Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,82

sunglasses, wearing a smile so smug it begged for a punch. If his wife weren’t behind him, I would’ve socked him in his lying mouth. Proving the fucker wrong played into his hands, as did taking the high road.

“Or I take you to court, sue you, and rip that stupid fucking prenup into a thousand pieces.”

“You won’t,” he deadpanned, his lips curving. “You like the girl too much. Go home. You’ll need my security if you want to stay alive.”

“So we’re good?”

“Yeah.”

I stood and plodded through sand.

A loud crack split the peaceful ocean air.

I threw myself to the ground, jaw slamming into a rock. A man in front of me screamed. Pockets of sand burst around me. Hysterical screams erupted with the hail of gunfire. I scrambled upright. Bodies smacked into me as people fled their blankets and chairs. Behind me, men in suits strolled down the bluffs. They aimed. Fired.

Vinn’s guards—dead.

I stared, rooted to the spot. Then my hands clenched and I sprinted, drawing their fire away from Vinn and his family. The beach offered zero cover. Forward was my only way out.

Nausea clenched my stomach as my knees crashed into cold water. I dove under a wave. The screaming and gunfire drowned out, I swam hard. The bullets had no chance of harming me as long as I stayed underwater. I poked my head above, sucking a lungful of air. I swam until I’d exhausted myself. Then I treaded water as the sun beat on my face.

I had few options. Eventually, I’d have to return to shore. It was a golden strip in the distance. Scattered umbrellas and beach towels littered the sand, but everyone had gone. The shooting must’ve been reported by now. Police had probably evacuated the area, but if these were traffickers, that wouldn’t stop them.

If I were them I’d wait me out.

Jesus Christ. Now what?

“Bro, you need help?”

I whirled, facing a giant wall of a boat. I kicked onto my back as a group of shocked college kids clutching beer bottles gaped at me.

“Do you have room for one more?”

A life preserver plunged into water. I grabbed the ring and floated to the boat. A blond kid hauled me aboard, and I collapsed, heaving.

A blanket fell around my shoulders, and I patted the kid’s arm in thanks.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” someone asked.

“Check the news.”

A brunette in a white bikini tapped through her phone, gasping. “Shooter kills two at packed beach. What kind of psycho would do that?”

I holed up in my office, holding my skull as though I could yank out my muddled thoughts. Vinn texted me that he was okay, but those bastards had taken out his security and injured innocent people. Two were in critical condition. I’d barely escaped with my life. I couldn’t be sure who shot me, or why.

Legion?

Traffickers?

Dimly, I listened to Evie walking through the penthouse, and the thought of never again hearing her footsteps pitted me with nausea.

What if something happened to her?

“T, I need an answer.”

I glanced up from my hands. “On what?”

“What’s your decision?” Knox stood over the desk, waving a manila folder at me. “I’ve drafted no-fault divorce papers because we can’t get out of this another way. Courts don’t like lifestyle clauses. They’re hard to enforce and unreasonable, and your prenup definitely falls under that.”

My stomach clenched.

We hadn’t discussed this in months. In the beginning, I’d planned to give them to her on our one-year anniversary. Six months into our marriage, I hated the sight of them. I ripped the folder from him and tore it to pieces. Then I dumped it in the wastebasket. If I’d had a match, I would’ve burned the fucker.

“Did I make myself clear?”

“Tony, think about you’re doing.” Knox spoke slowly, as though I’d suffered a concussion. “Evie isn’t pregnant, right? In six months, that’ll be a problem. Those accounts disappear unless you take your cousin to court, which will put the nail in your coffin.”

“I’m not divorcing Evie.”

“Abandoning your inheritance is not an option.”

“Says who?”

“Cainan. You might hate him, but he’s keeping you alive.”

I hadn’t heard from him in weeks, and it made me uneasy. “By letting them shoot me on a public beach?”

“Cainan doesn’t have the power to sway the entire ring. They’re under the impression that you just wanted your wife back. Emotions were running high. You snapped and killed him. Most of them are willing to overlook his death because K broke their rules. They’re not supposed to take married