Page 71 of Mr. Kelly

“Eight more weeks,” I say, reflecting on how far away it still feels. “Let’s go shopping.”

River smiles big and turns towards the door. “Those are sexy words, Mr. Kelly. Be careful how you wield them.”

I chuckle at her flirty mood, because I’m not sure River actually likes shopping. “So if I say lunch and shopping?”

She peeks over her shoulder and bats her eyelashes as she pushes her shirt aside to give me a glimpse of her bare skin. Hugging her from behind, I guide her towards the front door. I pull my shades into place once the sun greets us on the other side. River turns to walk back into the house, but I grip her hand and pull her towards the car.

“My purse,” she protests, but I open the back door for her anyway.

“You don’t need it. You’re with your husband.”

She snorts when I pop her on the ass as she climbs into the backseat. “I don’t know how you make overbearing sexy.”

I look at her with fake surprise. “Are you saying I’m too much for you?”

I’m always looking for a reason to make her laugh because it’s my favorite sound in the world. Her eyes sparkle with amusement and a hint of challenge as she gets in my face. “Bring it on, Kelly. I’m tougher than I look.”

River knows I love it when she calls me Kelly. It appears she’s trying to get fucked in the back seat. I simply grunt and move to a safer topic.

“I know,” I admit with a kiss to her nose. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”

River opens her mouth to speak, but her eyes blink rapidly as she looks past me out of the window. The surprise and low-levelconfusion marring her face has me turning my head to see what she’s looking at so intently.

Surly’s old meeting spot is on fire. Black smoke swirls, filtering into the sky as the firefighters set up to douse the flames. A bark of laughter escapes, causing River to jump as I call my friend.

“Yes?” Andrea answers.

“So I’m riding down Main Street.”

He chuckles before I can finish my sentence. “I’d gotten so caught up in weddings, honeymoons, and all that shit with Father that I forgot my threat had two promises. I only wish I had burned it down before he died.”

Andrea’s antics has us laughing all the way to the shopping center that holds a lot of boutiques and one of my favorite places to eat. We stroll past the lake, hand in hand, taking in the scenery just happy to be out.

Things may have been a little hectic, but now that we’re settled, I want River to have a normal existence and part of that is having couple outings where we live. She takes a picture of us with the lake behind us, then another with me hugging her from behind as I kiss her temple.

My phone rings with a call for Donovan, who has really stepped up to help run Illicitus since I’ve been distracted with my personal life. He’s been a great asset and the raise I just gave him reflects how much I appreciate his initiative, but he still can’t make major decisions without talking to me.

River points at a boutique she wants to go into, and I nod as I follow her to remain close by. Once I wrap up my business outside, I enter the boutique, looking around to allow my eyes to adjust to the dim light.

I don't see River at first but hear her before I can start my scan.

"Stay the fuck away from me!"

My heart rate kicks up as I jog towards her voice. I run through a checklist in my head, thinking of anyone I haven't killed who could be a threat to my wife. My feet scuff the ground when I come to a full stop to find the person bothering my wife.

"Helena?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight

THEODORE

Sayingher name pulls Helena out of the stare-down she was having with River. The rapid rise and fall of my wife's chest tells me that Helena isn’t happy to see that River is pregnant.

River clutches the dress she must have been looking at to herself as she continues to give Helena a side-eye. It’s apparent that no one is in danger so they must have gotten into one of those tiffs that Helena always starts. My heart tries to return to a normal rhythm since Helena is the least of my problems.

She studies me, still somewhat surprised to see me. Since Andrea threatened to kill her, it’s been radio silence. I’m not complaining, as I don't want to talk to her. I don’t want any apologies and I don’t owe her any, we’re beyond closure.

While it’s only been a few months since I’ve last seen my ex-wife, it feels like it was an eternity ago. She looks pretty, almost regal, as usual, yet the blankness that she used to hide so well is glaringly obvious. Not for the first time, I wonder how I ever loved her.

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