Chapter 1

For our fifth anniversary, Ryan threw me a lavish ball.

I moved through the gilded ballroom on his arm, trading pleasantries with the family's uncles and elders, when out of the corner of my eye I caught a young woman I didn't recognize trailing a few steps behind us.

Her gold evening gown had come from the same designer as mine.

I only shot her a faint glance. Ryan noticed at once. He turned around and his body went slightly rigid.

"Eileen, you look stunning tonight. That dress is perfect on you." The girl stepped forward then, greeting me as casually as if we were old friends, a docile smile on her face. She gave her skirt a gentle tug, as though by accident, revealing a crystal-studded mermaid hem identical to mine. "I'm Hailey, Ryan's cousin. So lovely to finally meet you."

My gaze swept past her pretty face and settled on her full chest.

There was a small tattoo there, a clever little star-and-moon design.

I'd seen that tattoo two days ago. On Ryan's chest.

Cousin? What a convenient identity.

I smiled to myself, cold.

"Ryan, isn't the dress just gorgeous?" Hailey laughed, a sweet lilt to it, twisting her waist on purpose. One hand drifted over her half-bared chest, and she swept her long hair back, all charm.

The provocation was too obvious to miss. I narrowed my eyes and lifted my chin, saying nothing, only looking over at Ryan.

He cleared his throat. His breathing turned heavy, but there wasn't a flicker of embarrassment on his face, just a slight knit of his brow. "What are you doing here? This isn't a place for you."

There was no displeasure in his voice. If anything, it carried a thread of tenderness.

Hailey's sweet smile froze. Her pretty eyes reddened at the rims, and she stammered, "I was just so bored on my own, so I slipped in. I only wanted to see what the lavish ball was like."

Her voice grew smaller, the mist in her eyes thicker, her face flushed red. "Should I not have come?"

This was a family gathering. Under every tailored suit was a loaded gun. Not even a fly got in without permission.

She'd slipped in without Ryan's say-so? Like hell.

"Damon." Ryan flicked his eyes to his trusted man behind him. "Take her home."

Hailey lowered her head, the picture of meekness, and followed Damon away.

As she passed in front of me, I curled the corner of my mouth. "Nice tattoo."

I said it looking at Ryan. He knew exactly what I meant.

He pulled me tight against him, nodding and exchanging greetings with the people around us while he dropped his voice low in my ear. "Don't read too much into it, sweetheart. You're my only wife. You know that."

His voice was cold and utterly perfunctory.

When I walked into the lounge, Rhodes was already waiting with a file on Hailey.

Rhodes had been my father's most capable man, and Ryan had always been wary of him.

"They met six months ago," Rhodes said, brief as ever. "During the Crane Harbor riots, Ryan caught a stray bullet and holed up in a butcher's house. Hailey is the butcher's daughter."

Six months ago.

No wonder Ryan had been so careful about his appearance lately. New clothes in shades of powder blue I'd never seen him wear, a different watch, even a new cologne.

So those weekend business trips were just overtime spent on Hailey.

I drew a slow breath and pushed down the bitterness in my chest.

So she was a butcher's daughter. No wonder she'd been dumb enough to come pick a fight on my own turf.

"How do you want to handle it?" Rhodes asked quietly.

I lit a cigarette, my face giving nothing away. "Wait for my word."

Rhodes had barely left when Ryan came in. His eyes brushed the file on the table. He sat down as if nothing were wrong and picked up an apple to peel for me, the way he always had.

"She helped me. I'm only returning the favor." He looked at me with those dark eyes of his. "A butcher's daughter isn't worth your attention. I told you, you're my only wife."

The affection was gone from those eyes. In its place was a hint of warning.

He seemed to have forgotten how he'd climbed to Don of this family in the first place.

"Returning a favor? With an identical designer gown?" I let out a cold laugh.

He sighed and held the apple out to me. "I love only you, Eileen."

He said it while his mind was somewhere else, because his phone hadn't stopped buzzing in his pocket.

We both knew who was on the other end.

"My husband doesn't have to be only you," I said, my face going cold, each word clipped. "Handle your mess. I won't say it twice."