Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,65
wrecked with emotion. His forehead hit mine with a soft thump.
“Evie.”
“It’s you. It’s really you.” I gaped at him, crying. “I can’t believe you’re here. Thank God.”
I was saved.
Twenty-Three
Evie
I’m grateful I’m alive.
Did I fall into another fantasy?
I floated in a haze of euphoria, weakened and confused. My owner said little as he wrapped me in his coat and dragged me out the service exit of a luxury hotel, where a car waited for us. We drove to an underground parking garage and switched vehicles. My husband’s face swam in front of me, taunting me like that bittersweet dream.
I reached out, tracing his stubbled cheek.
“Wait,” he ordered the driver, a tall man with a wave of auburn hair. “She needs a hospital.”
A man wearing khakis and a polo kneeled. He gripped my head, his fingers like icicles. He thumbed my eyelid and forced it open. Light burst from his cell phone, blinding me.
I flinched. “Touch me again, you bastard!”
“I saved your life, you ingrate.”
“She’s not ungrateful,” the vision of my husband muttered. “She recognizes a devil when she sees one.”
“Both of you are ingrates.” The light dropped away, and the man’s wholesome features came into focus. “She’s okay. Just has to sleep this off.”
“Cainan, I killed him.”
My heart pounded at the confession.
Cainan hardened. “I gave you a direct order.”
“You weren’t there,” Tony snarled. “The piece of shit had his hands all over her.”
“Taking him out wasn’t part of the plan!”
“I’ll deal with the fallout.”
“You’ll deal with it? I’m the one that got you in there. I vouched for you. Who do you think they’ll blame when they find his body?”
Tony’s soft hands fell away as he turned around, his drawl in full force. “Maybe it’s time for you to make a sacrifice.”
“God, you are hopeless. Completely irresponsible. Reckless. A loose-fucking-cannon. Have you any notion of what you’ve fucking done? Of the hell that’s about to rain on our heads?”
“I’ll survive.”
“Against one goliath, fine, but not two. Your cousin will come after you. I hope you realize that.”
“I’ll explain everything. He’ll understand.”
Cainan laughed bitterly.
Headlights swept through the parking lot.
They both startled.
Tony backed into me and Cainan’s haughty features froze as a car zoomed past. It seemed to spook him.
“I suggest you get out of Boston, and fast. I’ll be in touch.”
Cainan fished a set of keys from his pocket and clicked. A beep sounded nearby, and he strode into the darkness.
Tony’s face swam in front of me, concern knitting his brows. “Evie, I’m bringing you home.”
“Is this a dream?”
“No, it’s not. I’m here. I’m real.”
I tried to make sense of their conversation, and that my husband was the man who’d lifted that white card and bought me. How did find me?
I slid into the passenger-side seat as Tony’s outline cleared into a solid shape. His presence seemed so unreal, though my mind sharpened by the second. The hour ride home was enough time to clear the drugged fog, but I was so confused.
Who was that man?
Once we parked the car, I felt nothing but a dim buzz snaring my senses. I strolled into the darkened penthouse. All of my things were undisturbed, a snapshot of my normal life before it’d been violently taken away. I couldn’t believe what’d happened to me. Part of me wanted to think it was a strange dream, and nothing more.
Tony slammed the lock. He stood in the dark, his shoulders curling forward. His keys dropped. So did his jacket, sliding from his loosened arms. The warmth from his rescue suddenly left me, like a cold tide of ocean water rolling over my feet. The sadness radiating from him stuck in my throat.
I stroked his shoulder.
Tony whirled. He crushed me in his embrace. He exhaled a ragged sigh and pinned me to his body.
My hand found his chest, unbidden. I grasped his tie and slid my hand down, my pulse racing as he bowed his head. His full mouth touched mine. He was like silk and honey, so gentle my heart burst with pain. His lips claimed me as he pushed me against the wall.
I expected him to devour me like he usually did, but he held back. He sought every corner of my mouth, reassuring and healing. My fingers tangled in his locks as he tugged my hair, angling me to meet his mouth. Slowly, the kisses burned hotter. More urgent. He took my hip, brushing my naked skin under the coat.
Tony’s attention flicked to the collar wrapping my neck.