Page 8 of Sweet Wicked Vows
There were times he forgot that he wasn’t the only one still thirsty for revenge.
“Stefan called ahead,” Benny, my personal security, said, shielding me from the rain with an umbrella as he opened the car door. “They’ve arrived at the courthouse. Pretty sure the girl isn’t a flight risk, but reckons we have about an hour window before she changes her mind and high-tails it out of there.”
“Right.” I frowned. “Let them know we’ve landed and will be there shortly.”
Benny nodded and closed the door.
Marry the girl.
Marry the girl.
It was all moving so fast. Frederic wanted the deed done and sealed before she came to her senses and tried to back out.
Marry the girl.
Marry the girl.
In less than an hour, I’d be a married man.
And I’d be one step closer to taking the Reynolds’ empire down brick by fucking brick until it was nothing but a pile of ash and rubble.
“There you are.” Stefan grinned. “I was starting to think you got cold feet. That’s pretty common on your big day. Wedding day nerves and all that.” He nudged his shoulder into me playfully. It took every inch of my fiber not to clock him square in the jaw. “The government official was starting to get a little antsy. Had to pay him an extra hundred to keep him from asking too many questions. I expect you or your brother to pay me back.”
A pain shot up the side of my jaw where my teeth collided together.
Stefan laughed, nudging meagain.“I’m only messing with you. Lighten up, man.”
I hated Stefan Ryans.
He was nothing more than a grimy little shit. A bottom feeder who latched onto anything shiny and valuable, sucking from it and gorging himself on anything he got his hands on. Frederic considered him useful because his security company knew how to hack into databases that no one else would dare try to infiltrate.
He gave Frederic useful titbits, things that would aid my brother in persuading people into doing exactly what he wanted, and in return, Stefan was paid handsomely for his cooperation and silence.
Stefan had his uses, and there was no denying that, but I still hated the guy and refused to entertain him for more than a millisecond.
“Your blushing bride is right through there.” Stefan motionedto the doors of one of the official’s offices.
“And she just went along with Frederic’s plan, did she?” I rubbed my chin.
“She knows she is out of her depths with her father dying. She won’t last by herself, especially considering Flynn is still acting like a child,” Stefan said. “Marrying you secures her position, shows that she isn’t playing games. She’ll need it, especially with the second-largest shareholder gunning for the job the second she fucks up. She needs you to keep her from drowning.” Stefan clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Your brother is a genius. His plan is foolproof.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, mentally counting down from one hundred.
Ninety-nine. Don’t snap.
Ninety-eight. Stay calm.
Ninety-seven. Stay fucking calm.
He squeezed my shoulder. “If you pair pull this off, I do expect double what your brother offered me. She’s family, you know, and it took a lot to make her see sense.”
Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist, twisting it harshly away from my body. I smirked at Stefan’s yelp of pain. “Touch me again, Ryans, and I will ensure you can’t jack yourself off to sleep for a year, understood?” He nodded, eyes watering as I twisted it again before finally letting go. “Your work here is done. Fuck off to whatever hole it is you crawled out from.”
I didn’t give him the luxury of a look back as I stormed into the office, the door slamming shut behind me and silencing the whimpers and, no doubt, whispered threats from Stefan.
The office left little to be desired. Bland walls, a desk, a couple chairs, and windows that were too high to be able to see out but provided enough natural sunlight that it didn’t make the place a completely depressing hovel.
At the desk stood the government official, jotting somethingdown in a notebook while checking their watch every couple seconds. Beside them was what I could only describe as a fallen angel—non,angel was too pure for the devastation her beauty caused.