24. Marcus
W hen I woke up the following morning, with Chloe curled up beside me, her long hair fanning in my face as she breathed softly, I felt a peace I wasn’t expecting.
Telling Jake about us was more of a relief than I expected it to be. I knew he wouldn’t be happy that I’m seeing his sister, but to know he’ll stand by us and support our decision means a lot. Not just on a professional level to avoid starting a war, but on a personal one.
He’s my best friend, and Chloe’s brother, and although we don’t need his approval to continue seeing each other, having it means more than either of us thought.
We fell into each other’s arms as soon as we got home, and fucked well into the night, which is why I’m not surprise to find it’s almost eleven in the morning when I start rousing.
Chloe is still fast asleep beside me, and whilst I don’t want to disturb her, I also don’t want to leave. I’m not going all soppy and watching her while she sleeps, but I enjoy the feeling of having her close, and I don’t want that to end quite yet.
Instead, I reach over to the nightstand and pick up my phone, choosing to work here as much as I can. With one arm wrapped around Chloe, rubbing light yet soothing circles into the smooth skin of her back, I navigate my phone with the other.
I do this for around twenty minutes before it starts to loudly vibrate in my hand, Caleb’s name flashing up on my screen. I quickly decline the call, but the noise is enough to disturb Chloe.
She groans from beside me, shuffling around as she stretches before opening her eyes, a small smile on her face when she sees me looking down at her.
“Morning,” I say, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead.
“Good morning. How long have you been awake? You could have woken me,” she replies, her voice thick with sleep.
I stroke the hair away from her face as I shake my head.
“Only about twenty minutes. I had no reason to wake you. You can go back to sleep, if you’d like?”
She sits up a little, the duvet cover slipping just enough to give me a distracting glimpse of her bare tits, and she clears her throat when she catches me looking.
“Didn’t I just hear the phone?”
As if by magic, my phone starts ringing again, Caleb’s number flashing up for a second time.
“It’s your dad. I declined the call last time. He can wait.”
Chloe’s eyes narrow, and she’s just as curious as to why he’s calling as I am. He knows we’re busy today, as we already cancelled our Sunday lunch with him, after I told him I had urgent business, so he has no reason to call.
“You should answer, find out what he wants,” Chloe says, as the call rings off, no doubt going to my voicemail.
“He knows I’m busy,” I tell her, pulling her against me as I lean down and kiss her.
We’re just about to deepen the kiss when my phone vibrates again, this time indicating a text. I mumble under my breath about Caleb cock blocking me, as I pull up the message.
CALEB SANTORO
666 Blackthorn
As soon as I see the message, I moan loudly, pulling away from Chloe.
“Motherfucker. ”
“Is everything okay?” Chloe asks worriedly.
“He’s going to call again and I have to answer. He’s used our emergency work code. If either a Morelli or a Santoro use that code, it means whatever the emergency is, it trumps whatever we have going on right now,” I explain, rolling out of the bed and pulling on a pair of sweatpants.
Chloe looks even more concerned now, but I don’t have time to comfort her as my phone rings. This time, I answer, “Yes?”
“Did you get my message?” Caleb asks, forgoing all the pleasantries, as I did.
“I did. What’s the emergency?”
Caleb sighs. “I’d prefer not to discuss it over the phone. I need you to come down to my office straight away.”
“Caleb—”
Before I can even try to fob him off, Caleb interrupts.
“You know the rules if we use the code word, Marcus. I expect you here within the next thirty minutes…and bring Chloe.”
“Why do I need to bring Chloe? I thought you said this was work-related.”
“It is. Just bring her and I’ll explain everything,” he states, and my anxiety begins to spike.
“If you’re misusing the code to get to your daughter, there will be consequences.”
I make sure he can hear the unspoken threat in my voice.
“I’m not misusing the code. Get here, now.”
He hangs up before I have a chance to say anything further, and it takes all of my willpower to keep the phone in my hand, instead of throwing it at the nearest wall.
Chloe is perched on the end of the bed, staring at me. She’s fiddling with her fingers, looking anxious, and I know she heard me mention her name.
“Is everything okay?”
I let out a long sigh as I reach over and cup her cheek, rubbing my thumb over it softly. She leans into my touch, giving me a small smile.
“We need to go to your father’s house, now. He didn’t give me any other information, but I need you to come with me.”
