Page 14 of Fixate
I paced in my room, my mind going over everything for the last several months to see if I could find a hole in the image she crafted. Were the clues of her betrayal there all along? Had I simply looked the other way with blind trust?
It didn’t make sense.
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. I couldn’t think of a single instance in which she gave herself away. We were too busy with the attacks on our…
Shit.
What if the attacks toward us weren’t from someone else? What if my dear wife had been double crossing me for far longer than I thought?
It would explain why no one could seem to figure out how to stop the people targeting us. And how they kept getting past our men.
Were there others involved in her deception?
Did I need to filter through all my men until I found the others?
Who could I trust?
The list had dwindled to less than a handful in the last twelve hours. Dante and Preacher were on it. Yamamoto too, though I knew he and I would not be working closely in any capacity anytime soon.
And then there was Ricardo.
I trusted him too. He’d been by my side through the battle last night, taking down men while also watching my back. I returned the favor along the way, up to the point we realized my wife was missing.
After that, everything changed. My brain and body were disconnected from it all, not truly understanding what was happening until I heard the gunshot.
I didn’t fault Preacher for taking the shot. If I’d been there, I’d have done the same.
The others probably wouldn’t believe me if I said as much. They had no clue the level of hatred I had for those who crossed me.
Vengeance and I were old friends. I’d welcomed it back into my life the second I heard Stasia claiming Romano as her lover and declaring us as fools.
She was the fool.
And now she was dead.
I dropped my head back as I closed my eyes. Her eyes haunted me every time I did this, yet I couldn’t stop. I needed the stark reminder of her betrayal. Needed to know what happened wasn’t some nightmare that I’d wake up from.
Because in the end, her death was only the start. Without her, the alliance between our families would no longer hold. There would be a need for blood, a desire for retribution.
Even with the recording from Memphis, I knew I’d have a fight on my hands from her uncle and his men. They believed Stasia was an angel. She could do no wrong in their minds.
I had a feeling they’d turn this back on me somehow. They’d blame our lack of intimacy as a reason she went to find comfort somewhere else. They’d blame Romano for seducing her or some stupid shit.
We all knew such a thing wasn’t possible. No one could convince her to do anything she didn’t want to.
A knock at my door startled me from my musings. I opened it to find Ricardo standing there with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in hand.
“Figured you might need someone to talk to,” he said when I didn’t ask why he’d shown up here.
While it wasn’t the best idea, I couldn’t turn him away. My mind was already a cesspool of bad thoughts. Maybe having company would slow it down enough for me to get some sleep.
The alcohol might even help. Who knew?
I motioned for him to come in, then closed the door behind him. He didn’t look around the space or speak again until hepoured us two generous servings of the liquor. I tipped mine back instantly, then held it out for more.
He raised a brow, though he went about giving me what I silently asked for.
“These rooms are nice, but they still have that museum vibe to them. Always fucking hated them.”
