Reign (The Syndicate: Crime and Passion Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

to the woman. Did you even talk to her?”
    “Of course,” I said.
    “Other than to say ‘I do’?” Senna asked, though her expression told me she knew the answer.
    I shrugged again. “What else is there to say? It’s done.” As simple as that, and nothing more, something I kept reminding myself.
    She frowned. “You should talk to her. She’s probably terrified.”
    “She looked terrified for a moment.” I paused. “And pissed,” I added, again remembering that flash of fire in her eyes I was sure she would have used to strike me dead if she’d had that power.
    “You can see why,” Senna said.
    “Yes, but…” I protested, not liking where this was headed. Talking to her would only make me more curious about her. I couldn’t afford that.
    She shook her head. “You should talk to her. Reassure her,” she said.
    “Reassure her? I can’t do that, and who says I want to or that it would be worth the trouble of trying?”
    Senna smiled at me indulgently as if she couldn’t believe I’d suggest such a thing but was confident I would see the error of my ways.
    “Just make sure she knows you’re not some kind of mad-dog monster. She needs to understand what she’s getting into,” Senna said.
    “What she’s gotten into. And trust me, she has an idea. I’m sure Maxim left no doubt,” I said.
    She frowned. “I’m certain he didn’t. But she’s not married to him. She’s married to you, and it would help her if she knew what kind of person you are.”
    “And what kind of person am I?” I asked, genuinely curious as to what Senna would say.
    “You’re not Santo. She should know that.”
    “What about me?” I asked, lips tipping up in a smile.
    “What about you?”
    “You’re worried about her, but I’m in this too,” I said, pretending to be wounded by Senna’s lack of consideration.
    She wasn’t buying it, and she rolled her eyes. “You can take care of yourself.”
    “I thought you cared, Senna,” I said dramatically.
    “The puppy-dog eyes don’t work on me,” she said, standing. She tapped me on the shoulder. “Talk to her. She might surprise you.”
    I thought back to the venomous look on her face, the way she so quickly covered it.
    “I doubt it,” I said.

Four
    D aniela

    “ I wish he would hurry up,” I muttered under my breath.
    There was no one in the room to hear me, but I’d spoken out loud, needing some sound, even if it was just my own voice.
    I couldn’t say I spoke the truth, though.
    Did I wish he would hurry up? More like I wished he’d never arrive, but that was unlikely to happen. So the sooner he got here, the sooner this would be over.
    And what, exactly, was this? I wasn’t entirely sure. I’d come here hours ago and waited to fulfill the last aspect of this wedding charade. But as of now, all I’d done was wait.
    I shifted in the stuffed armchair, the voluminous dress rustling with my motion. Then I looked around the bedroom, saw that it was as it had always been, a guest room that had never welcomed guests in my lifetime. But my mother had seen to it that the room remained well-furnished and ready, and I’d continued that.
    My new husband seemed to be putting it to use. There were no personal touches like photos, but I could see that he’d staked this place out for his own, his clothes neatly folded in the dresser, his toiletries in the attached bath.
    Him being here, so comfortable in my family’s home wasn’t something I was sure I liked, but given everything else, I couldn’t get too upset. I’d always have the memories of this place and the people who’d lived in it no matter who it belonged to.
    I sighed and shifted again, the tight corset cutting into my skin and my feet finally beginning to ache after so many hours in the tall, constricting heels. On a lark, I kicked them off and breathed what was my first sigh of relief. He wouldn’t be looking at my feet.
    I threw my head back against the chair.
    Assuming he ever got here.
    Not a