Chapter 1 - THE ONLY SUITE
The door closed behind the housekeeper.
Harper Hayes stared at the single bed.
Then she looked at Dominic Russo.
Then back at the bed.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Dominic removed his black gloves one finger at a time.
“I assure you, I am not.”
Outside the tall windows, snow hammered against the glass.
The mountain estate had been cut off from the main road less than thirty minutes earlier. A fallen tree had blocked the only access road, and the storm was getting worse.
But Harper barely noticed the weather.
She was staring at the enormous bed in the center of the suite.
“One bed.”
“One bed.”
“You own half of Manhattan.”
“Not half.”
“Close enough.”
Dominic's mouth twitched.
Harper folded her arms.
“This is deliberate.”
“I know.”
The answer stopped her.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why aren't you angry?”
“Because I expected it.”
Dominic walked toward the fireplace and loosened his tie.
“Carmine doesn't make mistakes.”
Harper's irritation disappeared.
She looked toward the closed door.
“You think he arranged this?”
“I know he did.”
“Why?”
“To see whether we're actually married.”
Harper stared at him.
“We have been married for three months.”
“Legally.”
“That is what marriage is.”
“Not in our world.”
His eyes settled on hers.
“In our world, marriage is evidence.”
Harper swallowed.
Dominic had warned her before the wedding.
His enemies would test them.
His allies would test them.
The older members of the organization would look for weakness.
She had thought he was exaggerating.
Now she wasn't so sure.
A knock sounded.
Dominic's expression immediately hardened.
“Who?”
“Mr. Russo?”
It was one of Carmine's guards.
“Dinner begins in twenty minutes.”
“Understood.”
Silence.
Then the guard added, “Mr. Falco sends his regards to Mrs. Russo.”
Harper's skin prickled.
“Tell him I send mine.”
The footsteps disappeared.
Dominic turned toward her.
“Don't provoke Carmine.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was being polite.”
“You have a different definition of polite.”
Harper almost smiled.
Then Dominic's phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
Something changed in his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're terrible at lying.”
He put the phone away.
“Get dressed.”
“For dinner?”
“Yes.”
“What am I wearing?”
“The emerald dress.”
Harper frowned.
“The one I wore at the charity gala?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Carmine's wife will be watching you.”
“And?”
“She will be looking for signs that you don't belong beside me.”
Harper lifted her chin.
“Then she is going to be disappointed.”
For the first time that evening, Dominic smiled.
“That's what I'm counting on.”
Twenty minutes later, Harper entered the dining room on Dominic's arm.
The room fell quiet.
Twenty-four people sat around the long table.
Every face turned toward them.
Carmine Falco sat at the head.
He was nearly seventy, silver-haired, impeccably dressed, and surrounded by the quiet confidence of a man who had survived too many wars to fear another.
His eyes moved from Dominic to Harper.
Then down to their joined hands.
“Mr. and Mrs. Russo.”
“Carmine.”
Dominic's tone was respectful without being submissive.
Harper smiled.
“Thank you for having us.”
Carmine's gaze lingered on her.
“I hear your wife has become very popular.”
Harper felt Dominic's fingers tighten slightly around hers.
“She's charming,” Dominic said.
“Charm is temporary.”
Carmine smiled.
“Loyalty is permanent.”
Harper met his eyes.
“Then I suppose we will have to make sure ours is permanent.”
Several people around the table exchanged glances.
Dominic looked at her.
For one second, genuine surprise appeared in his eyes.
Then he smiled.
“My wife has always been ambitious.”
Dinner began.
For two hours, Harper endured questions disguised as compliments.
Where had she grown up?
Who were her parents?
How had she met Dominic?
Why had she never been seen with another man?
How much did she know about the Russo businesses?
Every question was a trap.
She answered carefully.
Then a man named Victor Bellini leaned toward her.
“So, Mrs. Russo, what does your husband tell you about the family business?”
Harper smiled.
“Only what I need to know.”
“And what do you need to know?”
She glanced at Dominic.
“That my husband comes home alive.”
The table went silent.
Dominic slowly turned toward her.
Harper smiled sweetly.
“Everything else is his business.”
Someone laughed.
Then another.
The tension broke.
Carmine raised his wineglass.
“Perhaps you chose well, Dominic.”
Harper felt something warm against her fingers.
Dominic's thumb had moved across the back of her hand.
It was a tiny gesture.
Almost nothing.
Yet her pulse reacted immediately.
Later, as they returned upstairs, Dominic said nothing.
Harper finally looked at him.
“You're staring.”
“I am thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
“You handled yourself well.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn't expect that answer.”
“Which one?”
“The one about coming home alive.”
Harper shrugged.
“It was true.”
Dominic stopped walking.
She turned.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he reached toward her.
Harper instinctively stepped back.
Dominic stopped immediately.
“I was fixing your necklace.”
“Oh.”
He carefully touched the clasp behind her neck.
His fingers brushed her skin.
Harper's breathing changed.
So did his.
Neither mentioned it.
When he finished, he stepped away.
“Good night, Harper.”
She watched him walk toward the bedroom.
“Dominic?”
He turned.
“Why do you always sleep on the couch when we attend these events?”
His expression became unreadable.
“Because I don't trust myself around you.”
Then he walked away.
Harper stood frozen.
That night, she couldn't sleep.
At 2:13 a.m., she heard a noise.
A metallic click.
She sat upright.
The bedroom door was open.
Dominic was gone.
Harper slipped out of bed.
The hallway was dark.
Then she heard voices downstairs.
One belonged to Dominic.
The other belonged to a man she had seen at dinner.
Victor Bellini.
“You promised me the girl wouldn't become a problem.”
Dominic's voice was dangerously quiet.
“She isn't a problem.”
“She will be.”
“That's my concern.”
Victor laughed.
“No. She's becoming your weakness.”
Silence.
Then Victor said the words that made Harper's blood run cold.
“And weaknesses get people killed, Dominic.”
A gun clicked.
Harper stepped backward.
The floorboard creaked.
Both men looked toward the stairs.
Dominic's eyes found hers.
And in that instant, Harper understood something terrifying.
May you like
The contract marriage wasn't merely being watched.
Someone wanted her dead.
