Page 5 of Broken Surrender
I wiped my eyes, then angled away. I must have looked like a wreck. But I refused to leave, simply because he was there. I tried to find the strength inside of me to do anything else. Part of being selected for an arranged marriage through the Marked Blooms Syndicate was that my life wasn’t my own anymore. I could have any material item I dreamed of, and yet, if I stepped out of line, the Marked Blooms Syndicate would eliminate me, if my husband didn’t get rid of me first.
But I couldn’t keep staring at the painting on the wall anymore. I had to do something.
That night, when John finally came to bed, I focused on the painting above our bed, imagining the pink and gold sunset hues were John’s blood washing in a basin of oil. His life vanishing from his lips, his eyes, everything pink and red. I lost myself in that painting.
But I had to do something.
I had to kill my husband.
CHAPTER 2
Desmond
Every night for the next week, we passed the time like that. I settled onto my balcony, sipping scotch while I waited for Lena to appear. And each night, after ten p.m., she came out in a different silk robe wrapped over her thin nightgown, her eyes always wary. Her beauty was always alluring and tragic. Most of the time, she pretended I wasn’t there. Her rich brown hair fluttered against her bare neck. Tears streamed down her cheeks, though her body never moved with any emotion. And I would laugh. What could the wife of the owner and CEO of Shin & Co Inc possibly have to cry about? She could have anything. Her life was set.
But even the richest men had secrets, and their wives kept them well. Lena’s skin was tinged with shades of blue and purple; her husband had been beating her, which didn’t surprise me, considering his line of work. Though Shin & Co Inc was rumored to be near bankruptcy, whispers had been floating around that a new project had been revitalized, one that could save the company. How much did Lena Dalton know? And with a bored, neglected housewife like her, only given attention through physical blows—how long would it take before she told me everything?
It was difficult to find anything about her past. She had obviously been rescued from another life through an arranged marriage arranged by the Marked Blooms Syndicate. And they had made sure that no one could easily find any records of her past life. Had she always lived in this area? Or was she from Oakmont, where every dollar was earned with sweat and tears and blood? Where crime ran rampant, but no one cared?
It took some digging, but my researcher found her. I hadn’t opened the file yet, because I liked a challenge. But one night, she came onto the balcony wearing only her robe. The breeze fluttered past her, exposing the ridged goosebumps on her upper thighs. She faced me for once, her eyes meeting mine.
I raised my glass in a toast to her. My, my. What a tease we had.
At the gesture, she looked away, shyness overcoming her. I sipped my drink. No matter what her file said, she was easy to read. Dripping for attention. Eager to please.
The stupid bastard that John Dalton was, he had let her out of his sight.
One of the benefits of living in one of the wealthiest communities in the country was that everything was quiet. The mansions within Opulent Gates were owned by people who had been approved by the Board of the Marked Blooms Syndicate. The Blooms, the leaders of the organization, lived on the far end of the neighborhood, on the biggest piece of property. I went downstairs to check the lowest level, below ground: the basement converted to a ‘game room’ that I had crafted for anythingbutgames. A young girl, sixteen years old, with dark hair, sat nestled on the couch, her eyes closed, a book on the cushion next to her. I grabbed a blanket off of the bed and pulled it over her shoulders, then walked quietly toward the door.
“You said we’d go somewhere tropical,” Corinne, my sister, said, her voice groggy with sleep. “I haven’t seen a single grain of sand.”
“You want sand?” I said sarcastically. “I can have some dumped in here tomorrow.”
She ignored me. “In fact, I haven’t even seen a blue sky yet.” She sat up straight. “When will I get to go outside again?”
I took a deep breath. We had been through this before. “There is still some business I need to take care of.”
“I want some fresh air.”
“Finish your book.” I tilted my head. “Or go to sleep.”
“Come on, Des,” she said. “This is stupid.”
“Trust me.” I locked eyes with her. “You will get your beach.”
If it was the last thing I did.
I went up the stairs, locking the door behind me. I let out a breath. It’s not that I didn’t want to see my sister; she was one of the few people in the world who might have been decent enough to live on this earth, partly because for the last five years, she had been locked away. But every time I was with her, it reminded me of why we were in this mess in the first place. Emotions made you weak, and love made even the smartest men stupid. And when it came to my sister, eliminating our enemies was my sole ambition.
Power was the only way you gained protection.
If Corinne wanted her tropical paradise, she just had to wait a while longer. There were only two of them left. Once they were gone, she’d get what she wanted.
After dressing in a suit, my driver took me to the Bloom Estate. Along the way, I admired the houses of the Opulent Gates. Each mansion laid back against the land, stretching their property like dominant arms, proving that this was the dream everyone had been waiting for. The pinnacle of domestic life. There wasn’t a loose leaf on the grass, nor a neighbor that wasn’t smiling. Everything was perfect in Opulent Gates.
But even we had our secrets.
Unlike the newer construction, the Bloom Estate was seated farther back on the property, with a long, winding driveway that strolled through magnolia trees. The driveway was more of a private road than a destination for a garage, but like the rest of the neighborhood, everything was manicured to perfection. Once we pulled into the porte cochère, the driver opened the door for me. One of the house staff, dressed in a bow tie, brought me to the conference room via a golf cart. It was a formidable building set off of the main house, with a tall ceiling and bright windows showing off the lake view.
