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She sighed. “He kind of married me because I forced him to.”
“You, a five-foot-something, hundred pounds of nothing, forced a Marine that’s twice your size to marry you?”
She nodded. “I can’t do it again. It wouldn’t be fair to him or me.”
No, this time,hehad to be the one to come forher.
CHAPTER 31
HECTOR
So, this was what misery felt like; a constant ache in his chest, magnified by the pain in his back for falling asleep on the couch.
When morning came, he pulled out his phone to call Achilles. By now, his girls should be safely tucked away behind the high gates of the Detta mansion. It had been hours since Mary and Zoe had left. He’d been up all night, scouring the town for clues of Decker’s whereabouts, coming up with nothing. Then the waiting had started.
His house didn’t feel like a home anymore: it was just an empty shell. The walls were mocking him. The absence of the sounds of pots and pans was like a blade through his chest. He’d gotten used to getting home and smelling fresh herbs, Mary cooking dinner while Zoe talked a mile an hour.
But that had been in the pre-Decker era. Fuck, had it only been one night? It felt like an eternity since he’d been alone in an empty house.
Achilles picked up at the second ring.
“You got eyes on my girls?”
“Me and two dozen other men.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Mary’s visiting your brother. Though, I’m not entirely sure on the visiting part. When my sister Joanne came for a visit, suitcase in her hand, she stayed for three months. Right up until the moment her husband showed up to grovel at her feet. How are you on the groveling part, my friend?”
“She wouldn’t.” The only way Mary would leave him to live with Kristoff would be in an alternate universe.
“I kind of think she already did. Zoe even brought her stuffed doll. You know the little one never goes anywhere without it.”
Not Spidey!
Welcome to the Twilight Zone.
***
Another twenty-four hours passed and still no word on Decker. They were scouring the city, both his men and the FBI, but the asshole had disappeared off the face of the earth.
Which was why he was in the gym, trying to punch a hole in the punching bag. He grunted and threw a six-piece combination at the bag, then stepped back. He ducked, did a left and a right, threw another set, snapping his fists back after each hit.
“Where’s the fun in that, Marine? Hitting a bag that doesn’t hit back.”
Hector looked up. Kristoff had just sauntered inside, Damon at his side.
“Go away.”
Kristoff jumped up onto the boxing ring and climbed inside. “Come on,bratan,” he yelled for everyone to hear. “Let’s go a round.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Yeah, you did. Unfortunately, your wife hasn’t gotten that memo. Or else she wouldn’t have moved in with herbratan-in-law.”
Mentioning Mary to him right now was not a good idea. After learning where she was staying, his anger had reached a new peak. Though, in hindsight, Mary staying at Kristoff’s was the best move she could’ve made. Only a crazy guy would try to get into a kingpin’s house.
This time, when he went back to pummeling the punching bag, he pretended it was Kristoff.