My eyes shifted back and forth as I looked into hers, a suffocating feeling choking me. My heart had grown so much over the last few months. My hatred for her had been replaced by a love so deep that I would die for her without thinking twice about it. It was a secret that was getting more difficult to hide. I was tempted to tell her how I felt, even if she didn’t feel the same way, just because I was her husband and had the right to say whatever the hell I wanted. “I know.”
She lay in bed naked, her stomach against the mattress while her toes were pointed toward the ceiling. Her rounded ass curved down to the small of her back, luscious curves that were impossible to resist. Her hair was a waterfall of ink, and her makeup had been destroyed by all the sweat. “How long will you be gone?”
I pulled on my black t-shirt and grabbed my jeans. “Not sure.”
“What exactly are you doing?”
“I just need to speak to my brother.” I slipped on my watch then grabbed my leather jacket.
She got out of bed and walked toward me, her perfect tits practically hypnotizing. “What are you going to talk to him about?”
“Burying the hatchet.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What brought this on?”
I couldn’t tell her the truth. “We haven’t spoken in five years, and he’s all the family I have left…we need to move on.”
“That’s not true. I’m your family too.”
My heart fluttered at the words, and for a moment, this relationship felt real. There was always this central divide between us, but when she talked like that, it was easy to forget it was there at all.
“Not to mention Damien.”
“Yes…but he’s my blood.”
She took a deep breath, the worry spreading into her features. “Should I be worried?”
Anything could happen. I was catching him off guard, and that could piss him off. “If he wanted me dead, he would have hunted me down a long time ago.”
“But you’re walking into the lion’s den now. That’s different.”
I knew he wouldn’t be happy to see me…but how unhappy remained to be seen. “I’ve handled worse. I’ll be fine.”
“What if I came with you?” she whispered.
I stared at her blankly. “Is that a joke?”
“I’m his sister-in-law. Maybe he’d like to meet me.”
Just to piss me off, he’d probably take her and sell her off to someone. “No.”
“I won’t discourage you from reconnecting with your family, but I’m not sure what you hope to achieve. A terrible tragedy is separating you both, and it’s complicated because you’re the reason that tragedy happened in the first place. The odds are slim…and I think your time would be better spent doing something else.”
I couldn’t agree more. Unless her heart was on the line, I wouldn’t bother with this. But I had to earn his forgiveness so I would be vindicated, so this punishment would cease. Failure wasn’t an option…even if success seemed impossible. “I have to do this…”
Her eyes dropped toward my chest, her disappointment written across her forehead as her eyebrows furrowed. “Please be careful.”
“You know I always am.”
She moved into me and cupped my face. With the softness of a cloud, she pressed her lips to mine, tasting like a springtime morning. She kissed me gently, embraced me like a woman cherishing the love of her life. It was easy to believe she loved me because she was such a good actress. “Come back to me.” Her lips moved against mine as she whispered, her eyes lifting to meet mine.
My hand slid into her hair, and I breathed into her mouth. “I promise.”
The trick to success was hiding in plain sight.
My brother used this same principle. He owned a bar that was open to the general public. Tourists and naïve people visited it on a nightly basis, ordering rounds of booze and lining his pockets with cash. But the men with sinister motives discreetly headed to the back and entered the door next to the bathrooms.
I ordered a drink at the bar to seem inconspicuous then headed down the narrow hallway and approached the door. This was the path to the underworld, a deep cave that crossed into the realm of evil. I broke the law and killed people for the riches. But never did I consider the abuse of humankind.
That was a different kind of evil.
I took the long hallway until I reached the stairs. Down I went, entering one of the biggest underground human trafficking sites. It looked just like a bar, men sitting at the tables drinking booze while the large fire burned in the hearth. It was quiet, no music playing like it was upstairs.
The occasional moan was audible.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and surveyed the faces around me, not recognizing anyone. I walked into that bar alone and unarmed. If I seemed remotely threatening, my brother would be too provoked to have a reasonable conversation.