“The James building?” I ask as we walk up the marble steps to the huge glass doors.
Lorenzo straightens his tie and nods.
“They have an entire skyscraper named after them?”
“It’s their building,” he replies, glancing around the street, always on alert.
“Wow! They must be super rich to own a whole building, and I bet that’s not just here in Chicago, right? Did you say Nathan is from New York? I bet he has his own building there too. And where else? I heard there were four brothers. Do you know—”
“Mia.” Lorenzo squeezes my hand. “It’ll be okay.”
I swallow down a thick knot of anxiety. “Sorry.”
He lifts my hand, brushing his lips over my knuckles. “Stop apologizing.”
“Sor—” He shoots me a warning look, and I clamp my lips together.
A man holds the door for us, and Lorenzo guides me into the building, his hand placed reassuringly on the small of my back. “Mr. James is waiting for you, sir,” the man says.
“Thank you.” Lorenzo leads me to the elevators on the other side of the building. As we near them, a smartly dressed woman, about my age, stops in front of us.
“Lorenzo, it’s so wonderful to see you.” She leans in and kisses him on each cheek, leaving a cloud of expensive perfume behind.
“Melanie, how are you?” he asks, giving her shoulder a light squeeze with his free hand, keeping mine clasped in his other.
Even in sky-high heels, she has to crane her neck to look up at him. “I’m wonderful,” she says, giving me only a cursory glance. “I heard a rumor you were back on the scene.”
“Well, you heard wrong,” he replies curtly but politely.
“Oh?” She blinks at him, fluttering her eyelashes and running a hand over her perfectly styled blond hair. “So, you haven’t taken a new sub?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, or the kind of information I want to discuss in a public lobby …”
I lower my gaze to the floor, feeling unexpectedly wounded over the denial that’s about to come from his lips. Maybe I’m no longer his sub? We didn’t discuss the specifics of our relationship last night. “I haven’t taken a sub, but perhaps you’re referring to Mia.” He pulls me closer and possessively wraps his arm around my waist. “My future wife.”
What the …
Melanie’s face flushes as crimson as the elegant dress she’s wearing, and she opens and closes her mouth like a goldfish. I feel equally stunned by his revelation, but for the sake of appearances, I gaze adoringly up at Lorenzo and almost melt into a puddle when he winks at me.
“We should go,” he says with a polite nod. “It was … interesting running into you.”
“You too.” She still doesn’t acknowledge me. “Perhaps you could come to the club some time?”
He narrows his eyes. “Only if Mia would like to. Perhaps you should ask her?”
Melanie makes a sound like she’s choking on her own breath. “Of course, Mia. We’d love to see you at the club some time.”
“Maybe,” I say with a genuine smile. I have no idea what the club is, but I want to go.
“We really need to go, tesoro,” Lorenzo says to me, guiding me into the elevator and leaving Melanie staring after us.
The doors close and I press my body against his. “Your future wife?”
He rolls his head from side to side, stretching neck. “Aren’t you?”
“I, uh, well. We never discussed it.”
“I told you what I saw. What I wanted,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I know, but that’s not exactly discussing it, Lorenzo.”
Sliding his arms around my waist, he pulls my body close to his. So close that I feel the heat from him even through my coat. He dusts his lips over my ear. “You will be my wife, Mia.”
Not will you, but you will. Arrogant son of a …
“Won’t you?” he growls, and the sound of his voice makes me shiver.
“Is that your idea of a proposal?”
“Not even close.” The corners of his lips curl into a smile.
“I’m technically still married,” I remind him.
“I know, and in a year’s time you can apply for divorce on the grounds of desertion.”
I sigh. “If I don’t end up in prison for life first.”
He holds me tighter, and I bury my head against his chest. “I would go to prison myself before I let you spend a single day in one,” he says softly.
What does he mean by that? He’d take the blame for Brad’s death? “No! I would never let you do that.”
“Neither of us are going to prison, sunshine.” He brushes my hair back from my face. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you, but I killed him, Lorenzo,” I whisper.
His dark eyes narrow. “You protected yourself, Mia.”
The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open with a soft ping, signaling the end of our conversation.
