Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,73
ripped his sleeve to the elbow. As a president’s daughter in the club, you saw a lot of injuries. Fixing them wasn’t my forte, but I preferred it to him bleeding everywhere.
Tony sat on the closed toilet, quietly enduring it. He held out his arm when I asked. He let me dab on antiseptics. Bandage. I had the feeling his cooperation was directly related to my close shave.
“Thank you.”
He pressed his hot mouth into my cheek, lingering for a moment too long which urged me to catch his tempting pout. Tony took me to bed. He peeled the sheets and slid inside, his head hitting the pillow beside mine. He gripped my hand, brushing the spot where my wedding band used to be.
“K stole it,” I said bitterly. “I was drugged. I couldn’t stop him.”
“I’ll replace it.”
He sounded wooden, but his tawny eyes sparked with fury.
“It won’t be the one you picked for me.” My chest tightened with the knowledge I’d never get it back. “I planned to make some changes to the band, but now I’ll never…why does that piss me off so much?”
He went silent for a while, his distant stare echoing his hollow voice. “This never should’ve happened to you. I’m sorry.”
The shadows darkening his features seemed to grow, and I felt along his stubbled jaw. His beard had thickened and sweat streaked his hair, and I wondered when the last time he’d taken care of himself was.
Tony leaned into my palm and grabbed my hip, gently stroking. “Anything he did…it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”
I looked up, and my heart lurched madly.
He kissed my hand.
Warmth burst across my cheeks. “I’m so sorry you’re caught in the middle…Dad didn’t mean for me to get kidnapped. I’ve done this before and never—safety has never been a problem.”
His eyes bored into me.
His gaze reminded me of being wrapped in his arms and fucked. Losing my virginity had been the most intense experience of my life. My body still ached where he’d filled me, and suddenly it pulsed with a yearning. He channeled so much sexual energy and it was beyond me to resist.
“Your father sucks at being a criminal, Evie. He launders money through your business but does it poorly. I don’t think you’re aware of how badly he’s screwed you. If you ever got investigated, Evie…you can say goodbye to all your dreams because once the world associates Evie with the shit your dad is doing, you’ll be canceled. You’ll never be able to sell a bracelet.” Tony pushed himself to a seated position. “He steals from you, he messes up your financials, he makes you do appraisals with violent men. He doesn’t bring enough backup, giving slime like K a golden opportunity to rob him blind. So the fact that he didn’t mean it? Who the fuck cares? He treats you like trash.”
I shook my head, tears blinding my vision.
“I know he’s bad. He does awful things, but he’s been there since I was a baby.” I wiped my face, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “He cried with me when Mom walked out on us.”
I used to stare at the doorway and imagine her strolling through, wrapping me in her lilac-scented arms. In my mind, there was a perfect explanation for why she’d gone, but a universal truth steered me toward a less sunny conclusion—people let me down.
Repeatedly.
Tony’s palm fell on my shoulder. “What happened to your mom?”
I shrugged. “She took off.”
“Just like that?”
“I woke up. She was gone.” I inhaled deeply and adjusted my smile. “At least I had her for twenty years.”
Tony raked his espresso waves and stared at me. “Did anyone file a missing persons report?”
“She’s not missing, Tony. She always talked about leaving the MC. I thought she’d take me with her, but she was telling me what I wanted to hear. She abandoned me. My dad didn’t but he hurts me, too. I love them but I can’t rely on them, so I go inward for strength. Everybody has to look after themselves. People will let you down.”
The hand caressing my back paused.
“Huh. I don’t agree with that at all.”
I blinked. “You don’t?”
Tony shook his head, resuming his restless stroking. His hold glided to my shoulder. He pulled me until my head nestled in the crook of his neck.
“I’ll die before I let you down.”
Twenty-Six
Evie
I’m grateful that my passion is my job.
For a week, I woke up to my husband perched on a stool at the