Her eyes widen in shock. “Me? Why me? Didn’t you say the code was for business?”
I give her a nod, trying to keep all of the anxiety and anger from my expression.
“I don’t know why he wants you there. He used the work code, and he wouldn’t do that unless it was urgent. Nothing good ever follows us using the damn code.”
Chloe begins to tremble beneath my touch, looking terrified.
“I promise, whatever it is, I will keep you safe, Mio. I need to call Miles, so can you get ready quickly, please?”
Chloe nods, and I lean down to give her a kiss. It’s not the way I want to kiss her this morning, but it’s all I have time for.
After twenty minutes, we’re down in the garage, waiting for the car to arrive. My back-up driver Leo opens the door.
“Where’s Miles?” Chloe asks once we’re inside.
“He’s busy and wouldn’t have been able to get here in time, so I called Leo. He’s my reserve driver,” I reply, trying to ignore how nervous I feel at not having my best friend by my side.
In next to no time, myself, Chloe, and Leo are pulling up outside of the Santoro house. A member of Caleb’s security greets us, performing the usual safety checks on us all.
As we go to make our way inside, he blocks our path.
“Mr Santoro has requested that your driver wait with the car, since he’s not your usual security, and doesn’t have the same level of security clearance.”
I freeze, my brain working a million miles a minute to try and think of a way to refuse, but he’s right. Although Leo is trained in security, none of my staff—other than Miles—have the security clearance to be part of Blackthorn Council meetings, which this clearly is.
I don’t like the idea of having no back-up by my side, particularly when I have no idea what I’m walking into, but on this occasion, I have no choice.
I turn to Leo. “Wait by the car, but be alert for my signal.”
He gives me a nod of understanding, before turning to stand by the car.
Once he’s gone, I turn back to the man who is showing us inside. Only now the look on his face is of extreme caution, and I’m instantly worried.
“Thank you. Mr Santoro has also requested that Miss Santoro wait in the living room, since she has no reason to be part of Council business.”
As soon as he’s finished, he visibly tenses, no doubt waiting for me to kick off.
Anger ripples just beneath the surface, threatening to break free at any moment, as my grip of Chloe’s hand tightens. She looks confused and scared, and that makes my decision for me.
“Absolutely fucking not. You can tell Caleb that I’m not leaving her on her own. Either Chloe attends the meeting with me, or neither of us do.”
“Please, stay here, I’ll be back,” he squeaks, scrambling away to Caleb’s office.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Chloe whispers, her grip on my hand tightening.
“You don’t have anything to be afraid of, love. I’ll take care of you,” I tell her, stroking my thumb over the back of her hand .
I want to pull her into my arms, to hold her, to kiss her, to reassure her as best I can, but we both know I can’t do that here. Holding her hand is pushing things, but her family have seen us do it before, so I’m not too worried. I just can’t push it any further.
The man rushes back, looking flustered. “Mr Santoro said I can bring you both in.”
I don’t say a word, keeping my grip on Chloe’s hand as I lead us towards Caleb’s office. As soon as I step inside, I know Chloe was right. This isn’t good.
Caleb is sitting behind his large desk, an unreadable expression on his face, though when he sees Chloe beside me, I think I see a flash of concern, but he’s quick to hide it.
To the left of the door, sitting on two chairs, are Scott and Ewan Caprillo, matching expressions of disgust and anger on their faces. When Scott sees Chloe, he glowers at her, his face turning almost murderous when he catches our intertwined fingers.
I’m surprised to see my father on the right, sitting beside two empty seats. He looks far more laid back than I’d expect, in what is clearly a very tense and volatile situation.
My father stands and approaches us, speaking before anyone else can. “Lovely to see you again, Chloe. Why don’t you both have a seat here with me?”
He holds out the chair in the middle for Chloe, indicating she should sit between us, which instantly has me on edge.
Under normal circumstances, I’d always sit by my father’s side, as his heir. It’s how things have always been done, to show hierarchy. So for him to throw custom out of the window, it suggests there’s a reason Chloe might need both of our protection.
My heart is racing so fast, and I have to focus on my breathing to not give away how truly terrified I am right now.
I make sure my face displays the perfect arrogant sneer I’m known for, making it seem like I don’t give a shit about anything, and I definitely don’t want to be here.
