Page 84 of Red

Peter’s smile twitched at the corner, and he readjusted his seating. “She wanted me to ask about your wife. She hadn’t seen Melinda around lately.”

Erik’s spine straightened at the mention of his wife.

“Things didn’t work out the way we’d hoped.” Erik’s fingers dug into his knees. Six weeks of not hearing from Melinda had left him on edge. Long days turned into impossible weeks.

Peter studied Erik quietly. “Hmm. I heard about her father and Bertucci…and your brother.” He tapped the table with his fingertips. “It’s a lot for anyone to take in when family betrays family. And I’m sure it’s even harder for her to grasp everything given the situations.”

Erik’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want to talk about Melinda. He wanted to get this meeting over with and get on with his day, so he could dive into a bottle of bourbon.

“That’s true,” Erik said when Peter seemed to be waiting for a response. Discussing Nico’s betrayal never eased the burning anger inside.

“She’s moved out, then?” Peter pressed. Why was he pushing this?

“Yes.” Erik had tracked her down to an apartment on the north side of town. Despite her desire to be left alone, he’d had a man stationed outside the building, making sure she was safe. Every day he watched the mail, waiting for those fucking papers to show up with her delicate signature affixed.

“And it’s not fixable?”

“If it were, I would have fixed it,” Erik ground out. The meeting was finished. He had things to do.

Peter nodded. “You don’t strike me as the sort of man who stands by while what he wants sails away.”

“What the hell does that mean?” The pleasantries were over. He’d already been blocking Ian from talking about Melinda and trying to force his hand at seeing her. He didn’t need it from a business associate as well.

Peter cocked an eyebrow. “Men like us don’t choose our lives. They were charted out by our fathers and grandfathers before we were even born. That doesn’t mean we can’t change the course. And it doesn’t mean you have to give up the love of a good woman out of misguided guilt.”

Erik’s shoulders tensed. “She wasn’t given an option in any of this. She was forced.”

Peter shrugged. “So?”

“What do you mean, so?” Since when did making a woman marry against her will become acceptable?

Peter grabbed his drink and took a sip. “I’m not suggesting you take away her choice. I’m saying, give her a reason to choose correctly.” Peter finished his drink and plunked the glass down on the desk.

“And if her leaving was the right choice?” Nothing good had come of their marriage. It had been forced, it had been fake, and everything had been orchestrated. Just because she softened toward him near the end didn’t mean it was anything more than her trying to survive. He’d put her in an awful situation, and she’d made the best out of it. He’d done what he always did. He’d set himself a goal, and he strived for it, no matter who he had to take out to get to it. And in their case, she’d suffered for it.

This was the right course. This way, she could live her life exactly as she wanted. No more orchestrated moves by anyone on the outside.

“I saw the way Melinda looked at you—how you eyed her every few seconds. Her leaving wasn’t the right choice. For either of you.” Peter patted Erik’s shoulder and opened the door.

Erik made his way out of the building to where Ian waited for him against the car, fiddling with his phone.

“Let’s go.” Erik opened the door and climbed inside. Ian finished typing and walked around the front of the car and got into the driver’s side.

“Home?” Ian asked, flipping the turn signal on and pulling out into the midafternoon traffic.

“Melinda,” Erik stated, keeping his eyes on the road. He needed to see with his own eyes she was all right.

His attorney wouldn’t give him many details about her, no matter the threats he made. His integrity had been his selling point, but it was getting on Erik’s last nerve. He needed to be sure she was being taken care of. She hadn’t touched any money in the account he’d set up for her. How had she been paying her bills?

How was she sleeping?

Before he’d made the final decision, she hadn’t been sleeping well at all. She’d cried in her sleep, snuggling into him while he held her through the nightmares, through the horror her mind relived. But she hadn’t known. And he hadn’t told her. He’d given her space, and he’d drowned them with it.

“Here it is.” Ian pulled the car into a spot across the street from the building. “She’s the third apartment up on the left.”

“It’s a fucking dump,” Erik snapped. More than a coat of paint would be needed to fix the place.

“It looks like shit, but everything inside works fine. I checked the maintenance of the building, and everything’s up to code. It’s safe.”

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