Page 157 of Bad Little Bride

“You are really fucking dense, you know that?” Torin spits. “You have no right to claim the other Revenaw heir. Our allies belong within our own people. And Mitchell can offer her?—”

Enzo shoots his kneecap.

Bandoni groans in pain, but other than a slight stumble, the tough asshole stays on his feet. “The contract has been voided.”

“I know. It was at my request,” Enzo announces.

At that, Torin’s head yanks to the left, landing on Bastian.

Bastian only cocks his head, his face a stony mask.

Okay, so Torindidn’tknow that?

“Well, that’s no matter.” Torin stands taller, a small smile on his lips. “Then I’ve broken no rules as there is no longer a contract. The girl is free to choose, and before those…whoever the fuck those dirtbags were that showed up and attacked unwarranted…she made her decision. It. Wasn’t. You.”

Enzo doesn’t have to scan the crowd; those golden eyes find me instantly. “Come.”

I’m already moving before his command, and I don’t stop until I’m right in front of him.

Torin’s head snaps between us, but I don’t look away from Enzo as he lifts my left hand, taking the tip of my glove in his teeth and slowly peeling it off. His fingers intertwine with mine and he kisses the spot his name is displayed, finally turning to look at the man across from us. “She has chosen. Months ago. She is not my fiancée. She is my wife.”

I do look over this time, the look of horror that reshapes Torin’s face is as amusing as it is disappointing.

It’s as I said, to touch another’s wife is a death sentence.

A literal rule, written out and all.

Torin’s nostrils flare, eyes snapping across the space, taking in all the people rallying around, and even to my own eyes, it’s unclear who would stand with whom, if it came down to it.

Bandoni is a founding family member and part of the union, after all.

Enzo isn’t.

I see the moment Torin makes a decision, and I steel my spine as I wait to learn what it is.

He creeps, more like hobbles, closer, and unease washes over me. “You think I don’t know your secret?” he hisses, attempting to keep his voice low. “I do, and it will make all of this go away when the others learn what you’ve been hiding. Or should I say…who.”

I stiffen despite my best efforts, slowly, as secretly as possible, moving my finger to the trigger of my weapon. He knows of Katana.

He knows Enzo is hiding the girl they’ve searched over a decade for.

It might be my husband whose blood fills these drains today after all.

I can’t let that happen.

A warm hand presses to the back of mine in that moment and I take a deep breath.

He doesn’t want me to shoot.

But what he doesn’t seem to understand is that I’ll have to.

If he threatens the life of my husband, he has to die.

Hewilldie, consequences be damned.

But then Enzo chuckles, so low and dark a chill licks down my spine.

The sound makes Torin feel unsettled, a small frown making the wrinkles along his temples deepen, and my mind begins to swim, trying to connect the dots I didn’t see.

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