Chapter 27
Dorian
“Your mole is using an external server to keep tabs on you.” Salvatore leans in, a proud smile brightening his face. “Gibbs got an off-the-grid analyst to assess the hacking code you found.”
I’m glad he can’t tell I’m only half listening or that my mind is stuck on my wife.
Wife.
The word feels strange in my mind. Like something foreign that doesn’t quite belong, yet it does.
Elodie and I are now married.
Night fell just over an hour ago. Salvatore and I have only just gotten a chance to catch up. We’re standing by the water fountain. Far enough from the crowd for privacy but close enough for me to see Elodie talking to my aunt Maureen beneath the gazebo.
Salvatore has important things to tell me, but I can’t stop thinking about how cold Elodie has been toward me all fucking day.
It started with the kiss, the one I gave her after the priest declared us husband and wife.
I kissed my wife, shamelessly eager to feel her lips on mine, but the moment our mouths touched, it felt like kissing a corpse. There was nothing there. No life, no emotion, no trace of the girl I reconnected with mere weeks ago.
Elodie Harper is now Elodie Vale.
She’s acting exactly as she should for a woman in a contracted marriage. I just don’t like it.
I laid the cards on the table. Told her what I wanted, told her what I didn’t want, and that I could give her everything in this world except love.
So, why the fuck am I bothered by her behavior?
I sensed the change in her the moment she took her first steps down the aisle. It was the stoic expression on her face and the new confidence set in her shoulders. I should commend her; instead, I am here, irritated. Like a child who can’t have his way.
“The tracking code we installed popped an hour ago,” Salvatore continues, snapping my attention fully back to him. “It popped here.”
“Here?” I can’t hide my surprise.
He nods. “The plan worked, old friend.”
Salvatore is the kind of friend I would have always invited to my wedding, but he’s also here today because he’s working.
The plan he’s referring to was to use the wedding as a trap to lure in the mole.
He figured they’d attend the wedding. And if they did, we’d be able to narrow down the list of suspects. Looks like he was right.
“But this bastard is clever,” he continues. “We couldn’t pin down who it was linked to. Looks like a ghost op.”
I bite the inside of my lip. Throughout this whole time, I’ve contemplated who this person could be. More and more, I’m convinced it’s someone close to the family.
The level of complexity and lengths they’ve gone through to conceal themselves is expected from a high-level hacker. But it also suggests they want to remain hidden for other reasons.
“What are your thoughts on that?” I add.
“Most likely the same as yours.” Salvatore stares back at me with narrow assessing eyes.
“That it’s someone close, and they’re worried about what they may have to lose if discovered.”
He folds his arms over his chest. “My experience has taught me that it’s not always an enemy. Sometimes it’s the people you least expect. They’re the ones who get closest to you. They’re the ones with the means to ruin you.”
“That might prove more difficult to unearth than an enemy.”
“It will. Harder to see what’s in front of you. But we’ll do what we have to do to smoke them out.”
Salvatore and I come from different sides of the same coin, but my world is just as cutthroat as his. At any moment, anyone could stab you in the back without a thought. “What happens now?”
“Leave it with me. You have other things to think about.” He rests a hand on my shoulder and motions toward Elodie.
My gaze drifts to her. My aunt must be boring the life out of her, undoubtedly talking about the new Shire horses she just purchased, but Elodie is listening intently.
From here I can’t quite see her expression, but she seems fully engaged, hanging on to every word. Most of us avoid Aunt Maureen because she will talk your ear off.
Salvatore taps my shoulder. “Go, be with your woman. It’s your wedding day. If anything urgent comes up, I’ll call you.”
I look back at him. He’s aware of my situation with Elodie. With the investigation going on, I couldn’t exactly hide it from him. Plus, there is the fact that I bought Elodie at his auction, and he backed me up when we had to deal with Marcus. “You know my wedding is—”
“A wedding is a wedding, young one.”
I smirk. “Young one?”
“Remember I have twenty years on you, so take my advice.” He focuses on Elodie. “This may be business to you, but it’s not for her. This is her wedding day. No matter what happens between you, she’ll always remember it. Besides, look at her.”
I do. And I’m already guessing what he was going to tell me.
“She’s beautiful, and you picked her. What harm could come of indulging a little? You know you want to.”
I cut him a hard stare. “What makes you think that?”
He levels me a hard stare and smirks. “You’ve hardly taken your eyes off her all day. As you should. Don’t you dare insult me by denying it.”