Drake James’s office is bigger than my first apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows, shelves upon shelves of journals and awards. There’s an enormous glass desk in the center that could easily accommodate six people but is currently home to Drake and his brother.
Nathan and Drake welcome us both and we take a seat on the comfortable sofas in the corner of the room.
Nathan pours us all a glass of water. “I’m sorry we couldn’t meet yesterday. But I’m here for today and I can fly back any time you need me to.”
“I appreciate you doing this on such short notice, compagno,” Lorenzo says.
“You know I’d do anything for you, buddy,” Nathan replies, and if I wasn’t feeling so nervous and desperately trying not to babble, I might ask what that was about.
Nathan leans forward in his seat, hands steepled beneath his chin. “Tell me everything. From the start.”
Lorenzo squeezes my hand in his. “Tell them, sunshine. Anything you say in here is completely confidential.”
I sip my water and take a deep breath, my hands trembling. Lorenzo squeezes again, his solid presence calm and reassuring, but I’m about to confess a murder to two men I barely know.
Nathan and Drake listen intently while I tell them about leaving Boston and the events that led to that awful day in Iowa.
“And you disposed of the body?” Nathan asks Lorenzo without even a flicker of discomfort, as though they’re talking about disposing of some trash, which I guess isn’t entirely inaccurate.
“Yes.”
“No trace?” Drake asks.
“The body was incinerated. His ashes were dumped in the Chicago River. There’s nothing left to trace,” Lorenzo replies confidently.
Nathan bobs his head. “And the knife? The house? Mia’s clothes?”
“The knife was melted down and recycled. Mia’s clothes were incinerated too. And the house was forensically cleaned by my best men. Max oversaw it all.”
Nathan licks his bottom lip, his brow furrowed. Then he glances at his brother who nods back at him. What was that nod for? My gut swirls with so much anxiety that I feel like I might throw up. Do they think I’m evil?
Nathan fixes his eyes on mine. “Well, it’s difficult to have a murder trial when there’s no body or other DNA evidence to prove that a murder took place, but I doubt that this guy is going to stop digging into this, so I think we need to focus our efforts on—”
“Wait,” I interrupt him. “What about other evidence?”
Nathan regards me with curiosity. “Such as?”
“Maybe somebody saw him drive to my house? I used a different name, but what if they put me in a lineup and one of my customers can identify me? What if—”
“Mia?” Lorenzo lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.
“All that would prove is that you lived in Iowa for a few months. You’ve never officially denied that. Even if there was absolute proof that your ex-husband visited you at your house—”
“There isn’t. Max swept the entire area for camera footage, but there weren’t any near the house. It’s one of the reasons I chose that neighborhood,” Lorenzo interjects, confirming my suspicion that he was the one responsible for overseeing my move. God, I love him so much.
“Even if there were, it’s all circumstantial, Mia. I think we focus our efforts on convincing your ex-brother-in-law to let this thing go. There’s no evidence to connect you to a murder or even a disappearance. Unless there’s something else you haven’t told us.”
“Not about that, no.”
Nathan frowns. “Is there something else we should know?”
I fidget in my seat. “I-I’m not sure it’s relevant.”
Lorenzo narrows his eyes at me. “It’s relevant, Mia.”
I swallow hard. I never wanted him to know about this. Oh god. Will he hate me now? “I … Jake and I …” Every muscle in Lorenzo’s body goes rigid. “We had an affair,” I whisper, overcome with shame.
Lorenzo rubs his free hand over his beard and sighs.
“When was this?” Drake asks.
“About f-four years ago.”
“Did Brad know?” Nathan probes.
I steal a glance at Lorenzo, but his eyes are closed.
“God no. He would’ve killed him. It only lasted about three months.” I swallow the huge knot of shame and guilt that sticks in my throat. “He knew what Brad was like. He would sometimes come see me when Brad was working a double. One time, after a bad e-episode …”
“Episode?” Drake asks with a frown.
“After that piece of shit beat the fuck out of her,” Lorenzo answers for me, his voice rough with anger.
