Page 38 of Explode
But here we were.
After a brief meeting in his office where he made it clear he wouldn’ttolerate me threatening his guards to get my own way, something I paid zero fucking attention to, he went on to make sure I understood in no uncertain terms the deal he had made was with Riley, not me.
It suited me fine. Not that Riley was going anywhere, but if shethought about running, then I’d simply guilt trip her into staying for the sake of the city.
Knocking on death’s door hadn’t made me any less manipulative,especially when it came to keeping my Star right where I wanted her.
After instructing his second in command, Antonio, to take Miles to theSouth garden where he could spend some time getting to know his future wife, something Miles had not been happy about, Georgio led me through his enormous house after relenting and agreeing that I could see my wife.
His view was that he couldn’t give a damn about our marital woes. Hedidn’t give two shits whether we sorted things out or not, he only wanted to make sure we upheld our end of the deal. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t suspicious as to why Georgio was so keen to make the alliance. He seemed dead set on making sure it was going to happen.
“Why did you make the alliance?” I asked when curiosity got thebetter of me.
“I have my reasons,” he replied cryptically.
I hadn’t expected an honest answer. Georgio was a smart man andknew to hold his cards close to his chest. He didn’t want to give me a reason to use against him, but his caginess made me wary. Not because I thought he would double-cross me, but his whole demeanor made it seem like heneededthis alliance to happen. It wasn’t something he’d agreed to out of the goodness of his heart.
I’d find out his reasons at some point, right now, it didn’t matter.
The deal was done, the reason could wait.
Georgio’s house was a never-ending maze, and as we enteredanother hallway, anticipation of seeing Riley pulsed through me. She’d be pissed at my sudden appearance but I didn’t give a fuck. I was done with her sulking, she was coming home with me whether she liked it or not, even if it meant kidnapping her.
“I’d like to host a party to announce the engagement of Miles andSofia when Thorne and Becker have been dealt with,” Georgio said, pulling me out of my thoughts on what I would do to Riley if she was tied up with nowhere to go. “The sooner we make it official, the better.”
I kept the suspicion off my face. “Sure,” I replied nonchalantly, makinga mental note to ask Miles to dig into the Bianchi finances to see if anything was amiss. Plus, a party announcing the engagement would fuck Miles off, and I was quite enjoying winding my cousin up about his planned nuptials.
“Great. I’ll start making the arrangements,” Georgio said, stoppingoutside a closed door. “Perhaps you could give me a moment to get my daughter?” He indicated to the room behind him and I nodded in agreement before Georgio disappeared through the door.
Less than a minute later, the door opened and a young womanstepped outside. Her brows rose in surprise to see me standing there before they pulled into a frown. She was a pretty girl, not a patch on my Star of course, but she was still a beauty.
“You must be Mr. Wolfe,” she said, her emerald eyes raking over myface. I needed to shave this fucking beard off. I’d kept it as it helped hide my identity when I was snooping around Hollows Bay, but it was beginning to piss me off.
“And you must be Sofia,” I replied, offering her my hand. Her delicatehand was tiny in mine, but for a petite girl, she had a firm grasp.
“If you’re here, I’ll take a guess and say my mystery guest waiting forme in the gardens is Milo?” she huffed.
I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on my lips at her getting Miles’name wrong. “Yep,Milois waiting for you.”
“Great,” she replied solemnly before taking off down the hallway, hershoulders slumped in defeat. I didn’t know what Miles had done to piss her off, but it was as plain as the nose on my face that she couldn’t stand him. When the time came, their marriage was going to be an interesting one, and one I was more than happy to sit back with a bucket of popcorn and watch.
As she rounded the corner, the door opened again and Georgiostepped out.
“Good luck,” he said sarcastically, and with that, he followed in hisdaughter’s footsteps.
Not waiting another second, I stepped into the room to find Rileystanding in the middle, her face ashen. She quickly composed herself though, and her beautiful face twisted into a scowl.
Despite the daggers she was throwing my way, the sense of peace Ialways felt when I was near Riley descended. I ached with the need to reach out and hold her. Now I’d laid eyes on her again, I had no idea how I’d made it through the last six months without seeing her, or hearing her voice, or touching her silky soft skin.
There were no two ways about it, Star was coming home with me andI’d make damn sure she forgave me.
“Hello, Star,” I said, giving her my best charming smile. Her eyesnarrowed on me, but I didn’t miss the way her pulse beat harder in her delicate throat. I never missed anything when it came to my wife.
“How did you know I was here?” she snapped, planting her hands onher hips. The sparkle of her diamond wedding ring caught my eye, and a smug feeling washed through me to see she was still wearing it on her ring finger, giving me hope.
I smirked as I took a step forward. “Rafe might have promised not totell anyone you were here, but Georgio promised no such thing. He’s taking this loyalty to usveryseriously.”
She cursed under her breath and her hands dropped from her hips.
