Page 83 of Dearly Betrayed

Icrouch outside of a nondescript beach house on the edge of Atlantic City. It’s small, one-story, the sort of bungalow that was built before this place had paved roads. A relic of an old time. The windows are covered by heavy blinds, and the front door is locked behind a metal gate.

Nobody comes. Nobody goes. Nothing moves.

Except my phone buzzes against my thigh. I’m tempted to turn it off, but when I check the screen, it’s Adler’s name.

“Where have you been?” my brother asks.

“Busy,” I say, speaking quietly. Almost at a whisper. “Is this important?”

“I saw your wife earlier.”

A pang hits me hard in the guts. My wife. My Fallon. “That’s nice.”

“Casey thinks she loves you.”

I nearly groan. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Casey believes her story.”

“Then Casey can be her husband.”

Adler grunts at that. The protective psychopath. “I’ll admit, I found her very convincing. She didn’t try to hide anything, and her explanation rang true. She wanted to hurt you for killing her father, but then she got to know you, and I suppose your winning personality made her fall head over heels.”

I close my eyes, breathing fast. “What the fuck do you want, Adler?”

“I want you to come back to the casino. Whatever you’re doing right now is going to get you killed.”

“I’m busy.”

“Come back and talk to your wife.”

“Now you want me to forgive her?”

“I want this fucking situation resolved.” He sounds exhausted. I can only imagine what he’s going through, not that it matters. It’s only a tenth of the emotional torture I’ve experienced in the last couple days.

“Send her home.”

“I can’t do that. The moment she steps off the plane in Dublin without you is the moment your little war resumes. The Grady Clan is practically salivating at the chance. Fallon’s the only thing holding them back.”

“Says her brother.”

“Our spies agree with him in this case. Which means you’re back to square one.”

“She wanted to ruin me.”

“Can’t blame her. You’re a prick.”

I rub my face. “And you’re a bastard. Anything else?”

“Talk to your wife. Come to an agreement. I’m not telling you to fall in love with her again, but I am telling you to figure this shit out. Tie her up in the basement for the next ten years for all I fucking care, just make this headache go away.”

“You’re only annoyed that Casey keeps bugging you about it.”

“Damn right. Make it go away.” He hangs up.

I rock back on my heels and shove my phone into my pocket.

It’s easy for him to make those demands. He doesn’t feel like the love of his life jabbed a hot skewer into his chest. Every morning I wake up without Fallon in my bed is a nightmare I wish I could escape. Except my dreams are horrible like even my sleeping mind can’t stand being without her.

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