Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I’d never really given much thought into what kind of wedding I might one day have. I hadn’t envisioned a certain style of dress or a particular kind of venue. But in ordinary circumstances, I doubted I’d have chosen to pledge my vows in front of an ordained Elvis impersonator. These circumstances, however, were far from ordinary. The bride and groom were far from loved-up. And the setting of the ceremony therefore seemed far from important.

Standing before Elvis in the very pretty chapel, I wasn’t nervous anymore. On the drive here, I’d felt on the verge of jumping out of my skin and I hadn’t been able to stop plucking at my pretty sundress. But now that the ceremony was actually happening, I had the insane urge to laugh.

I mean, I was marrying my boss … in front of Elvis … who kept belching … so Dane kept sighing … and my nose was filled with the smell of onions because Elvis’s loud burps reeked of them. Each belch echoed throughout the chapel. Sometimes he paused to mutter “excuse me” beneath his breath while other times he managed to talk through the burps and didn’t miss a beat. It was all just surreal.

I was so glad that Dane had insisted on having the ceremony recorded, because this was too precious not to share.

I snuck a quick look at him. His jaw was hard as he stared at poor Elvis, evidently pissed. Dane wasn’t the type to appreciate the funny side of such a situation, especially considering it was a wedding ceremony—one he’d paid to make happen. This had to be the only time I’d ever witnessed him bite back his words. He was not a man who held his tongue, and he genuinely looked as if it pained him to do it.

I might not have felt so desperate to chortle if I wasn’t aware that I absolutely could not laugh right now. The pressure of holding it in only made things worse, as did the way Dane kept giving me the stink eye, warning me not to dare crack up. I’d always had a nervous laugh; it had gotten me into trouble in the classroom more times than I could count.

I tightened my hold on the platinum masculine wedding band in my palm, as if it could give me the strength that I needed to keep my composure. He’d given the ring to me before we left the hotel, and I’d been terrified that I’d drop it somewhere. “Showtime,” he’d then said.

Yes, it was a show. And I was one of the main stars. Now I needed to play my part. And I was trying really, really hard to do it well and keep from laughing, but I wasn’t sure I’d be successful at it for much longer.

Elvis belched again.

Dane sighed again.

A snicker popped out of me before I could stop it. I quickly clamped my lips together. Dane shot me another cautioning look, and I almost choked on the laugh that was now stuck in my throat. I held it in, but my shoulders shook, and my body quaked.

Elvis didn’t once acknowledge my struggle. I supposed he’d long ago mastered the ability to keep on going, no matter what was happening. Either that or he was simply so embarrassed he’d rather pretend everything was fine.

Feeling my eyes tear up, I slowly lifted my bouquet and hid behind the flowers. God, my stomach hurt, and it felt like my sides were splitting.

The more I told myself it wasn’t that funny, the harder I wanted to laugh. I practically wheezed out my vows. Tears were pooling in my eyes again when it came time for us to exchange rings. Dane took that moment to cast me a droll “you cannot be believed” look that made a snort bubble up inside me.

I slid the masculine wedding band on his third finger, and he slid a more feminine version onto mine. It was beautiful and shiny and fit perfectly … but it sadly did not help me pull myself together.

Finally, I sensed the ceremony coming to an end. I didn’t think I’d ever felt so relieved about anything in a long, long time.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” said Elvis, gurgling the last word since it came out on yet another smelly belch … to which Dane shot him a hard, pained look.

And that was it. I lost it. The laugh shook my shoulders as I bent over, my eyes tearing up again, and practically shoved my face in the bouquet.

Dane sighed. “Finished?”

Not even close. I was worried I might actually pee. But I forced myself to stand upright and knuckled away a fresh tear. “Sorry,” I croaked.

He hauled me close and lowered his mouth to mine. I was entirely unprepared for the hum of electricity that swept over me, or for the soft growl that rattled his throat. His tongue sank inside and licked at mine, bold and demanding.

Amusement gave way to need—so much need. It was raw and carnal and took away my willpower. I clung to him, wanting more.

A throat cleared, and we pulled back. So much for a chaste kiss. Well, if he’d been aiming to cut off my laugh he’d succeeded.

A little dazed, I blinked and forced my hands to release his shirt.

A woman appeared with a camera. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Davenport.”

Mrs. Davenport. I’d be Vienna Davenport for twelve freaking months. God, it felt weird.

The photographer snapped a picture of us, and then that was it. We were done. Married. Married.

Once we’d collected a few copies of the photo and the thumb drive on which the video of our ceremony had been downloaded, we headed outside.

