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Chapter 15

This time,when I wake up with Rosie in my arms, it"s bittersweet.

I"ve already made up my mind. This will be the last time I see Rosie. At least until I get my life in order. She doesn"t deserve all this pain and uncertainty. This woman deserves the world. If only I"d have figured that out before all this started.

I may not want to give her up, but I have to.

Moving as slowly as I can, I untangle myself from around her and lay her softly in the bed. Pulling the sheets up and tucking her in. I hope she can forgive me for this. One day.

With a heavy heart, I make my way out of her small house and walk down the street. Every good memory I have of my time with Rosie playing on a loop in my mind. If I only knew then what I know now, I"d have shown her how much I appreciated her. I"d have been such a better man.

It doesn"t take long for me to get a cab, even though it"s well into the night. I got a few good hours of sleep with Rosie, but it feels like I haven"t slept in ages by the time I make my way up the stairs and into my own home.

"He"ll be here soon. I"m sure of it." Marie"s hushed voice travels down the hallway, and I"m tempted to ignore her altogether and go up to the guest room where I can get some rest

When I hear an older man"s voice, I know I can"t.

Slowly, I make my way to the kitchen expecting to see her there with her little friend, only to see her with her father and brother. The table set and food plated for four. They were waiting for me to come home.

"There"s my loving husband. I told my father that you"d be home any minute." Marie walks over to me, a sensual sway to her hips as she makes her way in my direction.

When she presses a soft kiss to my cheek, I"m more confused than I"ve ever been.

This woman hates me, There"s no question about it. So why is she acting like I"m her moon and her stars right now.

"Yeah, I had some business to take care of." I offer as an excuse.

"I"m sure. I heard you were attacked a few days ago. How are you feeling now?" Marie"s father asks as he takes his place at the table, clearly expecting me to do the same. I don"t have the energy to play host right now, but if I walk off without at least pretending I can be gracious, it"ll look bad on the family. After the stunt Marie pulled at my brother"s club I don"t need any rumors swirling around.

"I"m on the mend now. Thank you for asking."

"Have you figured out who is behind it?" Peter, Marie"s brother, asks.

"Not yet but I will." With a sigh, I pull out my chair and sit at the table while Marie flits around making sure everyone has what they need to eat. Her hands shake as she pours me a glass of wine.

I"m not sure if she"s more scared of her father finding out what she"s done at the sex club or if she"s upset to have to serve me. All of us are playing a part, and she"s doing a shit job at hers.

"It"s a shame that so many people can"t be trusted." Luke, my father-in-law, shrugs before picking up his knife and cuts into his chicken.

I grunt in response and pick up my cutlery to do the same. My stomach turns the minute I spread the chicken apart. The outside looks great, but the inside is still bright pink. I guess I can add Marie being a shit cook to the long list of why I don"t want to be married to her.

Both her father and brother are watching me, their own mouths chomping through the less than desirable food on their plates. They"re testing me.

I"m not in the mood.

Pushing the inedible chicken to the other side of the plate, I focus on the sides. The rice is a bit crunchy but I don"t think it"ll make me sick.

"What about your father? How are things going with him? He"s on the mend as well, yes?" Luke asks, taking a sip of his wine.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

It"s not the fact that he"s asking about Babbo, it"s the way he"s looking at me while he"s doing so. Suddenly, I don"t feel like this is just a friendly dinner.

"He"ll be fine. I"d rather not speak about him, if you don"t mind." I shoot a glance from him to Peter and then over to Marie, who is sitting on the opposite side of the table with her brother and father.

"Oh, is that so?" Luke shrugs his shoulders, pushes the food in front of him away, and drops his hands to his lap.

Warning bells go off in my head. I didn"t check to see if any of them were carrying.

Instead of the nice meal that this looked like when I walked in, I"m starting to feel like this is more of an ambush. Grabbing hold of the knife, I lean back in my chair, waiting for whatever is coming next.

"Yes, that is so. My father"s well-being is none of your concern."

"You"re right. We don"t give a hot fuck about your father. All we"re concerned about is our family. According to Marie, you haven"t been taking care of your responsibilities as well as you should be."

My eyes jerk over to her and I watch as a sinister smile creeps up her face. Does she really think she"s going to get her brother and father to intimidate me?

"Something else that isn"t your concern." I reply, my voice gruff with anger.