“Why are we here?” I ask, trying to remain as professional as I can, despite being able to feel Chloe’s hand trembling in mine.
Caleb leans over his desk, picking up a brown envelope. He then lays out a series of photographs, and as soon as I see the first one, my heart sinks.
Chloe freezes beside me, letting out a small gasp when she recognises the images.
The photographs are all of me and Chloe.
The first few were taken just yesterday, outside of Jake’s rehab centre. They show me kissing her against the car, her jumping into my arms with her legs around my waist, and us both looking at each other with the biggest smiles on our faces.
The next set of photos were taken from our date the other day, at the ice rink. They show me holding her hands to glide her around the ice, me on my knees in front of her as I help to put her skates on, and us kissing on the ice.
But the photo that makes my blood boil the most is the one Caleb throws down at the end. It’s very poor quality, no doubt from a distance away with a long-angled lens, and as it’s taken through a window, there’s glare around the edges.
There’s enough clarity to make out my living room, though the blinds were closing from either side. It was a lucky shot, and the photographer had managed to get it at just the right time.
I was shirtless, wearing just my grey sweatpants, and Chloe was in her underwear. She was on her tip-toes, wrapping her arms around my neck as she pulled me in for a kiss.
The silence in the room is deafening as we all take in the photos. Without saying a word, I reach across and turn over the photo of Chloe in her underwear, not wanting anyone to see her like that.
“Aren’t you going to fucking say anything?” Scott shouts, his face turning red with anger.
Ewan lays a hand on his arm, but he shrugs it off.
I ignore his outburst and turn to Caleb. “If this is a Council meeting, as your emergency message suggested, why are you including people without the correct security clearance?”
I keep my voice as impassive as I can, which does the job of winding Scott up further.
“Fuck security clearance. I have a right to be here, you’re fucking my fiancée. I should kill you right now,” he screams.
I can’t help but laugh at his ridiculous behaviour, which, not surprisingly, seems to wind him up more. I’m more shocked when my father speaks up.
“No matter the circumstances, we are your leaders. You just made a threat against my son’s life, which I take very seriously. So unless you want me to shoot you on the spot, I suggest you calm your temper and behave like an adult.”
Scott goes to speak, but Ewan stops him.
“I’m sorry, my son didn’t mean what he said. He’s just very emotional right now, as this is a huge display of disrespect.”
“I understand that, but threats will not be tolerated,” my father snaps, making it clear that will be his only warning .
Ewan nods his head, a sombre expression on his face as he keeps a grip on his son’s arm. He then turns to Caleb, trying to sound as respectful as he can.
“As our loyalty is with you, Mr Santoro, as is our marriage deal, we’d like to formally escalate this matter.”
Caleb looks more than a little annoyed, but it’s not clear if it’s at the situation or the Caprillos. He turns to my father, wincing as they glare at each other.
“The rules in this situation are clear.”
He shuffles around behind his desk, making a point not to make eye contact with his daughter, who is tense and unmoving beside me. I stroke my thumb over the back of her hand, but still her grip remains tight.
Caleb then turns his attention to me. “Marcus, these photos are evidence enough that you have clearly broken, not only the arrangement made at the time of this stupid bet, but also the treaty between our two families.
“As per the bet, you we’re not to touch Chloe, and you made a point of saying that you weren’t interested in sex?—”
I cut him off, deciding now would be a good time to correct him.
“Actually the terms of the bet were rather vague. I said the bet wasn’t sexually motivated, but I didn’t agree never to get involved with her. I specified that if Chloe was interested, she’d need to be the one to make the first move.
“I also clearly pointed out that when you made the marriage contract with the Caprillos, they knew Chloe wasn’t a virgin, and there was no arrangement in place stating she had to remain celibate until her wedding. So, us entering into a relationship neither broke the agreement of the bet, nor your marriage contract with the Caprillos.”
“Like hell it fucking didn’t,” Scott shouts, trying to jump to his feet, only for his father to grab him and pull him back down.
“Silence,” Caleb yells, making Chloe gasp beside me.
I turn to look at her for the first time since we entered the room, and she looks visibly terrified. Tears are filling her eyes, but she’s trying her hardest not to let them fall. She’s pulled her lower lip between her teeth, and I’d be surprised if she’s not drawn blood.
