Page 48 of Wicked Oath
She raises her head. “I’m tired. I had a long day. I don’t need you two fighting. And, Owen, James saved my life. He was not a part of that bad man’s plan. Stop blaming every bad thing that happens on him.” Owen looks away, and I try to tamper down my smirk. “James, I just want to get some sleep.”
I help her stand up. “Owen, it’s time for you to go.”
“Olivia, do you want me to go?”
“Yes,” she states. “I want to be alone with my husband.”
I watch as Owen grumbles and leaves the house before helping Olivia to our bedroom. As she curls into the bed, looking so vulnerable, I know I need to make a decision. What happened today cannot happen again. It’s starting to become clear to me.
It’s either hurt Patrick or choose my wife.
And I’m afraid of either outcome.
CHAPTER13
Olivia
The crowd's cheer sends shivers over me as one man punches another man in the face.
I’m nestled in a back booth at the underground ring, waiting for James to fight. Lucy is beside me. Now that I’m a married woman, she gets more leeway to go out with me rather than having to sneak out.
It’s strange watching men fight inside the ring, knowing that’s where James and I’ve had sex before. It feels like our intimate place is being violated as these men fight.
It’s been over a week since the day I was kidnapped and almost had my tongue cut out. James has been more attentive than ever, checking in with me constantly. My parents and brother have also become even more hyper-vigilant of me. I appreciate their concern, but it’s all starting to feel suffocating.
So when James told me he was fighting tonight, I jumped at the chance to go out and try to get my mind off it. It’s hard when every time I close my eyes before bed, I see Finian’s face in my mind, hovering over me with a knife, his fingers on my tongue.
Despite James hovering over me for the past week, we haven’t really talked much. I just haven’t been in the mood.
What he told my father and me the day I was taken keeps pinging around in my brain. Finian used to work for James’ father, who James fired when he took over, explaining why he was angry. But something just isn’t adding up.
If James fired Finian four years ago, why would he wait so long to strike now? Is it because Finian had nothing to use against James until now? Maybe. Still … something’s not sitting right with me.
James saved my life, and I trust him fully to do so again. I just don’t know if I fully believe what he told my dad and me. And I hate that I feel that way.
I always dreamed of the perfect marriage, and so far, James and I have had that. But now, cracks are starting to form, and I don’t know what to make of them.
“Hey, you ok?” Lucy asks beside me. “You seem a little out of it.”
I blink, my eyes focusing back on the fight. One of the men now has the other man locked in a chokehold. It’s one of the things James taught me during our training sessions—not like I’ll ever be able to chokehold someone, but I appreciate that he still taught it to me anyway.
“Yeah,” I finally say to Lucy. “Yeah, I’m just thinking.”
“About the incident?” Since Lucy learned about my kidnapping, she’s only referred to it as “the incident.” It’s like she’s scared to voice the reality of what happened.
“It’s just tough to shake, you know?”
Lucy glances around the room. “We can leave if you want to. Maybe watching men fight isn’t the most healthy thing for you right now.”
“I’ll be fine.” I smile at her. “Besides, James will be out for his own fight eventually. I want to be here to support him.”
“Ok. Just let me know if you need to leave, and we can.”
I squeeze her hand. “Thanks, Lucy. You’re a good friend.”
“Not good enough. I feel terrible that happened to you, and I was powerless to do anything about it.”
“What could you have done? It all happened so fast. James found me within an hour of me being taken. There’s nothing you could have done to help.”
