Married To His Enemy

My weapon Or my fool

DAMIEN

“Marry me instead, Mr. Cross.”

The words hit me harder than any fist ever had.

'Say no,' the dead part of me ordered. 'Hale's bride does not walk to Hale's enemy by accident. This is a trap.'

Behind her, Julian laughed. He spread his hands to the guests. "Everyone, please. My bride hit her head in a car accident last night. She's just confused."

Relieved murmurs ran through the pews.

In the second row, Victor Hale, didn't move at all. No anger. No shock. Only two slow taps of his silver cane on the stone floor.

‘He’s too calm,' I noted. 'A father whose son is losing his bride does not sit still. Unless he already knew.'

Aria didn't turn around. She kept her eyes on mine. And she had to tilt her head all the way back to hold my gaze.

Her stitches are visible. And she has a bruise at her collarbone which her see through dress did not entirely cover.

And yet, she was still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Even after two years have passed.

Stop,' I ordered myself. 'She may be Julian's knife. Look at her like one.'

So I did what I always did. I counted the moves.

Fast.

If I said no, she would walk back to Julian. Whatever game the Hales were playing, I would never see their next move.

If I said yes, she would come with me. Into my car. Into my house. Under my name. Every step she took, I would see.

'Keep your enemies close,' I thought. 'And your wife closer.'

"Yes,” I answered her.

The church exploded.

A camera flash burst in her face, and she flinched.

Julian's hand shot out and clamped around her arm. He yanked her back, smiling for the crowd, and leaned close to her ear. But I heard every word. "Walk back to that altar, Aria. Be a good girl. Be useful like you used to do."

Aria’s whole body went still. But then she rose on her toes and whispered back to him, sweet as a shy bride.

I couldn't hear it, but I saw what it did.

Julian went white, and his fingers dropped off her arm.

'The little bride has claws,' I thought. ‘But was that real? Or a scene the two of them rehearsed, just for me?'

Julian looked truly shaken. She looked truly hurt.

Either they were both telling the truth, or they were the best liars I had ever met.

I held out my hand to Aria, palm up. "We're leaving."

She looked at my hand. Then she put her hand in mine.

It was ice.

Then we walked. Front doors, not the side. Let them all see.

At the steps, a wall of reporters surged up.

One shoved a microphone at her. “Miss Ward, are you pregnant with Mr. Cross’s child?"

I looked at him. He stopped grinning and stepped back.

I put my body between her and the cameras. "Move."

They moved.

Julian burst out of the church behind us, his perfect smile gone. "You think you won something, man? She's crazy! She'll ruin you!"

I paused at the car and turned my head just enough to look back. "Thank you for the invitation, Julian. It ‘was’ a beautiful wedding."

---

Twenty minutes later, my car was crawling through downtown traffic, and she sat as far from me as the back seat allowed.

My phone buzzed.

It’s Marco.

I answered without a word.

Marco's voice was low and careful. "Boss. Men are in place at the reception hall. Files are loaded. One o'clock, every Hale secret goes up on the big screen in front of three hundred guests and the press. Do we start?"

Three years.

Three years of shell companies, shipping crates, and frightened accountants.

Three years of patience.

Today, Victor Hale's name was supposed to burn.

The Hales hid their dirty money in one place above all others: Ward Group. Aria’s father's company.

If I lit the match today, Hale Group would burn, and Ward Group would burn with it.

Three thousand workers. Her name. Her.

But she had just made herself my wife in front of every camera in the city.

'Three years,' I thought coldly. 'Finished in four words in a church.'

Only six people knew about one o'clock. Marco. Ethan. Four men I would trust with my life.

But money opens mouths, and the Hales had a lot of money.

If Victor had found out, he couldn't stop me with lawyers. Or guns.

But he could tie my hands with a bride. Make me her husband, and every match I lit would burn my own wife.

But they had made one mistake.

Their knife would be sleeping under my roof tonight.

She would be my weapon, or my fool. Either way, she'd be finished.

I spoke into the phone, quiet and flat. "Cancel it."

Marco was silent for a long moment. "Boss, we waited three years for this.

I didn't raise my voice. I only made it colder. "I said cancel it. Pull the men out. Keep the files safe."

He answered at once. "Yes, Boss."

I ended the call.

Aria turned from the window as if she had felt my eyes.

I made my face stone. "Now tell me who sent you,” I said to her.

Aria stared at me. Then her chin came up. "Nobody sent me."

I kept my voice flat. "Julian Hale's bride walks away from Julian Hale, straight to his enemy, on the morning of her wedding. And you want me to believe nobody sent you?"

Her eyes flashed. "I don't care what you believe, Mr. Cross."

I leaned back and folded my arms. "You should. You just walked into my life. People who walk into my life without an invitation don't usually enjoy it."

She didn't flinch. That surprised me. "Then let's talk business. One year of marriage. Your name and your protection. Julian can't touch me while I'm your wife."

‘Can't touch me,' I repeated in my head.

It was a good line. Exactly what a frightened bride would say. Exactly what a clever spy would be taught to say.

I raised an eyebrow. "And what do I get?"

She didn't blink. "My father's will unlocks my shares the day I marry. My husband holds my vote. You get a seat inside Ward Group, and you get to watch Julian lose the company he planned to steal."

Yesterday, she had been ready to say "I do" to him. Today, she wanted to watch him lose everything he had.

Women didn't change like that in one night. Not without a reason.

'What did he do to you?' I wondered. 'Or what are the two of you doing to me?'

I watched her face. "What did you whisper to him at the altar?"

A small, cold smile touched her lips. "I asked if Leo Cruz knew his money was getting married today."

Leo Cruz.

Every man at the docks knew that name. He lent money to desperate men and collected it with a hammer.

'So the golden son of Hale Group owes a loan shark,' I thought. 'And his bride knows it.'

Either way, I would find out.

Phones could be read. Cars could be followed. Every spy calls home sooner or later, and my men would be listening when she did.

I leaned toward her slowly, until she had nowhere left to look but at me. "Let me tell you what happens if I find out Julian sent you."

Her fingers tightened on the seat, but she didn't move back.

I kept my voice soft, which was always worse. "I won't send you back to him. I'll keep you. I'll take your shares, your company, and your good name, one piece at a time. And then I'll keep you."

Her voice was barely a whisper. "Keep me?”

"As my wife. A real one." I let my eyes move over her slowly, from her mouth down to the bruise at her collarbone, and back up. "You'll clean my house. You'll cook when I'm hungry. And every night, you'll come to my bed when I call you, and you won't leave it until I let you."

The color drained from her face. Then it came back, bright red. "I'm not your maid."

I didn't blink. "No. A maid gets paid. You'd be paying a debt."

Her hands shook on the seat. "And I'll never be your slut.”

I studied her face. No c***k. No blink. Only that fire.

Then she leaned in, too. "You want to know if I'm lying? Fine. I'll prove it. I'll give you everything I know about Julian Hale. Every secret he ever told me. Every password. Every lie. I'll hand him to you piece by piece, Mr. Cross. And when I'm done, you'll owe me an apology."

I let my mouth curve, just on one side. "I don't apologize."

Her chin lifted. "You will. So? Do we have a deal or not?"

I let the silence stretch. Most people rushed to fill it. She only held my gaze.

I gave her my terms in the same flat voice. "Done. And remember what I told you. The day I find proof that you're Julian's, the deal changes."

Her eyes went wet and burning, but her voice didn't shake. "You'll never find it."

I sat back. "Then you have nothing to be afraid of, Miss Ward."