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GOLDS was printed on the paper.
Taking a few deep breaths, I crinkled the paper up. No one knew me by that name or what that could have possibly meant.
I’d been careful.
I’d been smart.
I didn’t even have a social media presence. When I’d undergone the background checks for the Wife for Hire Agency, Ms. May the owner of the company had even commented that I seemed as if I were a ghost.
I grabbed the tiny, tattered Coach wallet and my cell phone and hustled into the store. I’d promised Maggie and Luna that I’d make tacos for dinner. That was the one meal I knew they both liked, and I loved cooking for them.
Still, I couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched. That someone was keeping a close eye on me despite how careful I was.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone vibrated but relaxed when I saw that it was Ashton sending me the address to the boutique.
Find something pretty, Halo. The text was simple and calming but I knew he could be dominating.
It wasn’t just a nice gesture.
My husband was commanding me.
And I wanted to obey him.
ASHTON
The crime scene photos in front of me were a relentless reminder that my world had changed over the last six months. They had consumed my every waking moment since I’d gotten them.
Despite the cops insisting that this had been a robbery because the diamond rose earrings that she’d worn for years were missing from her body, I felt as if she’d been murdered by someone she knew.
I stared at the position of Abby’s body for a few more moments before I finally tucked the file inside my desk and out of sight.
Standing, I exited out of my home office. The house was super quiet and no one was the wiser that I was back yet.
By my calculations, Halo would have driven them to the equestrian lessons by now. They would ride home with another girl who did riding lessons in the neighborhood.
Halo though, according to the GPS tracker was inside of Peaches and Cream Boutique owned by none other than Diamond Scarpetta, aka the mob queen of Atlanta.
Grabbing my keys off the hook, I headed to the garage and found my head of security on my ass. The man moved like a shadow and there was no losing him.
“Sir,” he said.
The man was at least three feet taller than I was. His gaze pierced my own. “Mark, I’m just headed out for the evening.”
“Sir,” he said again causing me to stop, his tone remaining respectful. “Let me do my job and keep you safe.”
He didn’t give a shit about offending me and that was why I’d hired and kept him on. He would die before he let me come to harm.
“Fine, you can drive…”
I tossed him the keys and he grinned as we entered the blacked-out SUV. I told him where we needed to go and he punched the destination into the GPS.
Mark maneuvered us through the city of Atlanta without incident. Pulling up to Peaches and Cream, I had him park across the street.
A neon light in the shape of a giant peach that looked like an ass shown brightly. Inside the store, I could see Halo standing around pensively as if unsure of what she was doing inside.
I loved watching her, especially when she was unaware.
Her presence did something to me, she made me nervous on a level I’d never known. I was the son of a Yakuza drug lord, there was no way a woman should be making me anxious. There was no room in my life for that particular emotion.
