Page 100 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 3

Faith wrapped her arms around Joel and sniffled, her emotions getting the better of her too.

Gio’s phone rang at the same time as mine.

“God, what now!” I bitched, looking up at the Heavens. I didn’t think I could handle any more hits.

Gio answered while I ignored mine.

“When? Right now? We’re on our way,” he said. “We gotta get to the office.”

“Work?” I blurted. “Why? It’s a Saturday.”

“The alarms have been tripped. Someone’s broken in.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Let’s go!”

* * * *

Bruno offered to drive us to my office. I say mine, because I was the one who now owned seventy-five percent of it.

It took twenty minutes in New York traffic to get literally five miles down the road. Bruno, without being told, rolled up to a screeching halt in the yellow loading zone directly in front of the building, risking his vehicle being towed as the three of us jumped out of the black SUV and ran into the lobby.

“Come on, come on, come on.” I pushed the elevator button over and over until it finally opened.

I held Gio’s hand as the elevator rose and stopped at our floor. I was out the second my body could fit through theopening and raced down the hall as fast as my stilettos and tight-fitting skirt would allow.

“Julianne! Wait for me. Dammit!” Gio hollered as he caught up to me and gripped my elbow, forcing me to stop as Bruno raced on ahead, a shiny black gun already in hand.

I pulled and tugged, trying to get him to let go so I could chase after Bruno.

“Stop it!” he barked right in my face. “We don’t know what we’re going to find. Be smart. Let Bruno, who hasa gun, go in first! The police aren’t even here yet,” he whisper-yelled, bringing the reality of what I’d been about to risk to light.

“Okay, okay, yeah.” I licked my lips and tried to breathe. That was until I heard my brother yell, “Who the fuck are you?”

Which had me forgetting all reason and racing to our offices. Thankfully, he was standing in the middle of the reception area, no burglar in sight, his hands up, palms facing out as Bruno held the gun on him.

“Bruno, it’s okay. He’s my brother,” I panted. “What are you doing here?” I asked, gulping breaths of blessed air.

“The alarm company called. Same as you two, I suspect.” Brenden pointed at me and then at Gio, who was leaning against the doorframe. “Who’s Rambo?”

Giovanni chuckled and then abruptly stopped when I jerked my head and glared in his direction.

“He’s a friend,” I answered.

“Friends who carry guns. Some nice company you’re keeping as of late,” he sneered.

“You’re an ass, you know that?” I huffed. “And to think I was worried about you. I need to get my head checked.”

“Now that I can agree with. Maybe a shrink will tell you to drop the schmuck you’re married to.”

“Do you have any idea what is going on?” I snapped, losing every last ounce of my control, anger vibrating and sizzling through my blood like acid.

Brenden shook his head and turned toward the hall that led to his office. “There’s no one here. Maybe some kids jiggled the handle too hard or something. Honestly, I don’t really care. I just came to make sure we weren’t robbed. I’ve got my own problems to deal with. Just go.”

“You mean like the fact that your wife up and left you, fleeing the country in a private jet to France?” I scoffed, wanting to get him fired up so he’d talk to me. Really talk to me like a decent human being. Maybe ferret out the brother I once loved so dearly.

“She’s in France?” he asked, stopping before his office door.

“I’m going to go meet the police and let them in,” Bruno stated and then left the office.

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