Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
As she stepped off the last stair, Ethan filed into position on her right. Matt hustled to flank her on the left, shooting her a quick glance, watching as she sent Todd a raised brow over the top of her three-hundred-dollar Versace sunglasses. “You know the family rules, husband. No PDA. Sorry.”
When she shrugged like she wasn’t sorry in the least, he sent her a smile with more teeth than a great white. “That wasn’t what I had in mind. I have something for you, and I insist on giving it to you now.”
Madison slid a quick, questioning glance Matt’s way. He shrugged almost imperceptibly. No, he had no idea what the douchebag wanted, but she needed to proceed carefully. He stayed glued to her side, giving Todd a warning glare the son of a bitch had better heed.
She sauntered toward her husband, making it obvious that she was neither in a hurry to get close to him nor gave a shit if that pissed him off. And as much as Matt wished he could tell Todd to pound sand—among other things—he couldn’t get involved unless he raised a hand to her or in some physical way threatened her life. The bosses had been very clear on that. Matt fucking hated it.
Finally, she stopped a couple of feet from Todd with a disdainful stare over her chic shades. “What?”
Todd didn’t bother with words, just grabbed her left wrist and yanked her hand toward him. Then he slid a giant diamond onto her finger, smiling vengefully Matt’s way the whole while.
Doing his best to breathe, Matt put a lid on his simmering rage. Madison was his fiancée, goddamn it. But he didn’t have the privilege of seeing her wear his ring and showing the world they were together. No, this asshat got to shove an oversized heirloom rock on her delicate hand to prove his stamp of ownership. Judging from Todd’s acidic smile, he knew it bugged the hell out of him.
Worse, Pershing didn’t wear a wedding band of any sort. His left hand was completely bare. On his right, he wore a signet ring of sorts. But instead of a family crest, a university motto, or a shield representing a branch of the military, Todd’s ring was black and platinum and macabre. The face bore inlaid words he didn’t understand—Latin, maybe? Over that, the piece had been crafted with a bold I and three bars slashing over the letter to look like a cross of sorts. A skull protruded from the juncture with two gleaming red rubies for eyes that glared back at him. Matt bet the ring represented something. What the hell could it symbolize that was more important than a circle of gold telling the world he was fucking married?
“There.” Todd made a show of kissing Madison’s cheek. “After that terrible night you were held up in the big-box store’s parking lot and your credit cards and wedding ring were stolen, we were thankfully able to recover them all. The perpetrator, a man with a rap sheet a mile long, is back behind bars. Unfortunately for him, he violated his parole, so once he’s convicted, he’ll be going away for a long, long time. His family is crushed. What a shame.”
Madison paled, shock and disgust morphing her face before she tried to smooth away the telltale reaction. The same distress crashed through Matt. She had intentionally scattered those credit cards to confuse Todd’s family and hocked her wedding ring for traveling money to Louisiana. And the Pershings were pinning that “crime” on an innocent man to explain her actions away so it didn’t sound as if she’d intentionally left Todd?
“You can’t do that,” she hissed.
Todd shrugged like neither the unjustness nor her opinion mattered. “It’s already done.”
“That’s wrong!”
“Who cares? He’s a career criminal.”
“He cares. His family cares. He’s innocent. You’re condemning that man for nothing.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have left, wife. Now, grow the fuck up and get in the car.”
When he shoved Madison toward the open door, sending her stumbling, Matt lurched between them, right in Todd’s face. “You don’t touch her again. Ever.”
“You think she’s your woman because she spreads her legs for you and obeys you like a good girl? That only makes her your whore.” Todd grabbed Madison’s hand and held it up, showing off her wedding ring. “But for the next few months, she’s still my wife.”
“In name only. I’m here to protect her from you, so when it comes to her, I make the rules. Number one, unless you’re in public and it’s absolutely necessary, you do not touch her.”
“You want to unzip flies right here and compare?” Todd scoffed, gesturing to the otherwise empty air field.
Matt shook his head. “I have other ways of humiliating you.”
Todd scoffed. “You can try. You and your butt-fuck buddy with all the tattoos”—he pointed at Ethan—“can sit up front with the chauffeur.”