Page 15 of Vicious Vows

Dad sighs softly and then takes a deep, throaty breath. “Your brother is worried. He’s sleepless. He keeps scheming some crazy things to find a way to bring you home.”

“I’m happy, Dad. Okay? Luke isn’t that bad. I’m sure he will loosen up soon and let me come visit.” I’m lying. I’m not happy at all, but he doesn’t need to know that. At least I’m not on the black market being shared between dozens of men. The man I have to sleep with is good at what he does, and he seems to take pride in getting me off.

“I haven’t spoken to William in a week. He is upset that you chose to marry Mr. Santoro. He said he would find a way to get to you too, but that was the last I heard from him. I’ll call his mother later this afternoon and see if she can talk some sense into him. Santoro is a scary man,mia bella. I don’t know if there is much we can do now.”

I hate that my dad has resigned himself to the fact that he can’t fight against Luke. He’s free and he shouldn’t have to worry about Luke anymore, but if someone worse than Luke comes along, Dad will cower to them too.

“How is business now that you’re not smuggling drugs and cleaning cash?” I force a smile so that my words sound more cheerful, but they are still dreary. I want to be there with him in the freedom, helping him stock shelves and do books. He’ll need Will’s help more than ever now that I’m not there to run the numbers. Nathan isn’t good with computers, so his chore is housekeeping.

“It’s wonderful, Micah. You have no idea how much better I sleep at night. Though I still worry about you so much.” Though brighter, his voice is still tinged with worry and sadness. Still, just hearing that my sacrifice has made my father’s life even marginally better is good enough for me. I’ll continue with this sham of a marriage as long as I need to in order to earn Luke’s trust. Then I’ll plan a way to get away from him and take his money too.

“I’m so happy to hear that.” Staying put with Luke is the only option I have right now to ensure my father’s safety. I’m sure he realizes I’ve had to make the deal, even if he never heard Luke give the threat. He knows me well enough to know I do what I have to do to make things happen.

I hear footsteps and then I hear someone clear their throat. I look over my shoulder as I shove the rest of the cookie into my mouth, and Luke stands there with a grim expression. His stare is enough to make grown men tremble, but I roll my eyes at him as I chew.

“I gotta go, Dad,” I say with cookie in my mouth. “Give Nate my love. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I love you, precious girl.” I hear him say the words as I lower my phone and press theEnd Callicon on the touch screen. It’s bittersweet hearing from him because I want nothing more than to be with him, helping him grow his shop. This isn’t at all how I thought my life would go.

“I’d like a word with you.” Luke walks farther into the kitchen and pulls up a stool next to me. He eyes the plate of cookies, so I slide it at him. I never figured him for the type of guy who eats cookies at their kitchen island so casually, but there is a lot I don’t know about him.

We sit there like two normal people, staring at cookies, waiting for the other to speak. It feels almost normal, like Luke is just another person I’m friends with or interact with when in reality, he’s the scariest man I’ve ever met. But the insane sex we’ve been having every night has built somewhat of a rapport. He probably expected to have to force me, but the things he does to my body have me eating out of his hand and practically begging for it by the time it’s dark and we’re lying down.

“I’ve seen the latest numbers. Dale showed me.” He plucks a cookie off the plate and shoves the entire thing into his mouth in one bite, chewing awkwardly. I watch him for a second, feeling out of place. This beast of a man is sitting next to me eatingcookies as if this conversation is the most natural thing in the world for him.

Then my pulse quickens as I wonder if Dale has shown him the real numbers, the ones I’ve moved from Russian accounts to my father’s. Or if he has seen the backdoor I left into his offshore accounts to make it easier for me to access them again when I’m out of here and running with my family. I’ve been a busy little bird, storing some treasures away for a rainy day, and I hope Dale hasn’t noticed anything.

“Hmm,” I grunt, picking up another cookie. I hope my nerves aren’t showing through. I mask them by taking small bites and avoiding eye contact.

“It’s good work,” he says casually, and then he selects another cookie too—a perfect one with exactly ten chips showing through the top of the golden-brown surface. I’m not used to accepting compliments from men like him, only threats, so I feel tense as he takes a bite this time and smiles.

I know it’s good work, and I know why the Russians figured out what I was doing so quickly. I’ve since reconciled my mistake and it won’t happen again, but never will I tell him that I knew it was a mistake. Instead, I give him a deadpan expression and shove the whole cookie intomymouth. I could use a glass of milk to wash this down, or maybe a bottle of chocolate syrup to slurp a mouthful from.

“Dale also says you’ve been creating new code to outsmart the counter hackers in the future.” He speaks dryly as if he knows anything about hacking. I could hack his whole fucking house and he’d never know what happened. In fact, I could hack his security system and this ankle monitor and run away. And Iwould if I knew I could get to Dad and get him out before Luke’s men discovered me missing.

“That’s literally 101, buddy.” My heart clenches as I think of Will and how he used to do that task for me, but now I’m left on my own to do all the work.

Crumbs drip to the stainless-steel countertop, and I brush them away then slide off the stool. I walk to the cupboard and snatch a glass and then go to the fridge to find only almond milk. Disgusting. “Fuck’s sake. For as much money as I’m stealing for you, you’d think someone would have the decency to get me some normal vitamin D milk.” I scowl into the illuminated, cold void and shake my head.

Luke chuckles and dusts his hands as he stands. “Well, let’s go to dinner to celebrate. I’ll get you all the milk you want, and you can order only dessert if you want.” He walks over to me and extends his hand in my direction, and I scowl at him. What makes him think I want to go out to dinner? Especially with this house arrest contraption on my leg.

I look down at his hand as he slowly pushes the fridge door shut and takes the glass from my grasp. “Kinda already ate.” I scowl at him for taking my glass, but I wasn't going to use it, anyway.

“You will eat more than cookies. You’ll be carrying my heir before too long, and you’ll need your strength.” He takes my hand and brings it to his lips to kiss it, as if we are so happily married and totally in love. I cringe but let him kiss each knuckle.

Then, I pull away from him and cross my arms, tucking my hands into my armpits, and he smirks at me. His game really is to fuck me every night until I’m knocked up and can’t run away.Well, too bad for him that I got my depo shot about a month before this shit went down.

“Fine, but I pick where.” I jut my chin out defiantly, and he nods, which I can’t believe. He’s letting me pick where we eat dinner?

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Now go get dressed. Wear something nice.” He gestures at the door, and I walk around him heading up to the bedroom. It will be super simple to “pick something nice” since I only have three outfits right now and one of them is my wedding dress. He needs to take me shopping or let me order some things online because I look awful in red, and that’s the only color I’m left with to wear.

12

LUKE

The click of the ankle monitor’s lock disengaging sounds, and I slide the cuff off Micah’s ankle. She looks stunning in the dress I put in the closet for her. I’ve had a full wardrobe ordered, ready to be delivered tomorrow, but tonight, we celebrate the incredible work she’s doing for me.

She reaches down and rubs her tender skin, slightly red from the cuff rubbing on it but not injured. No one will ever notice with as stunning as she looks. They’ll be too busy admiring her curves and the way the wisps of hair frame her face in. And standing next to me, they won’t dare question her even if they do notice.

---