Page 81 of City of Wind and Lies

Tucking away my piece, I lift my chin at Rhodes. “Get Leo to help you with clean up.”

He turns on his heel, heading towards the security office.

Rocco steps forward, nudging Allens body with the toe of his shoe. “That went quicker than expected. Why’d you cut it short?”

"He never once said sorry," I deadpan, stalking off to the bathroom to clean up and change.

"So, what's this I hear about you coming to family dinner on Sunday?" Rocco asks, climbing out of his Land Rover Defender in the Monarch's parking garage.

Grunting in response, I click the lock on the keypad, my BMW honking behind me as I pocket the key. Even before my old man gave me an ultimatum, I'd been avoiding family dinners for months. My mother was constantly harping about her friends’ daughters and wanting to set me up with them.

"I take it Wren is coming with you?" he asks, rounding the hood of his car.

"Yeah," I say with an exhale. "They know I'm bringing a girl, but they don't know about the baby yet."

Rocco whistles. "Your mom is going to go insane when she finds out." He nudges me with an elbow as we fall in step toward the elevator. "Hopefully Wren is a hugger."

"Yeah," I chuckle. "I think it'll be-" I pause, clocking a taillight dangling from the back of Dallas' Range Rover.

The sound of my heels clipping against the concrete reverberates around the cement structure as I march over to take a closer look. Heat courses through my veins, my stomach twisting as I shout, "What the fuck!"

"Oh shit," Rocco murmurs, eyeing the damage with me.

The back hatch is dented in, the bumper’s missing, the back window is shattered out, and the only taillight left is the one hanging. It doesn't appear that the airbags went off, and deep down, I know that if something really bad happened, Dallas would have called instead of backing his car into the corner stall to try to conceal the damage. But that doesn't ease the tension in my jaw as I stomp back toward the elevator.

Swiping my keycard, I mash the button for the penthouse. Even though it's a quick ride up, it's plenty of time to fan the flames of my anger.

When I arrive, I shove open the door, eyes quickly scanning the interior of the penthouse as my hands ball into fists at my sides.

Wren is sitting on the couch barefaced in her faded purple Northwestern t-shirt and gray snowman sleep shorts as Doctor Marino packs away his things. Dallas is in the chair next to them, a butterfly bandage on his left brow and dried blood splotches on the front of his white button-down.

"Bowie," Wren starts, pushing to her feet.

I hear her, but my eyes are trained on Dallas- a man who reports to me but didn't fucking report this.

My quick strides erase the distance between us, but before I can get my hands on him, Wren steps in front of me. She places her palm in the middle of my chest, stopping me in my tracks as she assures me she's okay.

I pull her against me, her arms instinctively wrapping around my waist as I level Dallas with a seething glare.

Doctor Marino quickly reads the room, jumping in to reinforce Wren's words and then some. "Wren and baby are great. She's got some minor bruising on her shoulder and hips from the seat belt, but no cause for concern."

Wren squeezes me tighter as she tilts her face up to rest her chin on my chest, gazing up at me with the beautiful baby blues that make my pulse quicken. "You're okay, Passerotta?" I murmur, pushing back a few rogue tendrils of hair from her face.

"Perfectly fine," she smiles.

I study her features for the slightest shadow of a doubt. But with each soft flutter of her lashes and caress of her hands on my back, she coaxes my monster back into his cage.

Leaning down, I place a kiss on her forehead before asking, "Did you get dinner?"

Her forehead crinkles, corners of her mouth dipping into a soft frown. "Oh shit, no, I totally spaced and forgot."

My knuckles follow the soft curve of her cheek down to trace her bottom lip. "Why don't you show Doctor Marino out and order something for delivery? I need to have a word with Dallas."

Her brows dip and she purses her lips as she lowers her voice. "Don't you dare hurt him, Bowie Sorrentino."

She's so damn cute when she's feisty.

"Hmm," I chuckle. "Should I be worried about your affinity towards one of my men?"

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