“Y-yeah. Well, Jake came over and helped me get cleaned up. He took care of me, and it had been so long since anyone had been so nice to me …”
I swear I can taste Lorenzo’s rage. He vibrates with fury. I keep tight hold of his hand, refusing to let him go, and he makes no attempt to pull away.
“He kissed me, and well …” I don’t want to say the words out loud in front of Lorenzo and these two smartly dressed lawyers. “We were together a few times after that.”
“Who ended it?” Drake asks.
“I did.”
“Why?” He probes further, and Lorenzo mutters a curse.
“I was scared we’d get caught. I didn’t really like him that way. It was just nice to be taken care of after, you know?” I take a long drink of my water, and when I glance up again, I want to hide from the looks of pity I’m getting from Drake and Nathan.
“You’re a hell of a woman, Mia.” Nathan smiles and shakes his head. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill that fucker way before you did.”
Drake snorts. “I would have.”
“Mia doesn’t believe in violence,” Lorenzo adds quietly. “She feels guilty about ending that twisted fuck’s life.”
Nathan frowns at me. “It was you or him though, right?”
“I guess so,” I admit.
“That’s self-defense, not murder. Had Lorenzo not protected you by disposing of the body and getting you out of that house, I still would have had you out within twenty-four hours.”
“He’s right,” Drake agrees. “But right now, we need to deal with Jake and the added complication of him maybe still having some kind of torch for you. Did he take the break-up well?”
Recalling that awful day, I shake my head. “He was furious. He threatened to kill me. Then tell Brad and all my friends what a whore I was.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lorenzo mutters. He must be so disappointed in me. Infidelity is his hard limit.
“I knew he wouldn’t do any of that though. He was too worried about what Brad would do if he found out.”
“Just let me fucking deal with him,” Lorenzo says with a snarl.
Nathan shakes his head and gives Lorenzo an exasperated look. “He’s a cop. A decorated detective. You can’t use your usual methods, buddy. Especially not after he’s been accusing your girlfriend here of killing his brother. We need to be smart about this.”
“So what the fuck do you suggest?” Lorenzo snaps.
“Well, I’m betting any guy who would take advantage of his brother’s wife and then call her a whore because she breaks it off isn’t the stand-up guy everybody thinks he is. I’m sure that with a little digging, we can find some leverage on this prick,” Drake says.
“Agreed. We’ll get our best guys on it. And we’ll have someone look into the sister too. Maybe that’s an avenue worth exploring. But the further you stay from this guy, the better,” Nathan warns Lorenzo.
Grumbling, Lorenzo agrees. “But I’ll kill the piece of shit if I ever see him again.”
I squeeze his hand, but he still doesn’t look at me.
“How about for now you let us do our thing and try not to kill anyone in the meantime?” Nathan stares at us, his eyebrows pointedly raised.
Lorenzo stands, pulling me up with him. “I’ll do my best, but no promises.”
We’re in the elevator by the time I pluck up the courage to raise the issue of my affair. Lorenzo leans against the wall opposite me, his jaw set.
“I’m sorry,” I choke out on a sob.
I don’t even finish taking my next breath before I’m wrapped in his huge arms. “What the hell for, sunshine?”
My chest heaves as I cry. I’ve tried my best to forget about those months with Jake and pretend they never happened. I feel so much guilt for breaking my marriage vows. While it was nice at first to have someone to care about me, he soon became as possessive and demanding as his older brother. I lived in constant fear of Brad finding out, but Jake made it hard to say no to him. “I-I know you hate cheating, and I … Jake and I were never—” Another sob steals the rest of my sentence.
“Hey.” He smooths my hair back and kisses the top of my head. “That prick took advantage of you when you were at your most vulnerable. That was not cheating, it was an extension of his brother’s abuse.”
I bury my head against his chest, comforted by his warmth, his familiar smell, but most of all, by his understanding. “So, you’re not mad?”
“Not at you, Mia.”
“I thought you were disappointed in me.”
“Never.” He kisses my head again. “But we really need to work on your self-esteem because those Mulcahy brothers made you believe that you’re worthless. When I’m done training you, you’ll believe me when I tell you that you’re nothing less than perfect. You understand me?”
My cheek brushes against the soft wool of his coat as I nod my agreement.
“That’s my good girl.”
