Page 45 of Sins of Arrogance (Syndicate Sins #1)

MICK

What the bleedin' hell just happened?

My always dignified wife, who takes her role as highest ranking woman in the mob very seriously,and never so much as blinks in distaste at a rude guest had her foot on Dierdre's throat.

The woman who never swears, even in the throes of orgasm, just told me to fuck off.

With Dierdre.

That pisses me off more than the distance she's put between us lately.

All because of the pain-in-the-ass still trying to look wounded and put upon while spying on my family.

"Get the fuck out." I allow the mask I always wear to slip and let Dierdre see the deadly monster within.

The man who would feel no remorse about killing her and dumping her body in the ocean.

Her small gasp and the way she quickly puts distance between us says she realizes just how badly she miscalculated by starting more drama with Kara.

"I'm going." She puts her hands up in surrender. "But it's not my fault, Micky. Your wife is pathologically jealous."

"My wife is off-limits. Figure out what that means, or I'm going to forget about the alliance and send you home to your father in a box."

Her eyes widen, but it's not affected this time. She's scared. And she should be.

Her games are going to end, or she is. And I don't care what my father-in-law thinks about that.

The door has just closed behind Dierdre when Kara comes stomping down the hall. She's carrying her purse, laptop bag and a duffel.

I step into her path. "Where are you going?"

"Is Dierdre still a guest in my father's house?" she asks instead of answering.

This isn't the first time in the last few weeks that Kara has referred to the mansion as her father's house, not home like she used to.

I'd think she wanted us to get our own place, but there's no way she wants to move away from Maeve and Fiona.

Dry washing my face with my hand, I sigh. "You know she is."

She nods, like she expected nothing less. "I’m moving into my old room."

Everything inside me freezes. "The fuck do you mean you’re moving into your old bedroom?"

"I need some space."

"From me and Fitz?" The last time she wanted space from us, she tried to take her own life.

That is not happening. Not ever again.

"From you." Her clarification is swift and certain.

Fuck. "You know I have no interest in Dierdre."

"Why keep her here then?" Kara demands.

"I told you. Business."

"Explain what kind of business requires keeping that viper sharing our living space." She says it like a dare.

One she knows I can't take up.

"Mob business."

Her laugh is harsh and without a drop of humor in it. "Believe it, or not, Mick, but I'm not stupid. I know it's mob business."

"Then why are you asking?" Frustration bleeds into my voice.

"Because I want to know specifically: what business could be more important than…" She shakes her head. "I was going to say than me , but we both know anything to do with the so-called good of the mob takes precedence over me."

"If it's good for the mob, it's good for you too, a stór ." What is going on with her?

"Don't call me that. You don't treasure me. You never have and you never will."

"What the feckin' hell did Dierdre say to you?" I reach for Kara.

But she jumps back, making it very clear she does not want my touch. "You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"She wants me to divorce you so you two can get married." Kara waits for me to react.

But I'm not surprised and frankly, I’m surprised she is. "Did you have to refuse with your foot on her neck?"

Not that seeing that tableau when I came in wasn't a hell of a turn on. But once Dierdre goes crying to her da, I'll be the one expected to sort it.

"That's not when I took her to the floor."

My sweet wife uttering those words takes my semi to fully hard and my interest in what Dierdre said is smashed under an anvil of lust.

But it's obvious Kara is not on the same page as me.

So, I ask, "What did she say that had you reacting with your new self-defense moves?"

I wish I'd thought to train my wife in self-defense. That could have been a lot of fun. Maybe I'll ask if she wants to practice on me.

"Your not-so-ex-girlfriend threatened to kill me as a more expedient route of getting me out of the way."

Dierdre's too spoiled to get her hands dirty with violence. "Are you sure you didn't misconstrue something she said?"

"Yes."

"Did she use the word kill?"

"No."

"So?" I ask leadingly.

Kara is a reasonable woman. She'll get there.

"So, how else am I supposed to take: Divorce isn't the only way to end a marriage. It's not even the most expedient ?"

Cold fury brings everything into sharp focus. If Dierdre knows about The Marlowe Center, then those words have a much more sinister meaning.

She was trying to plant the idea of killing herself in Kara's head.

"I will talk to her." And I will talk to Brogan.

This situation cannot be allowed to continue.

"Because that did so much good before." Kara is looking at me like I'm a useless new recruit who can't even load my weapon yet.

"I'll sort it," I grit out.

She just shakes her head. "In case you're interested, when her threats against me didn't scare me into compliance, she threatened to kill our son."

Kara watches me, waiting to see how I’m going to respond to those fantastical words.

"You don't have to embellish your encounter to get me on your side, Kara. I said I would sort it, and I will." Dierdre is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.

She has too much self-interest to risk harming Kara or Fitz.

But pushing my wife into harming herself? That's right out of the first year mean girl playbook.

"Why did I think that’s exactly what you were going to say?" Kara asks with disgust.

"I don’t know what is going on here." I move toward my wife. "But there’s no way that she’s going to risk my wrath, or your da's, by harming you or our son."

No matter what she said.

And I doubt after her takedown, Dierdre is going to be threatening Kara in any capacity again anytime soon.

Taking advantage of the fact that I won't touch her when she so clearly doesn't want me to, Kara sidesteps and moves around me.

When she has her hand on the knob to our front door, says, "I am not convinced. And that does not make me feel safe."

"If you’re worried about being safe, you’re more secure here in the apartment with me and Fitz." It's a solid, logical argument.

And with a few rare exceptions, Kara is a logical woman.

"You’re assuming I believe that you will protect me from your ex-lover."

All the fury I bled off in the workout with Wraith comes rushing back. "I gave you my word I would protect you always."

"You didn’t protect me from this. You didn’t protect me from Dierdre hurting me."

"That’s not the kind of protection I promised."

"Well, it should have been."