl and get out.”
“No.”
I didn’t trust him within five hundred yards of Evie.
“Then don’t fuck this up,” he snarled. “No heroics. Or you’ll both be dead.
I kept imagining my wife, whose sunny attitude toward life saw rainbows shooting out of mountains of shit. Where was she? What was K doing to her? My heart thrashed with a deranged fury, strangled by images of Evie suffering.
She needed me.
We belonged together, but I’d been too stupid to see it. She wasn’t penance. She was my redemption, and I’d acted like the drowning man, fighting off my rescue.
If I couldn’t help her…I’d always be a monster.
This was my last chance.
I had to save her.
Twenty-Two
Evie
I’m grateful that I’ve learned the depths of my strength.
Nobody would save me.
Nobody knew I’d been kidnapped and sold to a man with a tiger-slanted gaze. His white card had flashed among the sea of masked men after my captor paraded me onto the stage in lingerie. The bass from the annoying club music pulsed through me, masking my sluggish heartbeat.
Run.
Where would I go?
Guards with guns slung over their backs lined the walls. They covered all the exits. Escape was impossible, and, even if it wasn’t, the cocktail of drugs surging through my veins made action futile. I waded in a frustrating coma of medicated calm. The mental paralysis was as thick as ice over a frozen lake, and it wouldn’t shatter no matter how violent the water underneath. Grasping onto a thought for more than a few seconds was too hard.
I needed help.
I let out a mournful sound. My plea was a candle in a squall, blown out immediately. I clutched at a waiter passing out drinks, but he shook from my grip.
I begged for help, my voice swallowed by the EDM music. The ear-splitting applause and fanfare threw me off-balance. I lacked the energy to scream. The men in the masks did nothing. Not one person looked me in the eye.
Monster: A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance Page 17
