AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hung up with a frown. It would have been much easier if whoever sent the pictures to Valentina had been some idiot fan. I’d have taken pleasure in breaking every bone in his hands as a warning.
The butler let me into the mansion and led me to the morning room for my meeting with my wife-to-be. Scheduled in her diary like any other appointment.
She looked far more put together than the last time I’d seen her, her hair and face immaculate as usual.
‘Logan,’ she said, standing to kiss both of my cheeks before offering me a seat on the sofa that faced her with a hand gesture.
‘How are you? You look well.’
Nicole lifted a perfectly neat brow. ‘Are you saying I’m fat?’
‘God, no. You looked upset last time I saw you, that’s all.’
‘Ah. Yes. A lover’s tiff, one might say. Water under the bridge. What did you want to meet for?’ She crossed her long legs one over the other while we paused for a staff member to serve us tea.
‘I want to call off the wedding. I think we’ve made a mistake rushing into everything.’
Nicole cleared her throat and met my eyes. ‘No.’
‘No?’
‘No. I won’t cancel our arrangement.’
‘Why? You don’t even want me.’
‘Correct, but we have a deal that we are both counting on. You approached me and convinced me that this would be good for us both. Now you want to bail? The answer is no.’
Anger flared in my chest and I worked to temper it.
‘It takes two people to make a wedding happen. You can’t make me go through with it.’
‘As you know, Logan, my family’s reach is extensive. Hence why you wanted to use me for your gain. That reach can just as easily be used against you.’
‘What are you going to do? Bump me off?’
‘Nothing so basic. But you should know that I have people throughout Europe. It would be a shame if a car were to hit that sweet little niece of yours in Spain.’
I was on my feet, her throat in my grip as her men rushed toward us, guns drawn. She laughed, her throat moving against my hand.
‘Simmer down before they blow your brains all over my expensive carpet. I’d rather not have that mess in my home.’
I loosened my fingers before clenching them into a fist beside my thigh.
‘You are much more useful to me alive than dead, Logan, but if you try to ruin this for me, then you’ll be bringing a war to your family’s doorstep. Is that what you want?’
Fuck.
‘You don’t need me, Nicole. There are a thousand other syndicate guys who would happily fill my boots.’
‘Indeed. But you’re a good man, and those are rare in this world. I may not want to climb into bed with you, but I’d be an idiot to fail to see your worth by my side in business and in rearing a family.’
‘I’ve met someone else, Nicole. I love her.’
‘Love is messy Logan, I’d recommend you avoid it at all costs. It makes no difference to me where you place your heart, but you belong to me now. Know your place.’
My hand went to my hip, my fingers grazing over the knife in my pocket. I needed to end it to be with Valentina, but attacking Nicole wouldn’t solve the issue. It would only leave me and the people I loved at risk.
Nicole smiled before walking up to me and repeating the kisses to my cheeks as I stood rigid, fighting every urge to stab her in the gut.