“That was not how I envisioned the wedding would go,” I said, trying to stifle a smile.

Dane gave me the side-eye. “You mean the fact that you laughed almost all the way through it?”

“Come on, you have to admit it was funny. Wait, I forgot, you don’t have a sense of humor.” I paused. “So, what now?”

“Well, we can either go back to our hotel suite or hit a few casinos?”

I pursed my lips. “Casinos? I’m game. But we should probably call my family first.”

“We might as well do it here in front of the chapel. They’ll feel better that you called them straight away with the news.”

I called my father first, surprised at how well he took it. He congratulated us, and I could sense he wholeheartedly meant it. I heard a note of disappointment in his voice that told me he was sad to have not been present, but he didn’t come out and say it.

Wyatt, on the other hand, had no problem voicing his disappointment when I called him and Melinda. She wasn’t so annoyed. In fact, she claimed that both she and Ashley had suspected Dane and I would marry while in Vegas. Wyatt, slightly appeased on hearing that we had a recording of the ceremony, eventually joined Melinda in passing on his congratulations.

Dane and I then had a group call with Ashley and Hanna, who proclaimed their delight, but I detected in her voice that Ashley seemed a little uneasy—probably at how fast things were moving.

Ending the call, I asked Dane, “Are you going to call your family?”

“No,” he replied. “But I’ll send my brothers a picture of us standing here outside the chapel. Make sure your rings are visible.” He snapped a picture of us and then sent it to them.

Kent called him immediately and seemed genuinely pleased for us. Travis sent Dane a congratulatory text that was no doubt fake as hell.

Dane splayed a hand on my back. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go amuse ourselves.”

We were back in San Francisco by 2 p.m. the next day. Sam and Dane dropped me off at my complex. As I wheeled my suitcase toward my apartment, I cricked my neck. I’d fallen asleep during the flight home in an awkward position, and my neck was now stiff as hell.

Reaching my front door, I fished my keys out of my purse and went to insert my key in the lock. It was only then I noticed it had been busted. My heart slammed in my chest. I pushed at the door without thinking, and it slowly swung open. I caught a glimpse of an unholy mess, and my pulse went crazy.

Backing away, I fumbled in my purse, pulled out my phone, and quickly called the police.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” a female voice answered.

I licked my lips, feeling my breathing speed up. “I just came home and … I think someone broke into my apartment. I don’t know if they’re still in there.”

Oh, shit, what if they hadn’t left yet? What if they were armed?

“Ma’am?” a voice said. “Ma’am?”

I snapped back to attention, realizing I hadn’t absorbed a single word she’d said. I rattled off my address. “Tell whoever you send that I’ll be in my neighbor’s apartment. 5D.”

After she assured me an officer would be with me shortly, I hung up and knocked on Ashley and Tucker’s door.

Ashley answered, a dishtowel slung over her shoulder. She grinned. “Well, hey Mrs. Davenport …” Her face fell. “What is it, Vienna?”

“Someone broke into my apartment.”

She grabbed my arm and drew me inside, closing her front door behind us. “Did you call the police?”

I nodded. “They’re sending someone.”

“Good.” She led me to her sofa. “Sit down here, honey. Tucker!” she shouted at the direction of the bedroom before sitting beside me. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she soothed, rubbing my arm.

Tucker came striding into the room, his hair wet. “What are you yelling for, woman?”

“Someone broke into Vienna’s apartment,” she replied.

“What? Have you called the police?”

“Yes, she has; someone’s on their way.” Ashley turned back to me. “Did you call Dane?”

I blinked. “No.”

“You need to, Vienna. Do it now,” she urged.

Still in a bit of a daze, I brought up his number and tapped “Call.”

He answered after only a few rings. “Yes?”

I swallowed around a dry throat. “Dane.” That was all that came out.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, a sharp edge to his voice.

“I think someone burgled my apartment.” It all felt a little surreal.

He cursed under his breath. “Do not go in there.” He ordered Sam to turn the car around.

“I’m okay, I’m with Ashley and Tucker.”

“Which apartment?”

“5D. It’s next to mine.”

“Stay with them, I’ll be right there.” He rang off.

I looked at Ashley. “He’s on his way. Did you hear any noises coming from my apartment today or last night?”

“I didn’t hear anything at all today,” she replied. “We were at my sister’s house last night. She threw a party and offered for us to use the spare bedroom. Tucker, stay with Vienna while I make us all a drink.”