I breathe out a ragged sigh and glance back at my wife. She is beautiful. Admittedly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“A girl like that is not going to wait around for you,” Salvatore taunts.
Irritated, I raise my brows at him. “I don’t want her to wait for me.” I might have sounded more convincing if not for the unhinged edge in my voice giving me away.
The look Salvatore gives me says he sees right through me. “Dorian Vale, say whatever you want, but if you’re not careful, that cousin of yours will make his move on her. I don’t think you’d like that very much.”
Fucking Parker.
My jaw clenches. That asshole has been looking at Elodie all day, too, watching her like a hungry dog. The fact that Salvatore noticed it says a lot.
Parker wants to fuck with me, but I know him. If he ever got the chance to put his filthy hands on my wife, he’d take far more than just the opportunity to get under my skin. Then I’d have to cut off his dick and kill him.
“Go,” Salvatore says with a curt nod. “Like I said, I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Alright.” It’s time to go anyway. And against my better judgment, I should speak to Elodie. In private. “Talk later.”
He dips his head. With a rough sigh, I make my way toward Elodie. I spot Knox talking with Levi and Locke near the bar. They look like they’re having one hell of an animated discussion. Locke is doing most of the talking, which suggests he’s up to one of his shenanigans.
Knox sees me, just as I hoped. I lift my hand, signaling to him that I’m heading out. He nods back.
Before I reach Elodie, I scan the place for my parents and Adeline.
I don’t see them anywhere, but I find Parker on the second-floor balcony, his eyes glued to my wife’s ass.
He’s so engrossed, undressing her with his seedy eyes, he doesn’t even notice me watching him until I’m a stone’s throw away from Elodie.
Only then does he straighten. The motherfucker doesn’t even try to look guilty for being caught. Instead, he raises his champagne glass to me, as if he’s making a fucking toast.
I look away. It’s best to. I don’t want to get into anything with him tonight.
I walk right up to Elodie. I’m not sure if she saw me coming and pretended she didn’t. When I reach her, she gives me the same stiff smile I received earlier when she saw me talking to one of the ladies who run my PR team.
“There’s my Dorian.” Maureen glides up to me and gives me a quick hug. The millionth one for the day. “I’m ecstatic for you. Your wife is a rare gem.”
I slip my arm around Elodie. Her shoulders stiffen at my touch. “That’s why she’s my wife.”
Maureen claps. “I’m so happy for you. You must take her to England. She tells me it’s her dream to go there. She’d love the family Cotswold cottage.”
“I’m sure I’ll find my way there one day soon. Dorian is always so busy.” Elodie tries to brush away the idea.
“Nonsense. Work will always be there.” Maureen shakes her head. “You are young and you just got married. That’s the best time to have fun. Do it before the kids come along.”
“You’re right, Aunt Maureen.” I flash her one of my boyish grins, guaranteed to get her off my back. “And with that said, it’s time for us to head home. We want to spend what’s left of the day together.”
Maureen’s smile widens while Elodie’s fades.
“Aww, young love,” she tuts in a wistful tone. “Go home and have the best time together.”
“We will.”
Elodie bids Maureen goodbye, and I usher her away, my arm still firmly around her waist. I look ahead, guiding her down the winding moonlit path.
“Is there anyone you need to say goodbye to?” I was thinking of Jack. We were able to coexist today, but I noticed he kept his distance. So did I.
“No,” Elodie replies, short and to the point.
I sharpen my gaze. “Do you want to grab a drink before we head out?”
“No.”
“You sure?” I prod.
“I’m sure.”
Her previous answers were so practiced, I almost thought she’d tell me no again by default. I give her a sidelong glance, assessing her. She looks pissed. Like someone ready to snap.
“I need my things.”
“Sure. I’ll come with you.”
She shoots me a hard stare before looking away.
I’d be one hell of a fool if I didn’t know she was mad as fuck at me. I’ve never cared about what people think, but this girl has me twisted and breaking my rules again.
Salvatore wasn’t wrong for calling me out. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her all day, and I don’t think that’s going to get any easier. Especially with her behaving like this.
She continues ignoring me as we walk back into the building.
We make our way to the other side of the castle and find the bridal suite.
She walks in ahead of me, and I track her movements as she busies herself packing her vanity case, gathering bits of makeup and hair supplies. Minutes of awkward-as-fuck silence pass while she acts like I don’t exist.