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Chapter 23
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Reciprocity Chapter 24
LilaI stared at my reflection in the mirror, at the dark circles that needed more makeup every day. Insomnia had taken control again, and sleep eluded me. I took comfort in my husband’s arms, but I couldn’t shut my brain off.What were we going to do? Over a week had passed since we had the pregnancy mishap, and things were only getting worse.Life was hard for everyone, but it was incredibly atrocious to others. Nathan and I qualified as others. I knew with every cell in my body he was my soul mate. I also knew that fate was a cruel mistress.“Honeybear, you almost ready?” Nathan called from the bedroom.“Almost.” I closed up the concealer and brushed on some powder.My hand trembled, and I clenched it into a tight fist, trying to stop it. I had to keep calm, had to show calm, no matter how badly I was breaking on the inside. Nathan needed me to be strong, and I would be his pillar.“Ready.” I smiled at him and held out my hand to take his.I didn’t want to di
Reciprocity Chapter 25
Nathan was silent, his grip on my hand tight on the walk back to the office. It all began to settle in that we’d reached the finale. My chest clenched and I leaned into him as we rode the elevator up.He refused to let go of me. The office exploded in murmurs—hushed whispers, scared faces, and pointed fingers.Nathan stopped mid-step and let go of my hand, reaching across my body instead and gripping my arm. It was too tight, panicked. I looked up, and in front of his office door stood a figure.The man had slick-backed, midnight black hair, deep age lines carved into his clean-shaven face. He had to be at least sixty, if not seventy. The black suit he wore was not off the rack and probably cost a small fortune.Nathan positioned himself in front of me, blocking me from the stranger, but I could still see. The man’s stance screamed elite—legs apart, spine straight, hands in his pockets. He radiated arrogance as his cold eyes surveyed me with an odd curiosity. Our eyes met a
Reciprocity Chapter 26
I vibrated with anger and fear as I stared at Nathan. We weren’t right. There was an element that was off in both of us. We weren’t working together as a unit, as a family, and it was hurting us.I picked up a shoe he’d just dumped into the suitcase and hurled it against the wall. “No. This ends now. Stop with the bullshit!”He stopped packing and looked at me. “Bullshit?”“Yes. Bullshit.” I was seething. Not working together made us weaker, and it’d become obvious we were falling apart because of it. “You’ve kept things from me. I’ve kept things from you, as well. We can’t do that, not now. Especially not in this moment.”He blinked at me, stunned. “What are you keeping from me?”“What are you keeping from me? I’m your wife, remember? Partner in this life we have together, including impending doom.”He stepped forward, towering over me, and snarled. “What are you keeping from me?”I blew out a breath and bit my bottom lip before looking him in the eye, my jaw jutting fo
Reciprocity Chapter 27
When we got down to the parking lot, Nathan popped open the trunk to my car and not his own. I glanced at him in curiosity, but understood. Switching to mine could buy us some time, because we were always in his car.The air was heavy as we made our way through downtown to Meridian Street and north a mile to pick up I65. We were both stiff, unable to relax. I watched the Indianapolis skyline disappear in the rearview mirror when the interstate angled west. The IMA sat off to the right overlooking the White River as we passed, streetlamps filling the car with alternating light to dark.“Shit.”I turned to him. “What?”His jaw clenched tight, eyes flickered between the road and the mirror. “They’ve already found us.” The engine revved as he pressed on the gas pedal.I looked into the rearview mirror, but only saw the bright headlights from all the other cars. My heart fluttered in my chest, the beat seeming to increase with our speed. Every time I took a breath, it echoed in
Reciprocity Chapter 28
My eyes were still sealed tight, waiting for the pain, waiting for the nothingness to consume me. The concussive sound of the gun firing exploded in my ears. Warm droplets landed on my skin.I waited.One heartbeat…Two heartbeats…The beating continued on.The ringing grew louder, making me cringe, then was gone, replaced by the thud of something heavy dropping to the ground in front of me.My breath was ragged as my heart raced, still waiting for the bullet to hit me. I forced my eyes to open, half expecting to see the nothingness of death or the shiny leather shoes of my killer splattered with my blood.I saw neither.Vincent Marconi’s body lay sprawled out in front of me, his eyes open, the light fading from them. Blood seeped out of his chest, pooling beneath him. I wiped my hand against my forehead and found no hole, but thick, sticky, dark red blood instead.It wasn’t mine.Everything was silent, or seemed to be. I began to shake, my body trembling and convulsi
Reciprocity Epilogue
RELEASEOur story was never rainbows and sunshine. It was gritty and raw, and a force neither of us were able to deter.But that’s what a true love is—an undeniable power—and that was exactly what captured us. As close to love at first sight as two fucked-up people could get.It started with two broken people, and ended with a love worth dying for.But love isn’t perfect. Love isn’t without sacrifice and struggle.Especially with all that we’ve been through.
Reciprocity Chapter 1
Two months after the end of Reciprocity…The glare-down entered its fifth minute with neither of us backing down. My jaw twitched. Lila’s jutted forward. A bottle of wine sat between us on the counter. The kitchen was a disaster, we both looked wrecked, and we hadn’t had sex in five days.Five fucking days.Weeks of small spats were building, and the blowout was bound to happen at any moment. What bothered me, what hurt the most, was the reason why my wife and I were having such difficulties.It wasn’t because of someone coming after us, my overbearing protectiveness, or her family. No, it was us.Us.Me.Her.The reality of life without looking over our shoulders.Who were Nathan and Delilah Thorne?What did they like? What did they do in their spare time? Hobbies?The only hobby I had was fucking her, and that wasn’t happening lately because one or both of us was constantly angry at the other for sometimes unknown, irrational reasons.Sex was no longer pro
Reciprocity Chapter 2
Year One…After a six-month search, Lila and I found a home in Carmel—land of the roundabouts—and had settled in to suburban living. With the lives we’d led, it was quite an adjustment. Being neighborly was a foreign concept for Lila, leaving some of our neighbors a little put off.She wasn’t the stereotypical suburban housewife like many of the nearby residents.There was a good chance we would never fit in well, but it didn’t bother me. She was all I needed.We had a beautiful lot overlooking a small lake. It made for wonderful nights sitting on the deck, watching the sun set.I stared at her, my eyes wide in surprise at her sudden burst of anger. My wife was livid—pissed beyond belief at me—and I had no idea why. Her face resembled the same shade of red as the Twizzler dangling out of my mouth. I held up my hands in surrender, never having seen the she-devil before me, and I had no idea how to handle her.“Why?” Her hands were balled into fists at her sides, sh
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