Page 6 of Hostile Bond
I stop myself short, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his unsettled mood is scaring me. “Understood.”
Our eyes finally lock in an alarming standoff. He looks worn out, like he’s visited the molten gates of Hell to fight for his best friend’s freedom and had left empty-handed. His corded neck is grubby from salty sweat and grime, and his feral gaze holds no softness.
My husband isn’t staring at me with the eyes of a lover. He’s straining to keep himself in check. Doing his best not to lash out or wave his gun in my face as a threat for my disobedience.
A cold-blooded persona has slotted into place, shutting me off from the man I know exists under a smog of wrath.
“This isn’t the time to test my authority,” he says on a low growl, glancing over his shoulder to ensure the snipers are still in place. “Get inside. Now.”
I square my shoulders and suck in a ragged breath. The flimsy degree of pride I’ve managed to hold on to during our time together disintegrates under his sharp, dismissive command.
Our reunion didn’t pan out as I’d hoped it would. All I’d wanted to do was hold him close and show my support. But now, he's flipped that scenario inside out and I want to be as far away from him as possible.
If witnessing a catastrophic bomb didn’t make me remember why I hated this cartel lifestyle, his remorseless outburst certainly did.
I pivot on the balls of my feet and stomp to the metal door leading inside. A terrifying snarl prickles my scalp, the growl so raw it tears at my veins, threatening to snip the main artery to my heart.
“Cover her.” Footsteps chase me, the heavy thumps battering out a rhythm to match my quick breathing.
I glance over my shoulder to find André one step behind me, his gun still visible.
“I only wanted to see you… that’s all.” I shove the door wide open and flinch when it slams into the wall like a crack of thunder.
“And get yourself killed in the process,” he snaps. “Christ, Sin…” His echoey footfalls follow me into the stairwell. “They blew up the fucking hotel, which means they could launch a rocket at this place too. Are you that naïve?”
I spin around to face him, my heart thumping. “How dare you, André!”
Behind carbon black eyes, an eruptive temper simmers. He looks devastated and the more we stare at each other, the more I feed off this time-hallowed infatuation of mine.
His predatory pace has no limits, not when he grabs my wrist and swings me into him. The whites of his eyes are bloodshot, the thin red veins zigzagging to sunless irises like strikes from the devil’s pitchfork. He isn’t just furious, he’s distraught.
“I love you, Sin,and it’s thrown me off myAgame.” A flurry of flutters clash in my chest as his sincerity devours me.
But my swollen heart goes from gooey to titanium in zero to sixty seconds when he adds, “In this world we rule over, love is a distraction.” He drags a hand over his mouth. “I haven’t got time to worry about someone who’s so damn headstrong and belligerent. Not when I need to focus on slaughtering the fuckers who’ve started a war. Keeping you indoors is my way of protecting what’s mine, even if that means you have no freedom. So, you need to do as you’re told and stop taking stupid fucking risks.”
It’s not exactly the proclamation of devotion that I’d hoped for, nor does it give me any comfort in the malignant universe he’s pulled me into. He had declared his love in one breath and insulted me in the next.
“I’m only here because of you!” I spit out. “Youdragged me into this shit. So, let me charter a transatlantic jet to Dublin. Then you won’t have to worry about yourbelligerentwife getting in your fucking way.”
The immediate frost crackling over his dominant demeanor absolutely terrifies me.
3
ANDRÉ
I love her.
But this red-hot pain slicing me right down the middle has made me ferocious––homicidal.
My heart has distorted, its function blurred from life giving to beating for the death of our enemies.
When she bolts, her barefooted descent is practically inaudible, as if she only lives in my imagination. Part of me wishes that were true, so I could keep her hidden.
I gallop down the stairs after her, magnetically pulled in the same direction with no hope of this attraction ever releasing me.
Even though I’m destroyed by Reno’s murder. I’m still freakishly aroused by the way she prances, how her raven-colored hair cascades over narrow shoulders, and that elongated regal neck of hers carries a face so symmetrically perfect that even the goddess Aphrodite would be jealous.
However, this isn’t a fantasy where love conquers all or friendships last forever. The cartel lives in a brutal cycle of love and hate—sky-scraping highs and hell bound lows.
