Page 93 of The Mistake

I saw the scars on Charlotte’s back. I didn’t know every single story that had caused each one, but there was no reason for her to have them. I knew her father had been a bastard. He’d hurt Charlotte because he could, there was no other reason for it.

It’s why I couldn’t stand Rage either. He might havebeen able to stop it and even reduce it, but he didn’t eliminate it. Demon was happy for Charlotte to die at our hands. She’d never had a true Thanksgiving, or a Christmas, not even a Halloween.

I was going to change all of that.

Pulling Charlotte into my arms, I slide my hands down to her ass. I love her ass, the size and shape of it.

“We’ve got to get going,” I said.

“I’m packed.”

This made me chuckle. “You do realize we have everythingyou need at home.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be without them. I’ve got to pee.”

Curiosity got the better of me. Going to her case, I open it up, and I’m surprised to seesome of my clothes. There are shirts and pants that I had dressed her in after her sick spell at Halloween. There were a couple of items of her own clothes that she said were the most comfortable.

Zipping up the case, I picked it up and reached out for Charlotte’s hand, which she took. Did she even realize she didn’t hesitate with me?

Pulling her against my side, Hubert waited for us out in the hallway. With my hand at her back, we headed toward the elevator. On Halloween night, Hubert took care of the cleaning after Charlotte was sick.

If I’d not had to take care of some business, I’d have been able to keep an eye on her, and stop her from getting drunk. Hubert had avoided me for a few days after that, feeling guilty for not monitoring my wife better.

Hubert had caught sight of a man dealing out some drugs, but it hadn’t been drugs. No,it had been condoms.

I didn’t like how on edge I was, waiting for either thecartel or the Irish to make their move. I knew they were going to. It was only a matter of time.

Helping Charlotte into the back of the car, I put her case in the trunk and thenclimb in beside her. Hubert took the wheel, and it wasn’t long before we were out of the city and heading toward my country home.

Charlotte moved closer to me, and I loved this. She wasn’t afraid of me. Even though I had arrived home a couple of times with blood on my shirt. Even though my territory was quiet, in our vacant territory, shit was still going down, and I had no choice but to contribute.

We’d managed to push back the Italian mafia takeover bid. They had tried to take Ivan’s territory, but after they had lost a vast number of men, they had backed down and even retreated out of the territory. For now, Ivan had taken over the base, or at least that was what my spies told me.

I had a feeling Ivan had other plans in mind, but I didn’t ask what they were. Ivan would only ever give information when he was damn well ready to do so. Not a moment before. We all had to just wait.

“Do you like Thanksgiving?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ve never cared for it.” Before my father got rid of me, he would have big, elaborate feasts, which always ended with him beating the shit out of my mom because she did something wrong.

To think there was a time I was afraid of that man. That fear had evaporated when I stepped into his home and sat down in front of him, and forced him to look at the man he intended to kill. I made him look into my eyes as I took the life from him, and as I did, I told him what I was going to be. Who Ivan Volkov was, and how the biggest mistake of his life was turning against me.

Since being cast out of my father’s life, intended to be killed, I’d never celebrated another Thanksgiving. I never wanted to. This was all for Charlotte.

“Did you?” I asked.

She didn’t talkright away. “Sometimes. I hated being home alone, you know? It was scary. It was always so dark and I only ever had the television for comfort. There were always some instant noodles, so I ate them.”

“You’re not having instant noodles now.” I took her hand, andshe locked her fingers within mine. She always knew what to do, what I wanted.

Charlotte snuggled in against me. “I think the only downside to having guests is we can’t enjoy each other.”

I rub her shoulders. “That will come. Trust me, I’ll kick themout.” I pressed a kiss to her head and she chuckled.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me inviting Rage and Cassie?”

“I don’t mind.” I did but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

The drive didn’t last quite as long as I wanted it to. None of the other guests hadarrived, so we had time to head upstairs, change, and then Charlotte went straight to the kitchen, while I was there on my own to greet our guests. When Cassie arrived, I told Vlad to go and take her to a room.

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