Share
Chapter 97
Related chapters
Contracted Husband Chapter 98
“Raw, huh?” I asked. Then he turned to me and I forgot how to breathe. It was his eyes. I’ve never seen eyes like his before. The color of the sun shining through a jar of honey, with hues of rich caramel melting into bright gold and tiny specks of brown. But beneath all that glow was something else. Something that smoldered darkly deep under the surface, like pebbles you can almost make out at the bottom of a clear stream. So painfully beautiful, you want to reach in and hold one; however, you can’t be sure if what you’re really seeing is a stone or something dangerous lurking in the water, waiting for that unwitting victim. When he focused that honey gaze on mine, I felt it slice through me like a razor-thin blade and embed itself in my mind. I’ll never forget those eyes. The way they raked down to my feet and up to linger on my lips. It was all a blur of motion, where I could only register what he was doing, my own body completely forgotten. He licked his lips before he smiled.
Contracted Husband Chapter 99
“I’m not sleeping with him, for Christ’s sake.” I roll my eyes. “I just met him.”“Keep it that way. Trust me, Em. Don’t make the same mistakes I made. Don’t end up like me.”“Is it so bad where you are?” I ask him. “You’re still young, good-looking. Not all women are like her.”I don’t have to say who I’m talking about. He knows.Something sad crosses his expression, but he smiles nonetheless. “I’m aware of that. The problem is, we can’t tell the good from the bad. Especially when you’re blinded by love. Giving someone your heart is giving them the power to destroy it. No one should have that much power over you. Ever.”I let that sink in. He gave my mother the power to destroy his heart. When she left, he believed she’d done just that. Of course, she hadn’t. She merely injured him. If he’d been as fully obliterated as he thinks, he wouldn’t have managed to pull through. To take care of me and love me.But nothing I say will ever change his mind. I need to prove to him with actions t
Contracted Husband Chapter 100
“I know. But I’d rather have my own things. Goodnight, Dad.” I kiss his cheek and go upstairs to my room.Shutting the door gently behind me, I let out a long, exhausted breath. The white damask comforter on my wrought iron bed looks very inviting. But first, there’s something I’ve been itching to do.Kicking off my shoes, I go to my desk nestled under a bay window and open my laptop. I pull up my browser and search Nathan Manguire , New Jersey. When I hit Enter, one hundred thirty-five people come up.I go over them one by one, hating that I don’t have anything else to go on. What if he doesn’t even live in New Jersey? Why the hell am I doing this like a stalker? It’s not like I would do anything with the information I found. Or would I? Maybe I would. I could call him. Then I’d have to admit I was looking him up like a psycho.When I get to the last one and none of them are him, I retype his name as Nathan Manguire . It’s possible I misunderstood. Again, nothing.A great, big yawn l
Contracted Husband Chapter 101
As if he senses my need for more privacy, the pub owner moves farther down the bar and begins to fiddle with something.“The strange thing is,” John says, still typing away, “I’m not sure this is the first time it’s been done. Maybe Kane doesn’t want anyone to know he has a kid.”“If that were the case, he would’ve erased her completely.” I take a drink as I consider the possibilities. Shaking my head, I say, “No, he doesn’t want her erased. If he did, she wouldn’t have been at the gallery.”“It might not have been him who did it at all,” John suggests.“Keep digging,” I tell him. “This time, don’t stop until you hit rock.”“Yes, sir.”After I hang up, I search my phone for the photograph John sent me, the one where Natalia is just a child. Not that I need the picture to recall the brilliance of those electric-blue eyes I thought had been photoshopped when I first saw them.While she was a cute kid, now, she’s an unforgettable woman.I swallow thickly as the image in front of me disa
Contracted Husband Chapter 102
I forced my tense lips to tug upward in a smile I didn’t feel. Not when my plans of seducing Natalia , pumping her for information while I pumped into her, had just come to an abrupt halt.Could I chase her around Europe? Yes. But it would be a hard thing to explain, me suddenly showing up wherever the hell she is. Then again, it might charm her enough to give into me faster. I’d have her in the palm of my hand, pliable and willing to share whatever I ask of her.If I find Harry innocent, she’ll be my consolation prize. Something to enjoy as I seek the real murderer. And if I judge Harry. to be guilty of murder, my revenge will be much easier to enact.I’ll make her suffer. Break her. And demand his life to set her free.She would hate him for what happened to her once she learned the reason. And he’d die knowing that she suffered because of him.In the end, I decide patience will be my friend. It’s the most important element of a clean hit. When you rush into something, things get me
Contracted Husband Chapter 103
“He called me not long ago,” I tell Andre . “Said he wanted me to talk to you about getting the families together. That there was a threat to everyone. He said to stay away from women we don’t know.”My cousin’s lips pull back in distaste as he adjusts himself. “Yeah, I’m not interested in anything the Lewis have to say. They’re the fuckin’ enemy.”I stare at him long and hard. “Perhaps youshouldbe. If what he said is true, we could all be in danger.”“Of what?”It grates my nerves that I can’t answer his question because I also didn’t listen to Thomson . Not really. If I had done as I promised, we’d have more information on whoever this Ferryman is.“Is that all you came to tell me? That Thomson was taken out?” I ask with annoyance.“No. I wanted to give you these.” From inside his gray coat, he tugs out two photographs. “Lou’s Carrick . He’s Randy ’s pimp.”I glance at them. “Who’s Randy ?”“The whore you saw on theLucky Lady. She’s been spyin’ on him for me. He’s selling more than
Contracted Husband Chapter 104
She smiles weakly as she dabs a tear that slips down her cheek. Reaching for the hand I have on the stick shift, she squeezes and says, “Can you take me home?”“Of course.” I drive her to the house and park in the long driveway. “I can stay if you’d like.”“You should go. Ramdels needs the support of family. I’ll be fine.”I leave her, feeling as if I’m abandoning her at a time when I should be her support. But I do as she says and am glad for it.When I reach the yacht, Ramdels is standing on the bow, giving what he surely believes is a riveting speech. The buttons of his shirt are undone down to his waist, exposing his puffed-out chest and the gold chains around his neck.“My brother was a good leader. The best Don, surpassing even our father in success.”Narrowing my gaze, I move closer to the crowd, listening with halfhearted interest. The best Don? Better than Gustavo ? No one in their right mind would ever agree with those statements. There was no one better than Gustavo .But R
Contracted Husband Chapter 105
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean,if I succeed? I will fuckin’ succeed, with or without your backing. And if I don’t got your backing, you better run, because you’ll be the first one I take out.” He shoves his chest upward and his lip curls.I tilt my head down to him and smile. “Clearly, you’re not ready to have a conversation with me. When you are, let me know. In the meantime, good fucking luck.”“Where are you goin’, bitch?” he calls out when I turn and start to leave. “Nathan , you cunt. You don’t leave unless I tell—”Slamming the door behind me, I cut him off before I change my mind and challenge him for the position of king. And if I do that, there is no doubt of who the heir to the Robertsons throne would really be.One day later, I’m being summoned to Ramdels ’s house in Newark. Gustavo ’s house. It pains me to answer the request to join him for lunch, but a sense of obligation to thefamigliahas me driving there midday.When I arrive at the guarded two-story my uncle b
Latest chapter
