Page 40 of Desperate Vows

Franklin and Marco have been working together much longer than I ever could have imagined. Not only did they plot together to kill Marco’s dad, they did it so they could start shipping in women and selling them across the country.

I swiped and continued reading. There were dates and times when they met. Locations of warehouses and partners outside the state. Information on a movie production company.

My heart dropped to the floor as I read through the names of the girls they’d targeted. Gianna Kalantz. Lucas’s sister. Her name wasn’t spelled the same way, but I knew. I also knew why they’d done that. To protect her. I suspect Franklin didn’t know who she was at first. According to what I read, he hadn’t directly killed her, but he was associated with her death. I knew his connection to the company wasn’t exactly proof, but it was all I needed. Her picture was tucked in with the papers I photographed. I couldn’t see all of her face, but enough to know she was young and beautiful. In the next picture, there was a write-up about a man being stabbed to death as he walked out of a store… Lucas’s dad.

My family took from Lucas more than once. It was no wonder he hated me. I hated me. How could he ever trust me? We were to be married tomorrow, and the thought of spending years with a man who would never confide in me or allow me any closer, crushed me.

I needed to tell him. Part of me wanted to race to find him and give him everything I had, but if I did, Franklin would likely kill him and marry me off to someone else, and I couldn’t risk that.

If anyone deserved my trust, it was Lucas. It would never compensate for what Franklin did, but it was something. And if I could keep my mouth shut long enough to marry him, half of my trust would be his.

It felt disgusting to know all of this and worse to keep it from him. I just hoped I could keep myself together long enough to get through the ceremony. Once I did, I could get the license to the clerk and get the receipt.

Once I was sure Lucas would receive the money, I’d go from there. I didn’t know where there was, but I wouldn’t be in Lucas’s life. How would he ever look at me without seeing his sister’s killer?

Divorce wasn’t on the table, but I didn’t see any other course of action.

I had fallen for my husband, and my marriage was over before I had even said I do.

Chapter Fifteen

LUCAS

Damn it. “She lied to me.” I’d been seething all day. Claire didn’t tell me the truth, and I couldn’t help but feel stupid. She met with her father while my family was throwing her a bachelorette party. Franklin had returned early, and she didn’t say a word. I gave her the chance to come clean, and she’d said nothing.

I was getting married to her tomorrow. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

My thoughts were ping-ponging. Ari had warned me I was being played. And Thea told me something was not right between Claire and Franklin. She also told me Claire didn’t pick the restaurant. She could have texted him, though.

My head throbbed from the chaos. Logic told me Claire and Franklin were working together this whole time. They planned this because he knew we were the ones who kept finding the girls he’d shipped in. They’d played good cop, bad cop, and I walked my family into a trap that could get us all killed.

I just had a hard time believing it. Would she really have spent six months working for a charity just to make herself look more authentic? We were costing them a lot of money. What would I have done to get revenge for Gianna’s murder?

Anything.

Then why couldn’t I swallow the idea that she was capable of it? Because she had sobbed all night long. I didn’t think anyone could fake what I heard. The woman was unrelenting. There had been a lull, and when I hadn’t heard her in a while, I checked on her only to find her asleep.

It wasn’t peaceful either. She tossed and turned and thrashed on the bed. Her mouth would open like she was screaming.

I poured myself another shot and threw it back.

“I’m staying here tonight.” There was a chance I’d say something. I didn’t want to pick a fight right before our wedding. I didn’t know what life would look like after, but I was marrying her. I just had to get through the rehearsal dinner without losing my temper. Once she was mine, then the gloves could come off—so to speak.

Thea hadn’t said anything yet, and neither had Ari.

This morning, after being unable to sleep, I’d come to the restaurant to check in with Dimitris. He’d taken his guys to a Lake Michigan port and taken some girls off Moretti’s hands—not as many as he thought. He’d found one container fewer than he’d expected.

And when I said girls, I meant they were girls. Little girls. If I ever have the chance to kill Marco, I wouldn’t even hesitate. That sick pervert needed to have his crown de-jeweled.

Ari laced his fingers behind his head. “Call the wedding off, Lucas. She’s working with her father.”

“No, she isn’t,” Thea growled.

“You don’t know that.” Ari barked back.

Thea came out of her chair. “Yes, I do. I know what I saw in her eyes.”

My brothers knew about Thea’s history. They knew how I found her. She’d been prey once. I was pretty sure she knew what they looked like.

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