The gentle giant sat at my side, asking me questions about my trip and the wedding—trying to keep me distracted, I knew. And I appreciated the effort, but it didn’t work well. It didn’t exactly slip a person’s mind that they’d had a break-in.

A break-in.

Yeah, this kind of shit happened to people every day. I was well-aware of that. But you never expected it to happen to you. Or at least I hadn’t.

My complex had decent security measures, but no building was truly impenetrable. Plus, people exiting the complex often held open the door for anyone waiting outside to enter, even if they weren’t positive said person was a resident.

Ashley set hot drinks on the coffee table. “I’m surprised you didn’t go home with your new husband.”

“I need to start packing my stuff. He wants me to move in this weekend.” I rubbed at my temple. “I’ll need to call our landlord. He’s on vacation right now in—” I cut off as the intercom buzzed.

“That’ll probably be Dane,” said Tucker, who then strode to the panel on the wall. “I doubt the police got here this fast.”

It turned out Tucker was right.

Soon enough, Dane was prowling into the apartment, looking as dark and dominant and dangerous as always. Crouching in front of me, he settled one hand on my thigh and curved the other around my nape. “You okay, baby girl?”

I nodded numbly.

“What happened?” he asked, massaging the back of my neck.

I took a shaky breath. “I went to unlock the door and realized the lock was busted. I pushed the door open, saw the mess inside, and backed away.”

A muscle in Dane’s cheek flexed. “Where the fuck are the police?”

“On their way,” I replied.

“Takeout food usually gets here quicker than the police do,” muttered Tucker. “I’d say the intruder’s long gone. These walls are thin, but we didn’t hear anyone moving around in there today. The burglary probably happened last night while we were at Ashley’s sister’s place.”

“You should talk to the neighbor on your other side,” Dane advised me.

“She’s a little old lady whose hearing went to shit years ago,” I informed him. “But we can still ask if she heard or saw anything.”

“The police will do that.” Ashley puffed out a breath. “Thank God you weren’t home last night, Vienna. I know you’re probably feeling angry and sick to your stomach, but whatever they took can be replaced. You can’t be.”

As she left to make Dane coffee, he settled on the sofa beside me and slid his arm around my shoulders. He didn’t say anything to comfort me. Didn’t need to. I felt better just having him, all solid and strong and steady, right there with me. Which was dangerous. Worrying. Annoying.

Soon, Ashley returned and went into a full-blown rant about how many “thieving little bastards” roamed the streets these days. It was during that that the police finally arrived.

The officer who took my statement was sharp, respectful, and thorough. He also seemed a little intimidated by Dane, who stayed beside me while I was questioned, watching the officer with that unblinking stare.

“What happens now?” asked Dane.

Officer Griffin straightened in his seat. “We’ll look for fingerprints and footprints, conduct some door to door enquiries, and check the footage from the building’s security cameras. If we’re lucky, we might be able to ID the culprit. But I can’t say I’m hopeful. We’ve had a string of burglaries in the area recently—the thieves have been careful not to leave evidence of themselves behind.” He looked at me. “I’d like it if you could walk through your apartment with me and tell me what you think is missing.”

“I’m coming with her,” Dane declared.

Griffin nodded. “That’s fine.”

Still feeling somewhat dazed, I followed Griffin into my apartment. As I got my first look at the mess that the burglar had left behind, I wanted to cry. There wasn’t a lot of damage, mostly just pure chaos. But the things littering the floor were my things. They might simply be books, cosmetics, clothes, and cushions, but they had value to me.

“Looks like they were going to take the TV but then struggled to carry it,” mused Griffin.

I had to agree. The widescreen TV had been taken off the wall but then dumped a few feet away with wires still attached to it. It was possible that it had been accidentally dropped, because there was a long crack running through the screen.

“Do you have any other electronics that might have been taken?” Griffin asked me. “Laptops? Tablets? Phones? Video consoles?”

“I had my laptop, tablet, and phone with me during my trip,” I replied. “I don’t own a video console.”

With Dane close behind me, I continued walking through my apartment, checking every room, almost choking on anger.

“All the obvious places that someone might hide money have been searched,” said Dane, peering into my open sock drawer, which had quite clearly been rummaged through.

“I don’t hide clumps of cash in my apartment.”

Griffin settled his hands on his belt. “What about credit cards? Your passport? Any other forms of ID?”

“I took my passport, driver’s license, and credit cards with me to Vegas.” I yanked open my closet door, and my heart sank. “Looks like whoever broke in thought they could sell my clothes.” Bundles of it were missing, including the gown I wore to the gala. Several pairs of my shoes were gone, along with some bags and purses. I hissed out a breath.

