Page 42 of The Almost One

“No clue. Lina says she didn’t notice River’s absence.” Enzo’s about as convinced by my little sister as I am.

“Bullshit.” The word pushes out through gritted teeth.

“Agreed.”

I quickly try to go over the different places she would have gone. Her brother’s, but that seems counterproductive since we’re trying to keep them safe. Why bring herself to them and put them in harm’s way?

“Rapture?” That was my second guess, but Enzo beat me to it. We’d argued about it just as I was leaving, but I never thought she’d be reckless enough to leave the property.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

* * *

Two hours later, still no River. We missed her at Rapture by about thirty minutes according to her secretary. Something about one of her girls being sexually assaulted by a john. The safety of her employees is at the top of River’s list on any given day. She knows what it's like to be put in a perilous situation without a support team to back them up.

So, of fucking course, she put herself in harm’s way to come to the aid of her girls. I don’t need to tell Enzo that I want someone to beat the fuck out of whoever it is that forced my wife to put herself in danger. We won’t kill him, but he won’t be able to get his rocks off again. Ever.

By the time we arrive at my mother’s house, I am fucking livid and my palms are itching for a punishment.

Except, when I slam the door open and call out for my wife, I get fucking crickets.

“Where the fuck is she?”

Lina is practically yawning at my caveman antics and the fact that I can make grown men piss their fucking pants when I’m calm but, here, I am losing my fucking shit and my sister looks bored out of her mind, doesn’t escape me.

“She’s fine. Get a hold of yourself.”

Enzo growls behind me like he’s annoyed at her nonchalance as much as I am.

“Looking for me?”

My head whips around at the sound of River’s voice and instead of feeling relief at seeing her safe and sound, my lip curls and my eyes zero in on her mouth, now hanging open. Why the fuck is she in shock? Following her gaze, I realize she’s looking at my shirt. The one I didn’t have time to change because her little escapades distracted me enough to forget I was wearing blood all over my clothes.

“What did you do?” Her words are whispered but she can’t distract me anymore.

“Upstairs. Now.”

“What happened?”

Holy fucking shit, if she doesn’t run her ass up those goddamn stairs right fucking now, I’m going to spank that beautiful ass in front of every fucking body. Including my mother.

“River, I swear to fucking God, get your ass upstairs, now.” My hands are fisted, my nostrils flaring with the last remaining ounce of patience I have left.

“But…”

Fuck this.

In mere seconds, I’m on her, my shoulder in her stomach as I pull her up and over in a fireman’s hold. I don’t pass Go. I don’t collect jack all. I just make a beeline for our bedroom, where I plan to teach my disobedient wife that putting herself in danger is a line I won’t tolerate her fucking crossing.

Within the privacy of our quarters, I slide River down my body and strip every last stitch of her clothes right off until she’s naked in front of me.

“Are you hurt?”

Any other time, her concern would warm my heart, but right now, the only thing I want warm is the flesh of her ass cheeks as I paint them red.

“No. Get on the fucking bed.” She’s a little too eager as she jumps on the mattress and sprawls herself out like a present. Christ, this woman is going to be the end of me.

“No, Tesoro.On all fours. Give me your ass.” She frowns and I realize she’s probably thinking back to when I fucked her hard then left. That was a lesser me. A me who didn’t realize that losing her meant losing myself. “Remember what I said about you getting punished for being reckless?”

---