Page 112 of Tangled in Vows

“Yeah. You fought him more than I did since he was just as massive as you were.”

I do remember getting the crap beaten out of me by him several times until I got more skilled, but I keep that to myself. “What about him?”

“Well, it turns out the guy who seems responsible for the car chase is somehow connected to Zeno.”

My brain is trying to put the puzzle pieces together, but no matter which way I try, they don’t fit. “Explain.”

“My contact just told me this guy, Marco Bianchi, has been growing in the underworld over the last year, making a name for himself for doing shady stuff. One of those things seems to have been the hit-and-run on Olivia and you, which we obviously know he failed at.”

“And how does Zeno fit into this?”

“Remember that the Italian Mafia cleaned out their ranks nationwide a while ago?”

I nod. It was the talk of the town, so to speak. Nothing seems scarier among criminals than getting picked off the streets at random.

“The team behind that cleanup was Matteo Santarossa’s.”

Ah. “The Mafia guy Zeno works with.”

“Yup,” Archer says. “And get this . . . Marco Bianchi was one of the guys they kicked out. Seems like he decided to do his own thing, building a large team of thugs right under everyone’s noses.”

I stare at him, processing the news. “And he’s responsible for the hit on us?”

Archer shakes his head. “As far as I know, he got hired for it, but of course, he had his lackeys do it. I can’t imagine he’s happy with the outcome, so we have to be extra cautious in case he tries again.”

I stare past him out the window, where Olivia’s playing catch with Stormy. A sudden longing to offer her a regular life hits me right in the chest. But then, our lives were never normal to begin with. Not individually or together.

Sometimes, it’s the everyday moments that matter most—like sitting with her at the dining table for breakfast, watching her play with the dog, or waking up with her in my arms—tangled hair and tired eyes included. Despite our chaotic lives, I want to have all those typical memories with her—every last one of them.

My feet have a mind of their own, carrying me over to the row of windows to have an even better view of my girl. My wife.

She doesn’t know it yet, but now that I’ve had her, she’ll never get rid of me. She’ll be mine forever. For good this time.

Quiet footsteps alert me to Archer’s presence next to me.

“What do you want to do?”

If it was that easy. “Do we know where to find Marco?”

He presses his lips into a flat line. “No one seems to know where he is. That asshole is hiding somewhere, letting others do his dirty work for him.”

“Awesome.” Irritation and frustration shoot through me, my mind running over the same information repeatedly, chasing answers that aren’t there. “Another person we have to find before something else happens.”

“I might have an idea.”

Chapter 36

Olivia

At least the anger would allow me to just be.

It’s been three days in the studio with Ian.

Three days of cutting open my chest and stabbing myself in the heart.

Three nights of falling asleep in Holden’s arms.

Three mornings of waking up with the pressure on my chest slightly lighter than the day before.

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