Chapter 3

RAFAEL

Women were so damned predictable. I knew from the moment I saw Aurelia Reed that she was different. There had been a determined glint in her mismatched eyes that had intrigued me, and when I learned she would be stepping in as her cousin’s replacement, I was not disappointed.

Caterina was a spoiled brat, a blonde bimbo in every sense of the word. Aurelia, though,  had something to lose. Something she had worked for, something she was willing to fight tooth and nail to protect. That made her dangerous, but it also made her interesting. And interesting women were a rare thing in my world.

I pulled out my phone, deciding to call my younger brother to join in the fun. “Enzo. Meet me outside now, looks like we’ve got somewhere to go.”

It only took a minute before Enzo came striding out through the side doors, the silver suit he wore as the best man still perfectly pressed. 

“Planning to ditch your own wedding?” he asked.

“We have a runaway bride,” I said flatly.

Enzo stopped short, his mouth opening before he shut it again. “You cannot be serious. Already? How the hell…”

“She slipped out back, and apparently had someone waiting to take her to safety.”

His brows shot up in disbelief. “How are you still this calm? Rafael, this is not just any marriage. This is the treaty, the merger the families agreed on. If Leone finds out you stood here and let her disappear…”

“Don’t,” I cut in, my voice hard. “Don’t bring up Leone in this conversation.”

Enzo’s jaw tensed. He knew better. I considered Leone as someone I’ve been forced to tolerate, and someone  I had been unfortunate enough to share a womb with. If I could have my way, Leone Moretti would have been dead years ago.

“Sorry,” Enzo muttered. “I only meant… this looks bad. Do you know where she went?”

I grinned. “Yes. I had a tracker installed in the wedding band.”

It was ridiculously easy to find them. The tracker pointed to a cheap hotel about two hours from the wedding venue. I sat back in the seat, watching the little red dot stay still on the map. 

What bothered me was not the running. I had expected that. What kept gnawing at me was the man. Who was he? A boyfriend? The thought of her pressed up against some idiot nobody, her mouth on his, made me furious. I drummed my fingers against my thigh, forcing myself to stay calm. 

When the car finally slowed in front of the place, I almost laughed. The motel looked like it had been rotting there for thirty years. 

Enzo looked disgusted, pulling his jacket tighter around him as we walked across the cracked pavement. “This is where she ran to?” he muttered under his breath.

I pushed the glass door open, the little bell above it jingling.  A young woman sat behind the desk, chewing gum and flipping through a magazine. She looked up when she saw us, 

“Evening, gentlemen,” she said, leaning her chin on her hand. “Checking in?”

“Not checking in,” I said, letting a hint of a smile tug at my mouth. “Looking for someone.”

Her brows lifted, gum popping between her teeth. “Oh yeah? Who?”

“Man. Brown hair, brown eyes, around six feet. He came in not long ago, with a woman. She’d be hard to miss. Short purple hair, pretty face.”

She popped another gum bubble. “Yeah, I saw them. Checked in not too long ago. You looking for her, or him?”

 “Both.”

She giggled, twisting the gum around her tongue. “Well, you just missed him. The guy left about ten minutes ago. Maybe if you wait in the hallway, you’ll catch him on the way back.”

I gave her a slow nod, pushed a bill across the counter, and walked to the hallway without another word.

I waited with Enzo, and soon enough, the fucker came in.  He had a paper bag swinging from one hand, keys in the other. He did not notice me until the cold mouth of the gun pressed against his temple.

The bag slipped from his fingers, the contents spilling on the floor; Condoms, two small bottles of cheap whiskey, a crumpled pack of mints, and a baggie of white powder that was probably drugs. The bastard had actually thought tonight was his night. He thought he was going to fuck my wife.

I grabbed a fistful of his over-greased hair and yanked his head back hard enough to make him yelp. “Open the door.”

He fumbled, hands shaking as he tried to get the keys lined up. The metal scraped against the lock once, twice, before he finally managed it. The door swung open.

“Kenric…You’re back already… thought you said…” Aurelia stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes found mine, and all the color drained from her face. 

I shoved Kenric inside. He hit the carpet with a grunt, his knees giving out under him. A wet stain spread across the front of his trousers as he scrambled to the corner, his eyes wide like a kicked dog. Pathetic.

Aurelia had also changed into an oversized shirt that clung to her thighs, short enough to look like a dress but clearly not meant for one. Her hair was damp, strands sticking to her cheeks and neck. She must have cleaned herself up to be ready for him. 

I dragged a chair from the corner and sat down heavily, planting myself between them and the door.  “Hi, wife. Not very right for a bride to run away with another man.”

“How did you find me? How did you even get here?”

I tilted my head, “What? Did I interrupt something? Were you that desperate? Couldn’t wait to get in your husband’s bed, so you came here to fuck around with your boyfriend instead?”

Her eyes went wide. “What are you talking about? Kenric is not my boyfriend! If this is how you think you’re going to get me to go back with you, forget it. I’m not going. I would rather die.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kenric trying to crawl toward the phone on the nightstand, his pee-stained trousers sticking to his thighs. I didn’t even look away from her when I lifted the gun and fired. The shot ripped through his shoulder, knocking him flat on his back.

Aurelia shrieked, hands flying to her ears. “You monster!” 

When she finally stopped, I caught her face in my hands, my thumbs pressing into her cheeks as I forced her to look at me. She was beautiful, even as she glared at me as she fought to hold herself together.

“I crushed my mouth over hers, partly to shut her up, but mostly because her defiance was turning me on. She pushed against my chest at first, but I caught her wrists and deepened the kiss, sliding my tongue against hers until her protests turned into a muffled sound caught between a gasp and a moan. I pulled back just enough to breathe against her lips.

“Did he kiss you like that?” I asked.

Fuck you, asshole.”

Despite myself, I laughed. Aurelia had intrigued me, but we had to go home now, before any other person discovered us missing.

I let go of her and crouched down beside Kenric, who was still whimpering and clutching his shoulder. 

“You’ll tell no one about this, right?” I asked, brushing the muzzle of the gun against his jaw. “If word gets out and I see you again, you’re dead.”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you comfortable sharing a wife with your brother if you hate him so much?”

I shrugged, “Two reasons; The treaty, and mostly because father thought marrying us to the same woman would force my twin and I to fix things. He made it a condition before handing over the family business.”

She crossed her arms, and sneered. “So what? Have you and your brother already been practicing? Or will you be taking turns with me like good little boys, pleasing each other on the side too?”

Fucking hell, she had a smart mouth. I turned my face away from her, signaling to Enzo with a flick of my hand. “Get her out of here.”

Enzo moved, stepping toward her carefully, but she wasn’t done. 

“What’s the matter? I just thought you’d be really against the idea ‘cause I heard you were once married? Why do you hate him so much anyway?”

I stopped at the doorway, my hold tightening around the door knob. 

“Because he killed my wife.”