Page 87 of Bleed with Me

“Do I?” He blinked as if what I’d just said was complete nonsense, but I knew my brother too well to read between the lines. Meaninglessly wasting words wasn’t his style.

“Malin?” I ground out, but he graciously ignored the warning in my voice and leaned his head back. “Don’t fucking mess with me.” I punched his shoulder. “If you know who kidnapped me, you have to tell me.”

“Why?” His innocent look made me want to slap him.

“Because she is my wife,” I pointed out matter-of-factly, yet it still didn’t move him. Asshole was like an impenetrable barrier.

“And?”

“I care about her,” I repeated, my temper rising.

“Not enough.” He shook his head and whistled at Bluff. The dog sat right under Julien, licking his mouth as if it were a delicious treat and not a still-alive person.

“What would be enough?” I asked, annoyed by his lack of cooperation.

“Probably nothing,” he replied nonchalantly. “She’s a manipulative psycho bitch. You don’t need her in your life.”

“You have no right to decide who I need in my life.” My face twisted in a snarl as I sat straighter. “It’s my call to make.”

“Of course.” He nodded, standing up. I mirrored his movements, expecting a name to finally come out of his mouth. “But how are you going to explain to Zyon that you married one of our enemies?”

Ooooh, he was pushing my buttons hard. Rolling my eyes, I sank my teeth into my lower lip so I didn’t send him to hell.

“Zyon is my problem,” I said, glancing at a panting Julien. The puddle under him grew bigger with every passing minute, but none of us cared enough to end his misery.

Malin watched me for a long moment, prolonging my desperation. My insides were twisting with unease and worry for my wife’s safety. He could attack her anytime. Still, if he wanted her dead, I would be staring at her corpse right now, not Julien’s.

“Tell me her name, man.” My voice sounded almost like a plea, but it never worked on him.

“What if I show you who she is?”

My brows shot up, almost meeting my hairline.

“Why?” I asked, unsure what game he played.

“For fun.” He smirked. “I want to see your face when you realize who is behind the white Venetian mask.”

My stomach knotted at the mention of the mask. I never told anyone what she used to cover her face. Fuck, he truly had uncovered everything.

“But I have one condition.” He cut the thin thread of my erratic thoughts. “You won’t contact her until you know her name.”

“Why?” I asked again, feeling like a complete idiot.

“For fun.” He winked at me, and I sighed.

“Your definition of fun is seriously fucked up.”

-41-

Dorian

Staring at the ceiling in my Manhattan loft bedroom, my stomach quivered with worry. Malin dropped me off three hours ago, planning to finish Julien in one of his warehouses, but I would have rather stayed with him. That way, he would be under my watch and couldn’t hurt my wife.

Shit, I needed to finally know her name. To address her properly. It was torture to just lie in bed and not contact her when everything in me screamed to call her or at least reply to her text.

Fuck! Why did I promise Malin to keep radio silence?

You know him, the demon whispered in the back of my mind. He gets violent if things aren’t his way.