Page 26 of Claimed By River

“I’ll finish up the paperwork.”

“Sounds good.”

He checks something on his phone, then exits the building. The shop falls silent. In the quiet, I start to wonder what my father’s next move will be. He has always been patient when patience served him.

I’m sure he’ll be ready to swoop in when River and I part ways, and I’m helpless and alone in my apartment. If that’s his plan, then I only have one option. To run far away from here. Again. The thought hurts more than it should.

I’ve finally found a place that feels like home. I’ve finally found people who make me feel safe. And now, I’m preparing to disappear without even saying goodbye.

Tears sting my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper to the empty shop.

The bell above the front door jingles. I freeze.

A tall man steps inside wearing an impeccably tailored charcoal suit, his shaved head gleaming under the shop lights. Twenty months and four thousand miles, and my father looks exactly the same.

Behind him comes a larger man I’ve never seen before, who calmly flips the OPEN sign to CLOSED and turns the deadbolt.

My father smiles at me. Every instinct screams exactly one thing.

Run.

Chapter Seven

River

The bouquet sits on the passenger seat beside me, and every time I glance at the bright yellow sunflowers mixed with white daisies, I feel slightly ridiculous. I’ve never been the flowers kind of guy.

Never saw the point.

If I cared about someone, I showed it by fixing whatever was broken, making sure they were safe, and standing between them and anyone stupid enough to threaten them. Then I learned Nadia’s favorite flowers were sunflowers because her mother used to keep them in her room before she died.

Suddenly, they didn’t seem so pointless.

My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I pull into the parking lot behind 4R Ink. Ever since Royal announced that Ivan had married someone else, I haven’t been able to shake the knot sitting in my stomach. Watching Nadia’s face fall while Royal talked about annulments told me everything I needed to know. She hadn’t looked relieved.

She’d looked heartbroken. Maybe I imagined it. But I’m done pretending this marriage is still fake.

It stopped feeling fake the moment she fell asleep in my arms on our first night together, trusting me enough to rest without fear. Somewhere between shared breakfasts, sarcastic arguments, and having her in my arms every day, she’d quietly become my home.

I don’t want an annulment or a divorce. I want my wife. I pick up the bouquet, knowing I’d do anything to make her stay with me. I smile to myself as I climb out of the truck. Then I stop. The shop is locked. The CLOSED sign posted.

A cold feeling settles in my chest. That’s strange. Royal said his last appointment wasn’t until later. He should still be inside. I try the handle anyway and find it locked. My smile disappears. I pull out my phone and immediately call Royal.

He answers almost instantly. “What’s up?”

“Where are you?”

A pause. “Home.”

I frown. “I thought you had a late appointment.”

“It got canceled. I told Nadia. I thought she told you.”

The knot in my stomach tightens. “What do you mean it got canceled?”

“About twenty minutes before it. The client called.” A beat. “What’s going on, River?”

I straighten so fast my vision swims. “I left because I thought you were still here.”