Page 85 of Scandalous Kingpin

But as Dr. Freud talked and I went through the motions of pretending to listen, I decided my wife was mine. She couldn’t fucking leave me. We’d spoken vows in front of God. Church. Family and friends.

There was no fucking way we’d spend our lives apart.

I was done giving her space.

I’d been going through this for weeks, trying to time it perfectly. How long did a woman take to cool off?

Maybe I could ask Wynter? No, she and Ivy were too close.

“Are you listening to me, Christian?” Dr. Freud’s voice pulled me back from my latest silent rant.

I locked eyes with the young doctor and nodded my head, although I’d bet a pretty penny she didn’t believe me. I’d lost count of how many appointments I’d sat through. And while Ihated group sessions, I detested one-on-ones because there was no escaping her keen eye.

“How long does it take a woman to come to her senses?” I asked, figuring I had nothing to lose. At least this woman didn’t know Ivy and couldn’t run to her and blab.

Dr. Freud smiled. “Ah, your wife.”

I kept my face expressionless. “It was a general question.”

I was tempted to applaud her for keeping a straight face. “Well, Christian. It depends on what happened.”

I just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

Her gaze met mine, her eyes narrowed and lips slightly pursed as if contemplating how to get me to divulge my secrets.

“Tell me how long you’ve been married,” she finally said, pulling the charm on her necklace back and forth. It was her only tell.

I sat back, eyeing her warily.

“That’s an interesting piece,” I stated calmly, tilting my chin toward her charm. “Want to know what it is?”

Hesitation flickered across her expression, but she inhaled a breath and took the bait. “Yes.”

“Marabella Mobster arrangements. It’s an auction of human flesh.” Conflict danced in her eyes before she masked it. “Girls and women sold off to criminals all around the world.”

She stared at the file in her lap, the charm on her necklace tugged on back and forth, back and forth. She swallowed and after several heartbeats looked up.

“Ask,” I said.

She dropped the necklace and her hand went to her thighs, and I watched her knuckles turn white from the force of her grip.

“Does your family participate in that kind of thing?”

“No.”

“Do you know a family that does?”

I ran a thumb across my bottom lip. “I know of them.”

She accepted my answer and continued her probing. Maybe I should chargeherfor this session. “Do you have their last names?”

“You shouldn’t go looking for those answers, Doctor.” I held her gaze, watching emotions pass across it. She realized she’d dug deeper than she should’ve. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I looked at the clock.

Standing, I buttoned my jacket and headed to the door.

“Not knowing is worse,” she said, jumping to her feet, her hand loose by her side while her eyes burned with desperation.

I paused with one hand on the doorknob and glanced back at her. “You won’t find what you’re looking for. You’ll only get yourself killed.”