“What about firearms?” asked Griffin. “Do you own any that could have been taken?”

“No. My large suitcase is missing. It was probably used to carry most of what had been stolen.” Glancing at the pretty porcelain bowl on my vanity desk, I sighed. “My cheap jewelry is gone.” None of the pieces had been real gold or silver—just accessories for me to wear while clubbing so I didn’t have to worry about losing them.

I took my keys from my purse, pushed aside my nightstand, and bent down to the plug socket there.

“What are you doing?” asked Dane.

I didn’t answer. I inserted a key into the top right earth hole of the socket and twisted it sharply. There was a brief snick, and then I pulled open the white cover, which was actually a door to a hidden safe.

“Clever,” said Griffin.

“My foster father bought it for me online and installed it.” I carefully checked the contents. “Everything’s in there, including my real jewelry and spare set of car keys.”

A look in the bathroom cabinet confirmed that all the prescription drugs had been stolen. It was lucky that I’d taken my migraine medication with me on my trip. I didn’t have migraines often, but when I did … well, they were horrible.

Finally done searching the apartment, I rubbed at my arms. “So what now?” I asked Griffin.

“As I told your husband, we’ll search for evidence and make some enquiries. You’ll be kept updated. My contact details are on here.”

I took the small card he held out. “Thank you.”

After a few more minutes of speaking with us, the officer walked away.

Dane stepped into my personal space. “You’re coming home with me.” He raised his hand when I went to speak. “Don’t argue. Don’t offer to stay anywhere else. Just grab the suitcase that you took with you on our trip—then you’ll have some of your things with you. If I were you, I’d bring the contents of your safe as well.”

I thought about protesting, but if I stayed with anyone else, they’d faff over me all night long, which would drive me insane. Dane was not one to faff. Plus, people would wonder why I’d want to stay with anyone other than my husband. And I was due to move in with him in a few days anyway. I might as well get a preview of my new temporary home.

I sighed and said, “All right.”

He nodded, satisfied. “You can ride with me and come back for your car tomorrow. Right now, you’re too angry and distracted to drive without zoning out. Tell me I’m wrong.”

I couldn’t, so I didn’t argue.

A short while later, we were driving en route to his house. Sinking into the smooth, buttery leather seat, I kept my eyelids shut, hoping it would hold back the angry tears that stung my eyes.

“You didn’t hear before now that there was a surge of burglaries in your neighborhood?” asked Dane, his voice low but vibrating with agitation.

“No.” I looked at him. “Even if I had heard about them, I wouldn’t have been better prepared for the break-in. You never think it’ll be your home they target. Fucking assholes.”

“Maybe this will be the one time that said assholes left evidence behind.”

“Maybe.” But I wasn’t counting on it.

“Don’t forget to call your insurance company to tell them about the break-in. You should also call Simon and your foster parents; tell them what happened and let them know you’re all right.”

“I will. Soon.”

We spent the rest of the journey in silence. When the car slowed as we approached a gated, tree-lined property, I strained to see past the trees but failed. “I take it we’re here.”

“We’re here.” Dane tapped the screen of his cell a few times, and then the electronic gates opened.

Sam drove forward. I felt my mouth drop open as I got my first look at Dane’s home. It wasn’t a house. It was a grand, stately residence that looked more like a hotel. It possessed a timeless elegance yet also a modern twist. Boasting arched windows, stone turrets, and thick white columns, the large property sprawled across three-stories and was situated in the middle of an expansive estate.

Holy shit.

Yeah, I’d known he lived in a huge-ass house, and I hadn’t doubted that it would be as impressive and imposing as its owner, but I hadn’t expected this level of opulence. It was a concealed slice of paradise.

As Sam drove up the long, circular driveway, I admired the lavish landscape with its pruned trees, flower garden, and manicured hedges. A man-made lake sat in front of the mansion near the courtyard. Yeah, it had a freaking courtyard. With a fountain.

Sam pulled up at the end of the driveway and then grabbed the suitcases from the trunk while I was busy gawking at the house. He said a quick goodbye to us and then left.

Carrying both my small suitcase and his own, Dane headed for the door. Gripping the strap of my purse tight, I followed him. Stepping into the large, bright white foyer with its winding staircase and chandelier, I let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

Noticing an electronic pad on the wall, I realized there was some kind of built-in automation system that controlled the temperature, lighting, and alarm system among other things. Fancy. I was guessing Dane had already deactivated the alarm using an app on his phone, because no alarm went off.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll give you a tour.”