Page 29 of Of Murder and Matrimony

“Am I going to regret asking what kind of body art?”

“Just a little scarification.” Cosimo’s fingers drifted over his knife. He treated the bit of metal like a damn lover. “The girls will love it. He’ll be one of the few who can boast of surviving his time with me.”

“You didn’t take him to your dungeon, did you?”

“Fuck, no,” he spat. “I’m crazy, not stupid. Blindfolded him and took him to one of the warehouses. With the spotlight I had on him, there’s no way he saw enough to give directions.”

“Good.” I drummed my fingers on my desk, tempted to make myself a coffee. It probably wouldn’t help.

“How long do you think we have before Adrik responds?”

I considered his question. “A couple days at most. They’ll take the time to verify that she’s not where they thought. We’re ready for the reaction.”

“They may not take it well,” he supposed.

I chuckled darkly. “There’s no may about it. They’ll be fucking pissed. But there’s not much they can do without risking Olesya. The men are ready.”

“Do I get to play with them?”

I shot him a quelling look. “You’re not killing Olesya’s brothers. That would leave the idiot cousin to take over, and fuck knows what he’d do. The aim is a cease-fire—for now.”

Cosimo scowled. “You ruin all my fun.”

I chose not to dignify that with an answer. “You’ve got the marriage certificate?”

He nodded.

“Good.” I pointed my finger at him. “Don’t forget to turn it in. This marriage has to be legitimate. I’m not giving Adrik any fucking room to question it.”

“Of course.” My brother smirked. “I’ll even set a reminder on my phone.”

I rolled my eyes and shifted uncomfortably. “You can go home now.”

“I’m not patching you up again.” Cosimo tapped his head. “Be careful.”

“I always am.”

“With your wife.” He grabbed his bag and stalked out of my office before I could respond with a scathing reply.

I’d be careful about Olesya—careful I didn’t fall any deeper into the pit her presence dug in my life. If I fell into it, nothing would save me.

The man in front of me stood ramrod straight, every inch of six feet-whatever, with his hands crossed in front of him. I stared him down, waiting to see if he’d flinch under my scrutiny. He didn’t. That was a good sign.

“Diego.”

“Sir,” he responded with a nod.

I leaned back casually in my office chair, catching the flicker of uncertainty in the guard’s gaze. He’d worked for my family for over five years. Long enough for me to know more than he wanted.

“I’m assigning you to guard my wife,” I said. His chest swelled, and I offered him a thin smile. “I trust it won’t be a problem for you to stay professional with her.”

Diego paled but nodded again. “No, sir. I can do the job.”

“I thought so.” I let the silence stretch between us.

Diego thought he’d covered his tracks, but even if my father didn’t care enough to keep a close eye on his men, I did. The guard in front of me wasn’t quite what he seemed. Typically, I’d kill a man for withholding pertinent information from the family, but I’d let him keep this one secret. Diego’s preference didn’t run toward women, a proclivity that would mean death for him if word got out. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t care less. I wouldn’t be able to save him. The family was what it was.

It worked well for me because I could trust him completely with Olesya. There would be no risk of him falling in love with her and trying to help her escape. I didn’t put it past my new bride to use her womanly wiles to get her way. The solution was to put her in the hands of somebody immune. Diego now knew that I was aware of his secret, which would make him eager to please.

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