Page 16 of Possession

“Now I need to decide what to do with you,” Alamandos states.

Yes.

The same question burns in my gut too. Especially since he just announced he’s not giving me back, like I’m some sort of ugly heirloom, valuable enough to keep just to piss off your greedy, long-lost uncle.

Still, I’ve learned my lesson. I keep my mouth shut and send up a silent prayer that torture isn’t in my future.

“Nic,” Alamandos bites.

I’m confused at first, until one of the men standing to the side steps forward. He doesn’t look as old as Damian was, and he’s in much better shape.

But I do not like the way he’s leering at me when he answers, “Yeah?”

“You’ll marry the girl.”

I pull in a sharp breath. My eyes jump back to Alamandos.

What?

No.

No, no, no!

Nic pulls a hand up to his mouth and drags a thumb over his bottom lip. “Fuck, yeah, I will.”

If I had any food in my stomach, I’d throw up all over my bloody wedding gown.

Boz holds up a hand as if to stop the proceedings. He raises his voice, and when he does, he doesn’t even look at the man named Nic. Rather, he speaks directly to Alamandos. “Whoa. He couldn’t even fucking find her. He might be your nephew, but Damian sent him back for a reason and promoted me instead. Why him?”

Why anyone?

That’s what I want to know.

Alamandos’ answer is swift. “Because he’s a Marino.”

Boz doesn’t let go of me, but steps forward and jams a thumb into his own chest. I not only feel his anger in his hold, but it’s rolling off him in waves. Whatever he feels for this Nic guy is intense, which makes me want to marry him even less than I did Damian.

Which was none at all.

“Have I not proven my loyalty to the family? I have the fucking scar to prove it. I was the one Damian trusted. I was the one he thought of like a brother. You damn well know it, because he told you. Nic doesn’t deserve shit.”

Nic moves, and an electric charge shoots through the room. “You’re not family. You’re a fucking imposter—”

Boz pulls me behind him, and armed men appear between us and Nic. I wasn’t wrong about Nic being in better shape. It takes two men to hold him back.

Boz lifts a finger and points at Nic over the shoulder of a guard who’s restraining the second man I’ve been told I’m supposed to marry today. “You fucking stole from Damian and you know it.”

“I didn’t!” Nic tries to fight off the guards, and two other men enter the fray. “Damian made that shit up and tried to frame me. He was my cousin—my blood! I didn’t take a fucking thing from him.”

Boz glares at him. “Right, a hundred Gs went missing while you were in charge of the books for no reason, asswipe. The only reason you’re still standing here is because youareblood.” Boz pushes me forward to present me to the leader of the largest cartel in Central America. It’s all I can do to silence my wince. “Are you really going to reward your nephew with this when he stole from your son? From you? Damian would come un-fucking-done, and you know it. This is the way you want to honor your only child?”

Alamandos places his trembling hands on the desk and painfully pushes himself upright. “Lost my son today.”

“I lost my boss and my friend. Don’t taint his memory by giving his bride-to-be to a man who stabbed him in the back,” Boz growls.

I look between Alamandos and Boz. I’m an outsider looking in. I have no clue what the history between Boz and Nic is, but I can tell it’s not good. The energy in this room is charged with red-hot, emotional anger.

Alamandos uses the desk to support his frail body and never takes his stare off Boz, mulling over his options.

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