What scares me the most is the almost vacant look in her beautiful silver eyes. She’s staring at a spot above her father’s head, making it look like she’s paying attention, but I can tell she’s not. She’s not blinking, just staring out into the abyss, no doubt as a way of protecting herself from whatever is about to happen.
The fact these arseholes are making my girl so terrified makes my blood boil, and I grind my teeth together to prevent myself from lashing out .
Caleb glances between us and the Caprillos, looking more annoyed each time. He stops on me again, attempting to intimidate me with his icy cold stare.
“Even if you get away with the bet, on a technicality, it doesn’t change the fact you’ve broken the peace treaty between us.”
Chloe takes in a shuddered breath, and I feel her eyes on me. She’s no longer trying to zone out. Now, she’s very much aware of the shit situation we’re in, and my heart breaks at seeing how devastated she looks.
“However, I’m willing to give you a chance to make this right,” Caleb adds, and both mine and Chloe’s gaze flicks over to him.
Chloe looks hopeful, and I want to tell her that this won’t be the reprieve she thinks it is. Whatever Caleb is about to offer, it’s not going to be good, but I nod for him to present his case all the same.
“You will end the bet right now. Chloe will move home and marry Scott, as agreed, and after you’ve paid a fine to the Caprillos for offending them, we can put this whole mess behind us. I think it’s more than a fair deal,” Caleb explains, his chin in the air as he tries to make himself seem magnanimous.
I’m about to unleash my anger on him for such a stupid fucking request when Chloe drops my hand, my flesh tingling from her absence.
I look over to see she’s staring at the floor, tears trailing down her face. She looks defeated, and my heart cracks open.
She thinks I’m going to hand her over to Scott, and pretend like the last six weeks together didn’t happen.
I cast a glance over to my father, expecting to see a mixture of shame and anger glaring back at me, so I almost fall off my chair when I see pride.
He looks between me and Chloe, giving me a smile as he nods. I don’t need him to say anything to know he’s telling me to do the right thing.
I reach down and grab hold of Chloe’s hand. She gasps, her gaze flicking up to meet mine, and as I smile at her, her eyes grow wide. I reach out and wipe the tears from her eyes, ignoring whatever Scott is saying on the other side of the room.
With our fingers firmly laced together, I turn back to Caleb, who now looks confused.
“Thank you for your offer, but I’m going to have to decline. Chloe and I are together, and nothing will change that. I don’t care if it breaches the treaty, or if it means we have to go to war. I’m choosing Chloe, and I’m hoping she chooses me.”
As soon as I look over at my girl, she gives me her brightest smile, nodding her head as her tears fall even harder now. “Yes, I choose you, too.”
The kerfuffle on the other side of the room grows louder, and Scott’s chair smashes to the ground as he fights off his father’s hold and rushes forward. He pulls out a gun and aims it at me.
Without thinking, I stand and position myself between Scott and Chloe, pulling out my gun at the same time. Even though he’s aiming at me, my instinct is to protect her.
Shouting echoes around the room as Ewan tries to pull back his son. Before I know it, both my father and Caleb have drawn their guns and they’re aiming at Scott too.
Everyone is shouting, and I’m not sure who is saying what.
“Put your gun down.”
“Let’s all calm down.”
“I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Well, that last one was clearly Scott shouting at me, but other than that, I couldn’t make out much.
When the door to the room slams open, we all fall silent. None of us wants to take our eyes off the people pointing guns, so we go quiet to hear who just came in.
“Looks like the party started without us,” Jacob says.
“I hate when that happens,” Miles sarcastically agrees with him.
I turn to face the door, shocked to see Jake and Miles casually walking into the room like they’re just running a little late.
“What did I miss?” Jake asks, throwing a wink at me.
“What are you doing here, Jacob?”
Caleb is staring at his son with both shock and apprehension, his gaze dragging over him in an assessing way.
He’s clearly trying to work out if his son is sober, which he obviously is. It’s the brightest I’ve seen Jake’s chocolate eyes in a long time.
“I heard there was an emergency Council meeting. It sounded important, so I thought I better not miss it,” he replies, somewhat smugly, not even reacting to us pointing guns at each other.
Scott turns to Jacob, sneering at him like he’s disgusted to see him here.
“I thought you were in rehab? You’re not even on the Council anymore, and once I marry your sister, you won’t ever be.”
