Page 45 of Desperate Crimes (Mergers & Acquisitions #6)

A Few Hours Before The Vow Renewal

The morning sun burns hot even through the canopy of palms, but the air is clean.

Salt, wind, and peace.

I left Leanna in bed hours ago after her sister came and chased me out so they could do their girl thing.

I grin now as I think about it.

I’m almost ready to get dressed. My suit is hanging up.

Linen trousers, an open white shirt, a new ring to accommodate her swollen finger tucked in the pocket of my vest.

My amazing goddess of a wife is pregnant with our baby.

And I am so over the moon I could burst.

But I can’t think about that now or I might have to hunt her down and ravage her.

What can I say? Her pregnancy brings out the beast in me.

Maybe we have enough time.

I’m still considering it.

But then, my father knocks on the guesthouse door.

He doesn’t say anything, just jerks his head.

Adrik Volkov is standing behind him.

Something tightens in my gut.

Not fear.

Anticipation.

They don’t say a word as we get into the golf cart.

We ride in silence through winding paths carved into the jungle. The birds are loud. The ocean’s nearby. But there’s something else in the air.

Something dark.

And I know.

We pull up to a small, weathered shed, half-sunk into the earth, camouflaged in vines and shade.

I hop out and head inside first.

And then I see him.

Gianni Caas.

Bound to a metal chair. Gagged. Still breathing.

A grin splits my face.

“This your idea of a wedding gift?” I ask Adrik, glancing back at the two most dangerous men I know.

Adrik smirks. “Just testing your mettle, son.”

My father chuckles low in his throat.

Volkov and Fury.

A Viper and a Wolf.

And they both just handed me my coronation.

I close the door behind me, letting the silence fall like a blade.

I stare at Caas— sweating, pale, shaking.

He’s lucky they left him untouched.

I’m not so generous.

He didn’t just try to destroy my deal.

He tried to destroy me.

More than that, he put her in danger.

My Leanna.

My Princess.

My wife, who bled and fought and defied every odd to drag me out of that jungle.

And this fucker is the reason why.

Anger coils in my veins. Rage turns my vision red.

I pick up a dirty lead pipe from the floor.

The weight feels good in my hand.

Familiar.

Heavy enough to leave a mark.

A final mark.

I crouch, leaning in close enough for him to hear the low, guttural promise in my voice.

“You should have never fucked with what’s mine, Caas.”

He whimpers, Shaking his head like that might stop me or delay this.

But he can’t. Nothing will stop me.

This is just one of those things.

Inevitable.

I pause for a moment.

And then I swing.

It connects with a crack, right against his temple.

And I don’t stop.

Not until his eyes go glassy.

Not until the rage inside me finds release.

Not until every image of my wife—frightened, alone, bleeding in the dirt—has been paid for.

When I finally step back, blood dripping down my arm, I exhale through clenched teeth.

Justice isn’t clean.

But this?

This is closure.

I open the shed door. My father and Adrik don’t ask questions.

They already know.

“We still on time for the ceremony?” my father asks casually, lighting a cigar.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it,” I say, dragging my knuckles across the hem of my undershirt as I walk back toward the golf cart.

I’ve got a suit to put on.

I’ve got vows to speak.

A Princess to claim. Again.

A life to build.

A baby to help her grow and raise.

And now? I can do it in the clear.

No threats left standing.

No debts unpaid.

Just me.

My wife.

Our baby and our kingdom.

Forever.

And always.