Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,75
worked for years to disrupt them and I’ve barely dented their operations. Busting trafficking rings isn’t as simple as calling the police. They have connections everywhere. The only reason I found you was because I know someone who knows someone.” He shot me a hard-eyed glare, startling me. “They’re dangerous, and there’s nothing a twenty-two-year-old can do about it.”
“That’s not true. I could make a statement to the FBI.”
Tony’s mouth hardened. “That won’t get you anywhere. Trust me.”
His stern attitude baffled me.
“Tony, I can’t just do nothing!”
“I’m not telling you to do nothing, but I want you to set realistic goals for yourself.”
“What does that mean?”
“Play to your strengths.” He scooped my hand in his and pressed his lips to my knuckles. “You’re an amazing jewelry designer. Make a line of bracelets and give a percentage of the proceeds to an anti-trafficking charity. Cut the MC out of your life.”
How would that help anything?
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Follow your heart, Evie. It’ll never lead you wrong.”
Tony rubbed my back as the gravity of that sank in my chest.
My heart wanted me to do stupid things, like give my body to my husband whenever he wanted. It begged me to float into his arms, hold him tight, and never let him go. It was sick of fighting. I met his gaze. His eyes were like black satin, beautiful and dark.
“What if it wants you?” I left my chair for his lap, winding my arms around his neck. “I want you, raw and unfiltered. Rough sex. Romantic dates. You holding me when I sleep.”
He smiled. “Anything else?”
“Model jewelry for me. My social media page needs content, and you have nice hands.”
He let out an incredulous laugh. He gave them a glance, and shrugged.
“Never heard that before.”
“It was one of the first things I noticed about you.”
“Not for me.” Tony’s gaze fell to my neck and down my halter top, and his voice dipped to a sultry caress. “I was preoccupied with your mouth and how badly I wanted to use my cock to shut it up.”
“Too bad you didn’t. It would’ve salvaged the night.”
He laughed. “I doubt that very much.”
“Who am I to criticize how a man makes love to his wife?”
He grinned, shaking his head. “God, I wish I had a pair of your rainbow-colored glasses.”
I mimed taking them off and setting them on his nose. “Your turn. What do you want?”
“What do I want,” he mused, dragging his fingers through his hair. “Besides taking out my wife and having her float on cloud nine all night, I can’t think of anything.”
A baby.
A family.
“Tony, it’s been five months. What happens in a year, when I’m not pregnant?”
“We stay together.”
“What if I want kids with you?”
My heart broke as his eyes shuttered. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. Doubt flickered in my mind as Tony’s phone shattered the agonized silence. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he pulled away to answer. I imagined him leaving me in the same way as my mother.
Mom hadn’t stuck around. Dad was a lying sociopath. My husband was the only stable element in my life, and he was an unpredictable beast. He was forced into marriage. Sticking it out for me.
For now.
How long before his promises were broken?
Twenty-Seven
Evie
I’m grateful that I am not hateful.
Five men.
Five broken families.
Their faces splashed on the evening news as I finished my breakfast. The three bikers who’d attended the ill-fated diamond appraisal were found dead with horrific injuries. Days before, a shooting killed two at Olaf’s, a Legion dive that served decent bar food.
Articles blasted Boston’s endemic gang violence, pinning the blame on motorcycle gangs and their territorial disputes. The mayor held a press release decrying the bloodbath, calling on Congress to pass a bill that gave harsher sentences for repeat felons.
Months ago, I would’ve turned off the TV to mourn with everyone else, but I was glued to the screen. This had Tony Costa written all over it. He had to be responsible for the flood of anti-biker propaganda on social media.
“Don’t visit the club,” whispered Jennesy’s voice from the phone’s speaker. “Seriously, Evie. You don’t want to be here. Martha’s old man is on life support. He was shot at Olaf’s. She’ll kill you if you show up. Even my dad and I got into it because I went on one date with Christian.”
I rubbed my head, hating that he’d put me in this position. “How was dinner with Christian?”