Page 41 of Broken Discipline
There was no way to control Ramona, and it drove me insane. But one way or another, I was going to make her bend to my will.
“Should I tail her, sir?” Chip asked.
I shook my head. This was something I needed to do alone.
“I have a contract on the East Coast. Finish it by the end of the week,” I said.
Chip nodded, then left. I shifted my weight, focusing on our bedroom door, contemplating my options. I could lock the doors again and make it so that she literally could not leave without me. Another option was a sedative; it would work, especially if I used a full dose this time. But I wasn’t sure if either of those was the right choice.
Inside of the master bedroom, Ramona was frantic, her movements harsh and jagged. Clothes and toiletries flew through the air, her eyes bloodshot. A loose tank top fluttered on her chest, her jeans tight against her thighs. The messy bun on the top of her head reminded me of the girl she was back in Oakmont, not the proper wife she had become in Fairview.
“Where are you going?” I asked, keeping my voice stern. She let a pair of shorts drop into the suitcase.
“I want out,” she said, her voice shaking. “You can’t pretend like you’re a good guy, Finn. I know better. And I’m not doing this anymore.”
I ran a hand over my mouth. “All right. What are younotgoing to do anymore?” I asked, the frustration leaking into my tone.
“This!” she shouted, pointing at the bedroom. “Pretending like this is okay. Like it’s fine for you to steal me from my old life and put me here, like I’m some kind of animal being ripped from the savannah and placed in a zoo. It’s not okay to do that to people. Not even if you’re a member of the Marked Blooms Syndicate. Not even if you’ve killed people to protect me.”
I took a deep breath, but it transformed into an aggravated growl. She was hiding from her problems, and we both knew it.
“You’re running,” I said.
“Tell me what happened to my husband,” she demanded. She crossed her arms, finally meeting my eyes, like she knew these words were all she had. She held my stare like she was unafraid of me. “He didn’t go on a business trip, did he?”
Something switched inside of me. Anger grew, all of it aimed at myself, because I had given her that power. I stepped forward, narrowing the distance between us. She clenched her fists at her sides.
“Tell me, Finn. What kind of business trip did he go on? Why has he disappeared for this long?”
“That doesn’t bother you as much as you like to pretend it does,” I said.
“Tell me what happened to my husband, and I won’t leave.”
“I am your husband.”
“Shut up with that stupid line and tell me what happened to Bruce!”
If she knew I had killed Bruce for forcing her into the Masquerades, year after damn year, then it would be admitting that I had been waiting for her for years. And I couldn’t admit that yet.
That sliver of truth was the last advantage I had over her.
“I don’t know,” I said. It was almost true. I hadn’t taken care of his body. I had only poisoned his drink.
Ramona blinked her eyes rapidly, connecting the dots. Goosebumps rippled over her flesh, her brown eyes bubbling with clarity.
“You killed him,” she whispered. “You did, didn’t you? You killed him. Just like the others.”
She stormed past me, grabbing random items from the closet, shoving them into her suitcase.
“I told you what happened,” I said. “You said youwouldn’tleave.”
“I figured it out. You didn’t admit anything.”
“You’re running,” I said again, coldness seeping into my tone. She zipped up the suitcase, ignoring the threat. “If you leave this place, think of everything you’re giving up.”
She threw her hand around the room. “I never wanted this. I don’t care about Fairview or Opulent Gates.”
“If you were so happy with everything you had in Oakmont, then why did you agree to marry Bruce?”