"It is our concern. We allowed Marie to enter this marriage for one reason and one reason only. Because we thought, you"d be useful." Luke leans forward and glares at me. "We were wrong. You"re useless."

I open my mouth to speak, but a glint of metal catches the light and I see a gun rising in Peter"s hand.

Time slows to a crawl as my adrenaline spikes in my body.

In a last-ditch effort, I duck under the table, pushing up with my shoulder and flipping it on its side while I ram it forward, taking out all three of them. Marie screams as the bullets start to fly from her brother"s direction. He"s still struggling to get up from the floor, and I"m still pushing the heavy table against the three of them. There"s no way out of this for me. I don"t have my weapon, and I can"t get out of the kitchen without going past them.

"You fucking dog. Just die!" Luke barks as he pushes back against the table.

Another shot goes off from behind the heavy wood table, this one splintering the side of the material, causing a few splinters to scratch the side of my face. I reach to the side, picking up my table knife, and in one swift move, I stand and swing it with all my might.

It was supposed to be a scare tactic, a way for me to get Luke to back the hell up. I didn"t expect him to stand at the same time I did. Instead of slicing the air above his head, the blade sinks into his neck with a squelching wet thud. His eyes go wide, and he gurgles what I can only assume is his last scream.

Peter gasps and releases a guttural growl before launching himself over the table and in my direction, the gun in his hand still smoking from the shots he"d already gotten off.

I lost count of the amount of shots. I have no idea how much ammo he"s got left in the weapon. Best not to take any chances.

Peter lands on top of me, and I grab for the gun, making sure to keep the barrel pointed away from me as best I can.

"I"m going to fucking kill you. You"re a dead man," Peter grits between his clenched teeth as we fight for control of the weapon. Marie continues to scream behind us, curled up on the floor.

Absolutely useless.

I"m grateful for it. If she got it in her mind to help her brother right now, I"d be overpowered and most definitely a goner.

I lift my leg and knee Peter as hard as I can in the gut. His breath explodes out of his mouth, and I feel his grip on the gun loosen. I bang his hand hard on the ground, which dislodges the gun, and it goes skittering across the tile floor. My eyes follow its path all the way under the stove. I"m not going to be able to reach it.

At least my odds have increased. Now, It"s a brawl.

Peter lifts his hands over his head and brings them down hard against my face in a club-like fashion. Blood explodes in my mouth, pouring from my nose. Tears cloud my vision, but I shake my head to clear it. He lifts his arms again to deliver another blow, but I roll to the side to get one of my arms on the opposite side of his body.

I backhand him with a closed fist against his temple, and he falls off me, his eyes dazed and his body slightly limp.

This motherfucker thinks he"s going to come into my home and take me out. He thinks I"m weak.

I"m tired of people pushing me, tired of everyone trying to force me into a position that will only further their cause. I"m just fucking tired.

All the anger I"ve been trying to keep tapered down explodes out of me as I grab hold of his shirt and pull him forward while I swing bone-crushing jabs at his face. The back-and-forth motion amplifies my strength. It only takes three hard blows to render Peter completely unconscious. I"m not going to wait for him to wake back up, though.

He doesn"t deserve to live. He came into my house to kill me. I"ve got every right to end his life.

Turning my head, I catch Marie"s eyes as I grab hold of her brother"s head, one hand on top and the other under his chin. With very little effort, I twist his head in an unnatural direction. The sickening crack of his bones echoes in the kitchen, and Marie gasps. Silence follows, leaving only the sound of wine dripping from an overturned bottle.

"This was the worst decision that you"ve ever made," I get to my feet and stalk in Marie"s direction.

"You can"t, you can"t. I"m your wife!" She whimpers and crab crawls away from me.

I don"t care if she tells me she"s a saint sent from the lord himself. One way or another, Marie is going to die.

"They"ll come after you. They"ll come after you even if you kill me." Tears spill from her eyes but I can see the truth behind her words.

Her declaration gives me pause.

I would"ve never thought she"d be behind trying to take me out, but her words make it clear that she knows more than I gave her credit for. I wonder what my sister is going to have to say about this. They forced me to marry, thinking it would bring our families into a stronger alliance, only to find out that our so-called allies are the ones trying to kill us in the first place.

"I told you so" just isn"t going to cut it.

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