Page 69 of Onyx Realm

“Less than a grand,” I muttered. It wasn’t frugality that stopped me from spending more. I wasn’t sure what kind of limit the card had and didn’t want the charges flagged. “I’ll keep this up and redecorate,” I promised myself. “Just a few orders at a time. Or maybe I should just go big and buy a car.” Then vengeance would truly be mine.

Chapter 23 – Markos

The Skorpios family ran a host of tourist attractions, including a large zoo. I couldn’t imagine the paperwork and red tape with owning a bunch of exotic animals. It would bring the focus of not only the government but various departments and committees, each one claiming to be vested in the interest of the animals, when really they were seeking a piece of the pie.

On the bench outside the lion’s cage, I watched the administrative building from under the bill of the Buccaneer’s cap. There had been no movement since Alexios arrived at work earlier this morning. While I didn’t expect these Made Men to do anything in broad daylight, in their prestigious business, I was making an active case study. There’d been little said in Rouvin’s home office. The boss was either discreet or boring; it was impossible to say which. So now I watched his son, because waiting for Rouvin to slip up required more patience than I had. While Anatole listened to his conversations, I was out hunting. I wanted to know everything about the enemy. Their movements and preferences. The fact that Atlas would disapprove of my spying only sweetened the moment.

A child pointed at me, which made his mother shush him as she hurried him away.

Pain pinched in my chest. I should be used to the stares, immune to the whispers. But they all shunned the hideous beast.

All but Serena.

I cracked my neck. No, she didn’t seem to notice my obvious flaws. She made me feel...well, I didn’t want to think too closely about what she made me feel. I knew what I was, and she did too. It just didn’t seem to bother her. The kidnapping, and probably the forced marriage, did.

It was the only way. She wouldn’t have chosen me willingly. A woman like her would never. I just didn’t give her a choice to refuse once I decided to make her mine.

That might just be my greatest sin on the blackened pages of the history of my life.

But enough of sorting through my thoughts. It was time to go. The baggy sports sweatshirt and ball cap did little to hide the scars on my face, which would be recognizable to any of the Skorpios moving about their business.

I made it through the zoo’s front gate before my phone rang. I let the call go to voicemail, only redialing once I was in my Jeep.

“Markos, screening calls?” Atlas demanded.

I laughed. “Never. I was just indisposed.”

A beat of silence passed. “Father Georgios said something interesting at confession this afternoon.”

Of course he did.

“Aren’t you supposed to be telling himyoursins?” I muttered as I sped through traffic and merged onto the highway.

“Why do you always put the car phone on when you drive? Your Jeep has no roof, asshole. I can barely hear you,” Atlas shot back, annoyance lacing his voice.

And yet I was able to drive with the sports hat on. It wasn’t as big a deal as Atlas made it out to be.

“What did the old fart say?” I knew damn well what the priest had said.

“We’ll discuss it at Olympus tonight.” With that, Atlas cut the call.

I sighed. Sure enough, a text message followed with instructions for a meeting tonight at seven. And here I’d been planning to have the evening with my wife.

I should bring her with.Dark amusement flickered through me. Serena would hate it. So would Atlas, which was a double win in my book.

Picturing their peevish reactions occupied my thoughts as I pulled into the parking lot of the condo. A damn spring formed in my step as I climbed the thirteen flights of stairs. At the door, a stack of boxes greeted me. My smile only grew.

My little wife had been busy.

I picked up her brown boxes and pushed inside.

Serena wasn’t in the living room, but I could hear water running in the bathroom. I set the boxes down on the kitchen counter and rifled through them. Clothes, shoes, some books. Nothing unexpected or dangerous—just normal deliveries. I wondered if she was trying to fill the emptiness of our arrangement with material things.

A knot formed in my neck, and I bent my head to pop it.

I should blow off the meeting tonight and make a point of doing something with her. She could buy whatever the hell she wanted. I was wealthy and didn’t spend enough of my own money. But now that the little goddess was mine, I didn’t want her to feel miserable because she’d been cornered.

Why? It’s exactly what you did to her?I shook out a dress and pulled the tag off. She was the first catch that I wanted to keep, but not as a trophy to mount on the wall. And she wasn’t a pet who’d spend her days in an aquarium. She was...something more. The sad thing was a sea monster like me didn’t know the first thing about relationships.

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