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Chapter 117
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Contracted Husband Chapter 118
“Yes.” I lean against the table and peer down at them. “Eyes are windows. Everything you need to know about someone, you can find it there. The rest of the face is just… Extra.”“Who do they belong to? Are they all the same person?”“Not all.” I pull one from a stack and show him. “These are my father’s eyes. Kind. Proud. And these eyes”—I show him another—“belong to my college professor, Miss Crane. She was a bitch and hers were cold as ice.”“And these?” He circles his hand above the majority. “They’re all the same person.”I nod. “They are.”“These are amazing, Natalia . It’s like…” As if he can’t find the words, it takes him a while to continue. “It’s like I’m staring into someone’s soul.”“Thank you.”“For a second, I thought it was you. But I’m not so sure now.”“They’re my mother’s eyes,” I whisper. “How I remember them, anyway.”Turning to me, his brow furrowed, he asks, “Did she pass?”I smile sadly. “No. She left.”A dark flicker crosses his expression for a split second. Bu
Contracted Husband Chapter 119
He looks at me again. “As nice as she could be, I suppose.”His new mother may have been nice, but the shadows swimming in his eyes tell me it wasn’t enough. The damage was done.It’s the being abandoned part that fucks you up. That the person who’s supposed to love you unconditionally doesn’t give a shit about what happens to you.Thankfully, my father is a good man. He did his best to make up for her absence. To love me twice as much, maybe more.But did Nathan ’s? Did his father love him twice as much too?“And your father?” I ask, wanting to know. Needing to know that someone did love him the way a child deserves to be loved.“Like I said, he was a prick. He died a few months ago.”“Oh, Nathan .” I slide my hand up over his shoulder and cup his cheek. He turns into it, pressing his lips to my palm.Without pulling from my touch, he lifts his gaze to mine. “What do you see in my eyes, Natalia ? If they’re windows into my soul, what do you see?”I stare into them, peering deeper tha
Contracted Husband Chapter 120
I blink in confusion. “Why?”“Because, Natalia , the answer to my question is that shadows drown out the light. Inevitably, it goes out under the weight of darkness.” He places a kiss on my lobe. “You were right. Iamdangerous. I’m going to hurt you if you don’t tell me to leave.” He pulls away slightly, far enough that he’s able to glare at me with an intensity that startles me. “Say it!”I take him in, his lips, his chiseled jaw. His achingly beautiful gaze.He wants me to say the words that will send him away while he’s pressed so intimately against me that I can barely remember my own name? If he doesn’t have the will to pull away, how can he expect it of me?“Why were you here that night after the exhibition?” I demand. “I saw you down there watching me from the street.”“I’ll answer that if you answer this. Did you like it? Did you like me looking at you?”“Yes,” I admit.“Were you going to undress for me?” Trailing his fingertips over my bare arm, he wraps one of the shoulder st
Contracted Husband Chapter 121
“Sir,” Nathan says as he passes him and disappears down the steps.“Dad,” I say nervously. “I thought you were meeting with—”He doesn’t let me finish, shoving past me without saying a thing. Doesn’t have to. The disappointment is written all over his face.I’m left staring after him as he goes into his room and slams the door in his wake.Nathan Ihastily make my way downstairs. Above me, I hear Natalia say something to her father, and a moment later, a door slams.Though I commend him on his self-control, Morrison’s rage was clearly evident in his blue eyes. I’d feel the same way if I found a strange man with my daughter and suspected simply by looking at her that he’d been all over her.If it hadn’t been for Gunn’s call, he would have more than suspected. He would have had visual confirmation. I would have been deep inside Natalia , pounding into her. Fucking her there, watched by all those eyes she’s so perfectly captured on paper, including those of a woman who doesn’t deserve he
Contracted Husband Chapter 122
They stare at each other, exchanging words without speaking.Then Lincoln turns to me. “Did you do it to take his place?”“My place is to protect the family. That’s why I did it.”Mata sits forward as he wipes his palm over his bushy black beard. “And you want us to come to New York with you to fight with the Lewis.”“ColWill ’s wife has been taken hostage by Black. A call has been put out for support. I’m going because I gave my word in exchange for support of ourfamiglia. Will you join me?”Both men nod without hesitation.Lincoln grins. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good fight. Who knows? Might be a good day to die.”Mata gives him a sideways glance. “Speak for yourself. I’m not fuckin’ dyin’ today. I’m going to kill some assholes, not the other way around.”They follow behind me as I leave the study and make my way down the hall to the weapons room.“Who’d have thought we’d be fighting with the Lewis ,” Lincoln says, shoving three pistols into his holsters. “Especially
Contracted Husband Chapter 123
A dangerous situation they don’t want to get involved in.“Why do these fucks always live in marinas?” Mata asks, peering out the window when we arrive at the Flag’s Point Marina on the East River. “Andre thought it made him the shit. Fucking diesel smell made me gag.”“I don’t know if Kroos lives here,” I say when the guards let us in, unable to imagine that a wealthy prick like Kroos would choose to reside in a place like this.I scan the area, noting the canoes and kayaks piled high on one side, pallets and gas cans on another. There’s a dock farther ahead, but the boats there are mostly skiffs or pontoons.My phone buzzes just then.“Stay here,” ColWill orders. “Kroos wants only me and Gregorio. Do not attack until we have Carina. Or the shit hits the fan. Whatever comes first.”Everyone in the Tahoe watches in intent silence as Luca exits the first SUV. Gunn, who had been with him, was dropped off before we reached the gates. He slunk out into the darkness, his firearm in hand,
Contracted Husband Chapter 124
Scar comes closer but stops as her eyes move almost imperceptively to my left. From my peripheral, I spot Mac approaching, his gun drawn and aimed right at her.“Stay the fuck where you are, bitch, unless you want that pretty hair stained red.”She narrows her gaze on him thoughtfully, the edges of her lips pulled up. “Hmm. While I’m sure I’d be a stunning redhead, I think I’ll stick to blonde.” Then she glances around the perimeter and laughs.When I look too, I see why. At least ten men are now surrounding the area. As one, they rush at us. Without a word, both Mac and I turn and run from the gunshots. We may be good fighters, but we’re also smart enough to know when we’re far too outnumbered.I glance once over my shoulder and see Kroos and Scar getting into the car.“Fuck!” Mac yells. “I’m hit!” He stumbles, grabbing his shoulder.Leaning into him, I help him onto the boat, all the while staying low. I turn the key and start the motor and, without another look back, take off.Two
Contracted Husband Chapter 125
Without hesitation, we both go toward the dock. But by the time we arrive, Kroos and the woman have left.“This one’s got a key!” Mac jumps onto one of the skiffs.I untie the rope from the bollard, and he takes off as soon as I’m on board. We ride through the dark waters, searching, listening for the slightest hint of where they went. Minutes pass like hours, painfully slow, because we’re aware that with every second we lose, Kroos gains miles.“There,” I say, pointing to where Kroos ’s boat has been tied to a post in a marina a mile mac maneuvers our skiff close enough that I can jump onto the dock and tie the rope.He peers left and right. “I can’t tell which way they went.”I look too, unable to see any movement. Everything is quiet. Almost too quiet. Either no one is home or everyone is asleep. Third option is, they heard the sound of battle and locked themselves in.“We have to split up,” I say.He nods, then with his gun pointed at a downward angle but ready to shoot, he heads
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