Page 133 of A Dangerous Proposal

Bruises stood out in contrast to her pale skin. The clear outlines showed where someone had grabbed her and squeezed hard. The image hit him like a blow, his vision narrowing as a tidal wave of violence rose inside him.

He reached for her arm, gently brushing over the marks on her smooth skin. “What happened?”

Madison hesitated, her eyes falling to the bruises on her wrist before her expression shifted slightly. It was only there for a millisecond, but Alex caught the residual emotion before she masked it. Fear.

“Felix…”

“Whatexactlydid he do?” Alex attempted to keep his voice even, but he knew he had failed when Madison flinched.

She took a slow breath and met his gaze. “He was… high. That’s a good thing because it means he’ll fail his next drug test.”

The words rushed out, as if she were trying to distract him from the important information.

The only information he cared about.

Felix put his hands on her, and now he was going to pay with his pain.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Madison continued, “He was his typical nasty self and grabbed my arm. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Alex’s entire frame stiffened as he imagined the scene. She was leaving something out. It was obvious Felix had said something that frightened her, or else Madison would have told him. Alex didn’t need to know the exact words. They didn’t matter because the outcome had already been decided.

For now, he’d play along. Madison didn’t need to worry about what he was going to do. And she would. She’d worry about what Mikhail would do.

She’ll worry about me.

“I think if we could ask for a random drug test and figure out how he’s been passing the others…” Her words trailed off, and he realized she’d seen through him.

“Alex, don’t.” Her fingers curling around his forearm. “I know this has turned out to be something bigger than either of us intended, but you can’t…” She took a deep breath and startedagain. “I never wanted this… I know it’s not what you signed up for and my mess has become much bigger than you expected.”

“Madison.” He gripped her chin firmly between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to meet his eyes. “You aremy wife. Jax is our son. There is no such thing asyourmess anymore. You are a Kovalyov. If someone thinks they can hurt you, or our family, they will answer for it. Period.”

She blew out a breath. “I don’t want something to happen to you because I couldn’t figure a way out of this.”

Alex brushed a thumb over her hand. “You don’t have to handle it alone anymore. Whatever happens, you and Jax will be okay. I promise.”

“I know. And I’m grateful… really.” She paused, her voice dropping to an anxious whisper. “Just… promise me you’ll be careful.”

Alex’s expression hardened, his jaw tightening as he looked down at her, the bruises still vivid on her arm. No one—especially not a weak piece of shit like Felix—would ever hurt her again.

The parking lot of the church outside of Felix’s AA meeting was almost empty. Alex leaned against the hood of his car, his eyes fixed on the church door, as he waited for Felix to appear. Rage pulsed in his veins, tightly controlled, but with each passing minute, his restraint frayed.

He replayed the image of Madison’s bruises in his mind. He hated that he couldn’t kill the bastard tonight. Felix didn’t deserve a quick death, and this close to his conversation with Mikhail, Alex couldn’t take the time he wanted. He would have to settle for hurting him.

Alex sighed.It really isn’t fair.

After nearly half an hour of waiting, Alex’s patience wore thin. There’d been no sign of Felix, and the meeting had been over for a while. Scanning the parking lot, his gaze was drawn to the faint glow of neon coming from a bar down the street.

A smile twisted his lips. Felix was a coward and a liar. Hiding out in the bar near his AA meeting was exactly the kind of trick he’d pull.

Maybe the asshole was smarter than Alex gave him credit for. If his new wife checked his location on her phone, he’d look like the perfectly reformed man he pretended to be, attending his meetings, when, in fact, he was at the dive bar nearby.

A cold peace came over Alex as he stalked toward the bar, ignoring the muffled sounds of laughter and music filtering out onto the street. He pulled out the device Liev had procured for him, and he flipped the switch to jam the Wi-Fi signals of any surrounding cameras.

Rounding the building, he found the alley stretching behind it, dimly lit, and filled with the faint smell of cigarettes and stale beer. He’d be able to see the entrance from there, and when the two people stopped fucking against the wall, it would be the perfect place to bring Felix.

A sixth sense had Alex looking closer at the couple, and sure enough, he recognized Felix’s spindly legs with his jeans around his knees, plowing into a woman who was screeching as if she were being murdered. Alex shook his head.

He pulled his phone out and took several seconds of video before switching to photo mode. Not quite the quality he’d prefer, but it would have to do. The bright flashes of light alerted the couple to the fact they had an audience.

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