Page 74 of Ruthless Reign

“Let’s go, little wife,” Roman said, nodding ahead. “We only need to pretend for a few more days.” He whispered the last bit in my ear, and the heat of his breath shot down that side of my body. “Then you can go back to hating me as much as you want.”

I winced as the lie hit me in the stomach. Of course, that was what he thought. I hadn’t given him any reason to think otherwise, but I couldn’t deal with that now. We walked into the back room where the leaders and other officers from the visiting Roses stood in their cuts, waiting to hear what we had planned for the wedding. They talked among themselves, the rowdy sounds of mindless chatter drowning out my turbulent thoughts. I steeled my jaw and straightened my shoulders, walking like I had the confidence of every man in this room. Even if there was tension between my husband and me, none of them needed to know it.

No, we were the king and queen of this mess, and we’d have to lead the kingdom through it.

Roman walked to the head of the Steel Roses table, nodding at my brother and Chesco as he went. When we got there, KC banged his rings on the table loud enough to reverberate over the gruff conversation.

“All you motherfuckers, listen up! Church is in session!” KC clapped to punctuate his announcement, and all the talking died down to a rumble and finally to silence.

Roman took a deep breath and glanced around, dropping his hold on my elbow to my fingers, gripping my palm in his.

“Thank you all for coming,” he said. “Whether you’re a part of the Madison County chapter or from out of town, your support is invaluable to our cause.”

Rounds of clapping came from everywhere, hoops of encouragement echoing through me.

“For over four decades, the war has raged on between the Roses and the Caputis,” Roman started, glancing at all in attendance. “It started because of love, because of supposed slights one side may have done to the other. A few days from now, it will end the same way.”

My husband took my hand and pulled me closer, wrapping an arm around my waist so our bodies were aligned from shoulder to hip. His clean, masculine scent assaulted me, and I tried not to let my memories override the seriousness of the situation. I went back to the first time I met him, how I thought he was evil, but realized I could probably live with that. I thought of when he pulled me into his lap at his dining room table and tilted my face toward his to take my lips with careful deliberation. How I’d shivered in his embrace. I thought of the way he’d made love to me in Leo’s guest bed and how he’d worshipped me at the Beacon before demanding the same from me.

I had long ago started to love him, even if I couldn’t admit it, even if it terrified me.

“Between Julia, Leo, and their cousin, Chesco, we’ve managed to secure enough of an alliance within the Caputi family to bring a ceasefire to the violence.”

Another round of applause forced pride to swell in my chest, making my heart beat faster.

“I want to thank Copter, Lizard, and Titan.” He gestured to the men standing on either side of the table at the other end, all wearing cuts that proclaimed them as presidents of their chapters. “Without your alliance, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

After a nod to both of them, Roman went through the logistics of the wedding day. We would meet at the Roses’ farmhouse on the fringes of Madison County—close enough to DC to draw out the Caputis, but far enough away to keep the local PD from being too interested. The ceremony would start at noon with the reception right afterward. The food, the flowers, the cake, all of the other pretenses of a real wedding would be brought and set up the day before, making it easy for the rest of the club to show up the day of and complete the setup. The timing would have to be critical because they wanted the women and serving staff on their way to safety before the bullets started raining.

It was lucky we were having the wedding at a farm with wide open spaces and few avenues for collateral damage.

Once Gabriella showed herself, Leo would take her out and position himself as the new head of family. Anyone who didn’t side with him would meet the same fate. We used to think that any drop of Caputi blood spilled was a waste, a blight on our honorable name. But now, we had to make a few exceptions for the greater good.

The little girl inside lamented the thought of all my wedding plans gone to waste. How many times had Della and I dressed upin our mothers’ oversize gowns and pretended to marry the man of our dreams? How many times had I thought I’d get here with Vittori or Hugo?

I wouldn’t even get a real wedding with my real husband.

Once the timetable had been decided and everyone knew what they were going to do, Roman gave the men one last pep talk.

“This could very well be our last few nights alive,” he said. “Don’t fucking waste it.”

The crowd shouted and clapped their enthusiasm, and when KC dismissed them all to party, I stayed by Roman’s side as everyone filed out. Leo hugged me before he went with them, and Chesco eyed my husband with a raised eyebrow as he wrapped his arms around me in a fraternal squeeze.

“If you need me to kill him, the safeword is Funky Town.” My cousin kissed my cheek as he pulled away.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Have a nice night, Chesco.”

“Uh-huh.” He tsked his teeth at Roman and sauntered back into the front room.

I’d been ready to leave as well, but my husband grabbed my bicep to stop me, and I froze, my pulse racing. I knew what would happen now. He’d given me two days, and in his estimation, that was likely too much.

“You want this door closed, prez?” one of the prospects asked, holding the sliding barn door leading to the rest of the clubhouse.

“Yes, thank you,” Roman replied, and the deep tenor of his tone reminded me this wasn’t a game, not anymore. Nor was it pretend.

“They’ll kill for you,”Alba had said.“You run and he chases. Trust me, that’s the way this story ends.”

“Where do you think you’re going, little wife?” Roman asked, moving to stand behind me, trapping me between his massive body and the wooden table.

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