7
Irested my head on the back of a dressing chair in the guest room, my legs stretched out in front of me as I contemplated the fucked-up circumstance that was my life. Maybe I hadn’t thought this all the way through. I’d jumped the gun and threw myself headfirst into a decision I regretted with every second that ticked by like a silent countdown to my demise.
Sure, she was beautiful. I’d thought that alone would get me through whatever hell awaited me for the next three years. It was just a small sacrifice. For Derek, after all he’d done for me, I owed him my life. But now, I wasn’t sure I could go through with this marriage.
Amalia was…she was something else.
A harsh knock at the door had me straightening and rubbing a hand down my face as I exhaled and shouted for whoever it was to come inside.
Derek cocked a brow as he approached. I must have looked exactly the way I felt.
Like fucking hell.
“Everything good?”
I glanced up at him and raked my fingers through my hair. “Remember that time I said your little meeting with Amalia would come back to bite us in the ass? Well, yeah. Here we are.”
Derek sat beside me.
“Kai, you don’t have to do this.” Moving closer, his voice lowered to a whisper. “We can take her out. Call Leni, Silas—some more of our people, and get you out of this mess before hers even know what happened.”
I shook my head. “Derek, her family has deep connections, not only to Ares and The Six, but Cartel. We’d be putting a target on our backs—Eva, Vali. Come on.”
All I had to do was mention his family. They were sacred. He put them above everyone, including me. But I understood. I’d grown to love Eva, and Vali was so special.
My thoughts drifted to Gio and Amalia’s mother, and a twinge of guilt ran through me at the thought of ending their lives. But neither was as strong as when I envisioned her lifeless. “No,” I said, shaking my head and feeling a strange sense of deja vu. “Not an option. No one touches her.”
“Okay. So what’s the plan?”
“Sign the marriage license and be thoroughly fucked—or not. Can you believe there’s a damn no-sex clause?”
Derek put a hand on my shoulder and huffed a resigned breath. “I’m sorry, brother.”
“Yeah, well, you owe me for this.”
A soft knock at the door sent a small rush of blood through my veins at the possibility of it being Amalia. Despite everything, I couldn’t deny that fighting with her and touching her filled me with a thrill I hadn’t experienced in a long while.
“There you are,” Eva said, eyes on Derek. He leaned back and smiled at his wife. “You didn’t tell me you were home.”
“Peeked in and saw you putting Vali down for a nap, and I didn’t want to wake her.”
She slid onto his lap and gave him a quick kiss before turning to me.
“Heard you met the family this morning. How was that?”
“They surprised me,” I said with a shrug. “I hadn’t expected them to be so welcoming. But then again, they’d have no reason to be suspicious. She’s making them believe we’re in love.”
Eva had intended to speak, but Derek gripped her by the back of the neck and kissed along her jaw.
“Do you need me to leave?” I asked my brother with a laugh.
“Don’t be ridiculous; this is your room.”
“Derek,” Eva scolded, playfully swatting his hand.
“I haven’t seen you all morning, angel.” Standing, he swiftly tossed his wife over his shoulder. “Let’s go catch up.” He turned to me. “I’ll swing by later.”
I offered him a nod and leaned against the closed door once they exited.
“Fuck.”