Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“You make it seem so…simple,” I say softly.
“I shouldn’t have refused you when you first asked. And if I didn’t want to do it, then I should have asked Ares. Because he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. Not only would he have killed him, but he would also have made him suffer.”
I’m confused by the change of heart. Why now? Why, after all this time?
“I hated you for saying no. I hated you for not helping me. Not helping the only family I have,” I confess.
“You should have,” he says. “It’s warranted.”
“I hated you so much, but I couldn’t just divorce you. I knew when I married a Godwin that divorce was out of the question. Troy, Ares, Athena… Everyone truly believes the vow until death do you part. And I knew death was inevitable for breaking the vow. But I was miserable. I couldn’t look at you. I had lost all respect for a man who I had thought would save me and keep me safe. So, when I walked in on you killing that man in the boardroom, I recorded it. I saw it as my chance to destroy you. I wanted out and knew this was a chance to be free of you forever. It was the pain in my heart that made me do what I did. You were willing to kill a man for business in the Medusa boardroom, just not willing to kill for me.”
“And your sister?” he asks. “Is she okay right now?”
“For now,” I answer.
“Does she want him dead?”
I shake my head. “No. I’m sure she doesn’t. But it’s either him or her. I know this in my gut. I have to protect her. I have to.” I release a deep breath. “She’s pregnant. Which means that now a baby is in danger too.”
“Then we will. I’ll take care of it.” He lays down on his back and stares at the ceiling. “I should have done this before, but I will handle it. I promise.”
“You’ll kill him?” I’m not sure I’m hearing him correctly. What does taking care of it mean?
He turns his head. “Yes. I’ll do whatever you ask. Besides, he fucked with the wrong Godwin by threatening your life.”
“You’ll do it yourself? Not hire someone?” Now that Ares is dead, I’m not sure who would be the person to handle this. Yes, Apollo killed someone in the boardroom of Medusa, but I didn’t peg him as a ruthless killer. Killing Godwin enemies was the role of his twin.
“Of course I’ll do it myself. He threatened my wife. You are a Godwin now, and no one gets away with threatening a member of this family.”
Trepidation, uncertainty, and doubt constricts my heart like a vise. It suddenly feels difficult to breathe. “Today? You are going to do this today?”
Apollo must sense my chaos of conflicting emotions, because he turns his head and looks at me with tenderness in his eyes. “When would you like me to?”
“I’m not sure… Not today. I mean, I want it done. I do, but…”
He doesn’t say anything. He simply watches me.
“I’d like to talk to my sister first. Not warn her it’s being done or anything. But… I just feel I need to speak with her first.” Scared I may be missing my window of opportunity, I quickly add, “But I do want you to. I do. I just need a little time. If that is all right?”
He smiles. “You tell me when. It’s your call.”
Gratitude rushes over me, as well as…warmth. “Thank you, Apollo. I wouldn’t ask if — thank you.”
There’s a long moment of silence between us. The air feels heavy, and I desperately want to be in his arms right now. I need his comfort, and I need to feel safe. And for the first time in my life, I truly feel Apollo has the ability to make me feel that. Secure.
There seems to be a crack in the air. A sizzle between us. An electric current that pulls us together, even though we’ve been drifting away as each day of our marriage went by. I’ve felt this powerful pull more and more since the accident. As if his near death has changed who he is and who we are. It’s a gripping, suffocating hold over me, and I can’t resist the way it demands me to just… be.
“Do you want out of the cage?” he asks, seductively hypnotizing me with his husky voice.
I remain silent and still, uncertain if his question is a trap of some sort.
“I have a lot of making up to do,” he finally says.
“So do I.”
“I think you’ve paid the last few days. Or at least coming damn close.”
My body heats at the memory of all the ways I’ve paid. “Does that mean the cage and the punishment is over?”