Page 47 of The Devil We Know

“I can’t decide if you are delusional or not.”

She frowns and asks, “What do you mean?”

“Are you so sheltered that you haven’t been privy to the disgusting bullshit that goes on around marriages here?”

Her eyes widen, and she swallows visibly before whispering, “Probably.”

“I don’t know about your specific family, but a lot of these families require proof of the legitimacy of a union.”

“What do you mean proof?”

I stare at her, and she stares back at me wide-eyed, and then I say, “Like, actual, visual proof of consummation of the vows. And I don’t mean just the bloody sheets after the fact. A lot of times, they’re going to watch.”

She gasps, her hand moving over her chest, and she grimaces. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” I reply. “I thought maybe it was just some overly fictionalized craziness, too. But I know people who have told me some of the horror stories of what goes on. And frankly, Matt already told me that at some point, he’s going to have to do somenasty shit that I’m not going to like, and I’m going to have to pretend not to care. He was very clear on that.”

Her brows pinch together, sadness falling over her features. She grasps her hands together on her lap as she says softly, “And that is probably true. He’s going to fix this, but God only knows what lengths he’ll have to go in order to do so.”

I nod, sitting back in my chair with a sigh, and then I say, “Luckily, I had an extensive briefing by some women who knew exactly what could go on here. They didn’t sugarcoat anything. I’d even say they went so far as to smash any type of rose-colored glasses I could possibly have just to make sure I understood how bad it could get.”

She goes to reply, but a ruckus on the other side of the door cuts her short. She whirls around and then turns back to me and whispers, “I can’t be caught here.”

I groan, rising from my chair, reaching for her hand, and pulling her to her feet. “Hide under the bed. The odds of them thinking someone is here is basically nil, so there’s a high likelihood you’ll be safe there.”

The ruckus turns into pounding on the door, and it’s obvious that it’s more than one set of fists, and then boisterous voices sound through the thick wood, and my heart rate increases. She squeezes my hand. I meet her eyes, and she says, “This can’t be good.”

I nod, shooing her with my hands as I say, “Hide, quick.”

She drops down on the floor, looking up at me and saying quietly, “What about you?”

“If things get fucked, you wait until the coast is clear, and you go find Matt and your brother.”

She meets my eyes again, staring intently as she nods, and then she drops to the floor and rolls under the bed.

I move back to the chair, and I’ve just sat myself back down when they finally realize the door is unlocked, and then the doorbursts open, and a whole group of men flood in, led by a wild-eyed Matteo.

My stomach bottoms out, and my heart races in my chest as I try to keep the bile down, knowing that things just got fucked.

20

I Do or Die

Matt

Whatever reason they haveto move this marriage up is lost on me.

I can only assume it’s because they’re concerned something will happen to change the Irish’s stance on it. That and Matteo’s inability to control his own bullshit and the people in charge being rightfully worried that he’s going to do something to piss off the Irish. That seems to be the most likely scenario, but it doesn’t leave me much time to get my shit together.

Jessica’s father let me know that he fulfilled his part of the agreement, and Kaian was able to confirm that plans are in place to stop this before it starts.

Kaian and I are just going over the official timeline for the big event when loud pounding and shouting sound at my door. I yank it open, and Marieka is standing there. She all but falls into the room, her eyes panicked as she gasps and stutters, “J-Jessica. Ma-Matteo. Cr-crazy. H-hall. H-help.”

I don’t wait for further explanation, and Kaian is right on my heels as I sprint toward the hall in the hopes I can stop whatever craziness Matteo has put into action.

We burst into the room as Jessica shouts, “We must wait for my father.”

“I don’t have to wait for shit,” Matteo spits out angrily. “You’ve been given to me, and you’ll do whatever the fuck I tell you to.”

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