Page 94 of Cruel Devil

Its favorite night-time activity is replaying past events. It’s like I have a personal cinema inside my head, all my worst moments lined up and playing on repeat. I could take sleeping pills, but the thought of being defenseless, vulnerable…that’s enough to keep me from even considering it.

The insomnia began after my first wedding.

Attempted wedding.

We never got to exchange vows. There was no honeymoon.

Come to think of it, me and Nyx didn’t have any of those things, either. But at least we got a priest’s blessing. On paper, we’re man and wife.

Nyx lets out a sigh, and then starts snoring softly.

I breathe in the scent of her hair, her skin, her clothes. My hand flattens against her belly, gliding up. She’s still wearing her sports bra. I don’t think she’s taken it off once since she came back from The Foundry.

It makes no sense.

Nyx makes no sense.

My wife is a fucking enigma, and while that was intriguing when we first met, it’s starting to lose its charm.

I press my lips to her exposed shoulder, dragging them over her skin.

She’s keeping something from me.

It was obvious from the moment she stepped into that shower with me the night she came out of The Foundry. Did O’Brien really want her to kill Sergio, or is she targeting someone else in my family? She’s had enough time to slip away and get up to all sorts of mischief, but I sent out an alert to all the men on the property to be on the lookout for her if she tries to gain access to any off limits area.

Why can’t she trust me? Haven’t I proved myself worthy yet?

Or is she as impossible to please as my father?

I roll onto my back, tucking my hands under my head as I stare up at the dark ceiling.

None of this makes sense.

Why didn’t O’Brien contact Nyx right after he took her sisters?

She had to track him down. If his intention was to use them as bargaining chips for unfettered access to this villa and the high-level cartel members inside…then why wait?

All I can come up with is that kidnapping her sisters was some form of punishment. But for what? Liam getting involved before he could fuck Nyx in The Foundry all those years ago?

My hands clench into fists at the thought of O’Brien’s hands on my wife. I know it’s ancient history, but that doesn’t change that he thought he could touch her when she’s so clearly mine.

If only she’d fucking act like it.

What did I expect? I’d put a ring on her finger and suddenly she’d start behaving like my wife?

Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong.

Here I am, thinking about vows and honeymoons, when all this ever was to her, was a fucking business arrangement. Like the one she made with O’Brien.

She wants to make deals so badly, maybe it’s time I made one with her.

If she wants her sisters back, then I’ll use all my available resources to help her. They’re family, after all.

But my help will come at a cost. If she’s not prepared to pay it, maybe she should find another cartel enforcer that will help her out.

My phone lights up, washing the bed in a pale glow. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, Bella’s collar clinking as she lifts her head to see where I’m headed. I hold out my hand, and she drops her head back onto her paws again.

I unlock my phone as I make my way to the bathroom for a piss, but stall halfway there when I see the message.

---