Page 5 of A Promise For Tomorrow

I lift my head off his chest and swipe at the remaining tears with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Uncertainty fills me hearing this information, unsure whether to be hopeful or worried by it.

“What? How do you know that?”

“Sweetheart, I may bedead,”he air quotes, “but I still have plenty of connections. In fact, I have suchwonderfulconnections, that even if the Feds discover our little story, I have a man in my arsenal who could help wipe the entire case clean. Hell, I may even decide to rise from the dead with an official statement and claim my throne. I’ve been quite busy this last year.”

I shake my head, attempting to rid myself of the confusion while rubbing my eyes.Any chance this whole day has been a dream?When I still see Diego sitting there next to me, I sigh heavily and lean back into my chair.

“Hey, Amy?” I spot her sitting near the small kitchenette. “I’ll take that coffee now—please.”

She walks over to the beautiful stainless steel machine that I’ve without a doubt missed and starts prepping it. “What would you like to drink?”

“Quad espresso over ice with some of that sweet cream foam you have,” Diego interjects.

I glare at him, narrowing my eyes and pursing my lips.

“Tell me I’m wrong.” He shrugs, folding his hands on the table. The glint of his black wedding band catches my attention.

He still wears it.

Bastard.

So.Fucking. Stunning.That anger of hers riles the beast in me. The one impatiently salivating, waiting to get a taste of her. There’s nothing better than watching the heat behind her eyes ignite and those chestnut orbs crackle with invitation.

To keep going.

To keep pushing her.

If it means keeping her distracted from her family emergency, by all means, allow me to take the heat.

Amy places our drinks down before us along with a few pastries. Madison’s eyes widen with excitement seeing her favorite lemon tarts amongst the spread. She plucks two from the tray, popping one in her mouth and placing the other on her plate. Moaning her contentment and making my cock twitch, she washes it down with a healthy sip of her espresso.

“What made you choose this color?” I play with a strand of her curled hair, twirling it around my finger and wishing I could wrap all of it around my wrist. It’s luxuriously soft and dyed the deepest shade of purple. So deep it’s practically black, shimmering with an aura of violet. It certainly suits her. In my eyes, Madison has always been a queen. Adding purple to her hair only enhances that regal look she often pulls off.

Trembling fingers raise her cup as she pulls the straw between her pouty lips, buying herself time to answer me.

Fuck. This woman is perfection.

Her eyes scan mine, those thick lashes fluttering as she looks me over. My little butterfly is completely unaware she’s checking me out again just as I am her. A smile forms on my face and it feels good.Damn good. It’s been too long having this woman out of my sight.

The way we left off was not at all what I had anticipated.I mean honestly? I don't know what I was expecting, but her up and leaving all together wasn’t it.I’ve spent the entire year focusing on ways to make it right.

To her. And my people.

My syndicate needs me—and not the ghost version where my cousin leads the organization. I am ready to step into my role and take my seat back for all to see. Thankfully, I found a way to do so.

We’ve got enough evidence to prove Geraldo was to blame for all the atrocities that were stacked against me. There is a strong possibility that my guy in the Feds can rewrite the details of that night, completely removing the death certificate along with the interviews with my wife and anything else revealing my death. If he can pull that off, we may stand a chance at getting back to the way things should have been. I will publicly resurface and there won’t be any written details of our stay in Greece other than our marriage certificate.

That we can leave.

“I’ve always loved the color…and I needed a change of pace,” Madison finally admits. “Dying my hair makes me feel in control, especially when everything around me becomes chaotic. It’s something I get tochoose. A constant if I wish it to be.”

Her eyes stray from mine and she tucks a lock of hair behind her left ear, clearly uncomfortable continuing. That’s when I spot it. The smallest tattoo I’ve ever seen…with suchincredibledetail. Her artist did a fantastic job with the fine lines.

My heart pounds wildly in my chest as it did when I saidI do. My exquisite wife inked herself with a permanent reminder of me.

A delicate blue butterfly adorns her skin right behind her ear.

All this tension building inside of me is poised and ready to reach out and touch her.

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