Page 89 of Possession

By him.

The need to kill Nic Decker with my own hands is overwhelming.

She calls for me as I start to dig through cabinets and drawers. “Boz?”

All of a sudden, there’s little I hate in this world more than Nic Decker and her calling me Boz.

I dump everything I can find to clean a cut on the counter and flip the water so it will warm and toss a rag in the sink. She’s still shaking. “Right here, baby.”

“Is that what would’ve happened to me if Damian wouldn’t have died?”

My jaw goes hard. I’ve hinted that her life would have been much different, but to come right out and tell her seemed useless. After all, I married her for the sole reason to save her from that.

And it almost happened to her anyway.

Turns out, the guilt is heavier than any burden I’ve shouldered so far.

I don’t answer. We can talk about that later. I need to make her feel safe.

I flip off the water and ring out the cloth before turning to her. I kiss her forehead before pressing the wet rag to the drying blood on her face. “I’m so sorry. Should’ve brought you with me. I won’t make that mistake again, baby. I thought you’d be fine as long as you were here. Consider yourself glued to my side from now on. No one will ever touch you again. I’ll make sure of it.”

“You didn’t answer me.” She lets go of the blanket she was fisting and reaches for my shirt. The moment the blanket slips from her small frame, I see the evidence of the horror she went through. Her dress is ripped and her bra is mangled. Scratches down her chest disappear into torn lace.

The sight in front of me burns into my brain like a wound that will never heal.

With the evidence sitting right in front of me, I decide that Nic is as good as dead. I can make it happen in a heartbeat. Fuck my job and the code of ethics that makes me different from them.

Nic Decker will pay for what he’s done. It’ll happen my way and before I’m done with this assignment.

She jerks when I press an alcohol swab to a cut at her hairline. But the burn doesn’t distract her from what she wants. If anything, it makes her more insistent.

Her fingers wrap around my wrist and her blue eyes are as demanding as her words. “Answer me, Boz. Did my father sell me into this family to become some sort of toy for them to sadistically pass around?”

I toss the cotton to the counter and place my hands on either side of her. Boxing her in after what she just went through might not be my best move, but she proves she trusts me by closing the space between us even more.

Her hands land on my jaw. “Tell me.”

I pull in a deep breath. “Yes. That was Damian’s plan.”

We’re so close, her quick breaths blanket my face. “Did my father know this?”

I lift a shoulder and tell her the truth. “Damian’s reputation didn’t come close to his reality. He was worse—much worse. I have no idea what your father knew, but Damian’s antics are known far and wide in this world. Passing women around, sharing, doing shit that Nic did tonight is the norm in the Marino family. He wanted people scared of him, and he got off on pushing boundaries to feed his reputation.”

Her hands drop to her lap, but her gaze doesn’t break from mine. “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it does. My father knew.”

I place a hand on the side of her neck. “What happened tonight will never happen again. Nic will pay for what he did.”

Her eyes well with tears once again.

“Promise you, chica.”

I wish I could tell her everything. That I’m not one of them. That I’ll move mountains to keep her safe. And beg her to forgive me when she learns this is all a lie.

A lot of shit floated to the surface tonight. The fact I have people around me I cannot trust. Others proved their loyalty.

And the biggest….

I’m not willing to drown my feelings for my fake wife. Not anymore.

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