Page 134 of Handsome Devil

By the time I was done, she was crying. On paper, it was something that would piss me off. In reality, it didn’t. I liked her softness.

“Andrin taught me an important lesson. Everything I love is destined to die. My ultimate way to shield you is not to love you.” I leaned forward, taking her hand in mine, pressing a kiss to her palm. “I don’t know how to love.”

“Bullshit, Tate.” Her eyes flew to me. “Maybe the child whose name I don’t know wasn’t capable of love. But my husbandis. I’m sorry no one protected you when you needed it most.” She put her hand on my cheek. “However, my children won’t inherit my trauma, nor yours. They deserve a clean slate. A functional home.”

“I can simulate normal very well,” I said slowly. “I’ve managed to fool everyone for years.”

She faked a smile, but I could see the pain through it. Worse than that, I seemed tofeelit on my skin.

My wife stood up, picking up her purse. She strode over to the back of the aircraft, stopping suddenly, glancing at me over her shoulder. “You know what hurts the most?”

I stared at her silently.

“I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t even know your name.”

My jaw ticked, and I dragged my gaze back to the contract in front of me. She was being overtly expressive.

The only thing worth loving in me was sitting in my bank account and investment portfolio.

This was purely her emotional meltdown speaking. Nothing more.

“In the future, you are not to leave New York without giving me notice.” I scribbled on the margins of the contract, my voice ice-cold. I tapped my numbers with my free hand. “If Tiernanmanages to put his hands on you, I won’t be responsible for my reaction.”

An hour later, Enzo plopped on the seat in front of me. The clown was playing with his stupid knife again. “What did you say to her?”

“Why?” I was now on my laptop, catching up on emails. “Is she crying?”

He fell onto the seat in front of me. “Try aggressively online shopping. She just bought meals for every pet in every shelter on the East Coast and vowed to rebuild a few hurricane-stricken counties in South Carolina.”

“Seems on brand.” I clicked the laptop shut and gave him an annoyed glance. “Why the fuck are you here, Enzo? I push a call button when I need to summon the help.”

Enzo rolled his eyes. He reached for my charcuterie board and popped a grape into his mouth. “There’s a third option.”

“Third?” My mouth curved with a scowl. “I didn’t even know about the first two.”

“The first option is you win in your power play. The second is that Tiernan wins,” Enzo explained.

“And the third?”

“The third is you let the poor girl go, and none of this shit matters. She’s too innocent for the life you’ve carved out for her. If you divorce her, he won’t touch her. Have you considered that?”

“No,” I said flatly. “I’m not giving her up.”

“Interesting. I didn’t peg you for a leftovers kinda guy.” Enzo chuckled darkly.

“Meaning?”

“I’ve seen Tiernan in action. If he gets his hands on Gia, he would put out a message. To you. To the rest of his enemies. Before he bargains over her, he’d let his soldiers have their fun.”

My blood charred in my veins. I sank my fingers into the leather of my lounger to prevent myself from tapping my numbers. I needed my equations. No. Fuck the equations. Even they weren’t enough right now.

I needed…I didn’tknowwhat I needed.

If I was being honest with myself, numbers were becoming less effective since Gia moved into my apartment. Old rituals became redundant. I felt like I was on the edge of something big.

“I am no less capable than he is,” I said shortly.

“Agreed.” Enzo slammed his palm against the table between us, fingers splayed, and started snicking his knife between them. “But Tiernan’s cruelty is his business card. Now that you’ve killed the men who murdered your father, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose by continuing this feud. You can end this with minimal financial damage and put it behind you.”