Jacob laughs at Scott, which only seems to make him more irate. Normally, that’s something I’d like to see, but as he’s pointing a gun at me, and his rage is making his hand shake, it has me a bit on edge.
“Well, as you can see, I’m here, and I’m healthy. It’s my right, as the Santoro heir, so I’ll be taking back my position on the Council. I’m also declaring that I approve of Chloe and Marcus’ relationship, meaning there is no breach of the treaty, as far as I’m concerned. We will not be going to war with the man who makes my sister happy.”
He then turns to his father, fixing him with a stare.
“If you respect me, Dad, you’ll support me on this. If not, you can find yourself another heir. Though I’d suggest picking one a little more mentally stable, as Scott here looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel.”
Miles chuckles from beside him, and Jake turns to smile at him. He then looks back to his father, who has turned very quiet.
Caleb looks between Jake and Scott, before finally casting his gaze over to Chloe. She’s poking her head around me, and he looks down to see our hands are still firmly interlocked. He lets out a sigh as he lowers his gun.
Caleb pulls his back straight and lifts his head high as he turns to Scott and Ewan, a stern, powerful expression on his face.
“Jacob is my heir, and I honour his position as the ruler of the Santoro family. His decision is final.”
“You can’t fucking do that,” Scott snarls, lowering his gun just enough for his father to take it from him.
“Shut up, Scott,” Ewan whisper-yells as he puts the safety on the gun before placing it back in his pocket.
“I will not shut up. Promises were made, and now they think they can fuck us over and go back on their word. I will not be disrespected like this.”
Jacob clears his throat loudly, interrupting Scott’s rant.
“Since you feel so slighted by us, my ruling shouldn’t bother you too much. I hereby declare, officially, that the Caprillo family are exiled from Blackthorn.
“You and your family have twenty-four hours to get out of our town. If you even think about returning, I will kill every last person in your family. Do I make myself clear?”
Both Scott and Ewan’s faces fall, looking distraught, but it’s clear Jake isn’t playing around. Ewan grabs hold of his son and bows respectfully at Jacob.
“We understand. We’ll leave now.”
Jake nods to the door, a polite way of telling them to fuck off. Ewan is dragging Scott behind him, who looks to be in a daze.
Just when I think they’re going to make it out of the room without incident, Scott glares at Chloe as he passes us, and decides to open his big mouth.
“I didn’t want to marry a dirty whore like you anyway,” he snarls at Chloe, who takes a step back under the weight of his hateful sneer.
Without even hesitating, I raise my gun and shoot him in the leg.
“Oops, it looks like my gun went off as I was trying to put it away,” I deadpan, not at all sounding sorry .
Jacob and Miles chuckle, and I’m pretty sure I hear my father laughing too. Scott is swearing loudly, all his words jumbling into one.
I turn to Miles. “Can you make sure this sack of shit gets off the property and out of town, please?”
Miles steps forward and grabs Scott’s arm, gripping it hard, but he doesn’t say anything.
“It would be my pleasure.”
He then pulls a bleeding Scott from the room, his distraught father following behind him. Once the Caprillos have left, and the tension starts to die down, we all put our guns away.
Chloe walks over to her brother and pulls him into a hug.
“Thank you for what you just did, Jake.”
He wipes the tears from her eyes, giving her a smile. “You don’t ever need to thank me for looking out for you.”
Caleb clears his throat, looking more than a little uncomfortable. “So, you two…”
He pauses, clearly not quite knowing what to say, so I finish for him.
“We’re together.”
Chloe looks at her father, pulling her shoulders back to stare at him with the confidence I’ve seen grow in her over the last few weeks.
“If he’ll have me, I plan on staying with Marcus from now on.”
I chuckle, shaking my head at her. “There’s no way I’m ever letting you leave.”
Jake groans beside us, but there’s a smile on his face. Caleb turns to my father.
“And you’re okay with this?”
My father shrugs his shoulders, throwing a small smile my way. “As long as Marcus is happy, that’s all that matters.”
For a moment I’m stunned, having never heard my father say anything like that before. I didn’t think he gave a shit about what makes me happy, having forced me into a life I didn’t choose.
But when it counts, when my heart is on the line, he’s by my side, and I can’t thank him enough for that.
“We’re happy together. This is just the start of our forever.”