Page 89 of Thorns of Deceit

“If it bothers them, they should leave.” My fingers found the small of her back, twisting in the fabric of my shirt. Her hair smelled like roses and rain, a smell that had plagued me for five years. “You should always wear my shirts.”

Kyran made a mock-gag sound. “Ugh. Spare us.”

Tyran rolled his eyes but his smile was honest. “Don’t ruin this. Aiden won’t forget it and you know payback is a bitch.”

Raven tipped her head up, studying me. “All this… It’s a lot.”

“It isn’t,” I said, my thumb tracing a lazy circle at the base of her spine. “It’s long overdue.”

Guilt and something else flashed in her expression, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. I didn’t like it, but it confirmed that the two of us had a lot—five years’ worth—of talking to do.

Kyran clapped once, sarcastically. “Aww. Can we all vomit now?”

Tyran stepped forward and clapped me on the shoulder, squeezing in support.

“Ignore him. He’s done nothing but talk about wedding decor for the past twenty-four hours.”

“Not true,” Kyran protested. “Anyhow, there’s a more important topic to discuss.”

My brows shot up. “Such as?”

His eyes zeroed in on Raven. “The state of your apartment.”

She stiffened, her back shooting up straight. “What do you mean? It was just fine when I left.”

Kyran shrugged. “It looked like a tornado swept through it.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed on my brothers. “Did you see my friends?”

Tyran shook his head. “The place was empty.”

“Oh my gosh, what if something happened to them?” Raven rushed out, clearly anguished for her friends. Her eyes darted between my brothers and me. “Can we go and check on it?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” I reasoned, already reaching for my phone and typing a message to Kingston. “I’ll check on your friends.”

“I’m sure they are,” Tyran claimed. “There was no sign of blood anywhere.”

Raven’s eyes shot to mine, and I knew she must have been thinking about Angelo Leone. The girls had done a pretty good job of erasing any evidence of what they’d done.

My phone beeped and I swept it open, scanning the message.

“All the girls are alive and well,” I told her, keeping it vague. There was no way in hell I’d tell her that Reina was kidnapped, Phoenix had disappeared, and Athena was apparently with Manuel Marchetti, although it was up for debate whether that was voluntary or not.

“Okay, now that we got that settled, we’re leaving,” Kyran announced. “We’ve had our time with your wife, Aiden. Now you two can work out your shit. I’m guessing you don’t need us for that.”

“You guessed right,” I retorted dryly.

The confetti crunched beneath their boots as they turned and left, neither man sparing us a parting glance.

I peered down at my wife and the way she was tucked into me, her expression guarded. Her small palms were pressed against my chest, the steady thump of my heart learning to line up with her heartbeat again.

And all the while, I couldn’t help but wonder what was running through her mind. Was she quietly planning her next move or silently questioning this marriage?

THIRTY-FOUR

RAVEN

There was too much happening too fast.