He pulled his cell out. It had been hours since that scene in the parking lot, and he still felt sick to his stomach as he walked through the front hall. He turned on the light, and there was nothing of Sylvie in this house. She looked so much more at home in Darois House. He wanted to text her and tell her the dress she’d been wearing had made her skin practically glow. He loved the contrast of her skin against his, loved looking down and seeing her pressed against him, and how she made him feel like he was good at something.

Good at loving her.

It was the worst part. Now he was fairly certain he was in love with his wife and always had been. He’d been a coward for trying to call it anything else. He loved Sylvie and he had to leave her to save her.

Especially since apparently he wasn’t going to have anything to offer her after this.

Instead of calling his wife, he texted his cousin.

You’ve got a deal.

He would get every single bit of blackmail Charles had on Sylvie and find a way to bury it all so there wasn’t even the possibility of someone coming after her again. It was the least he could give her.

Of course, Charles was resourceful. So were his other relatives, and that was precisely why he had to consider that staying married to him might not be good for Sylvie. She deserved a family that she could be proud of, that she could trust. It was always war with the Darois family.

He shut his phone off because the last thing he needed was to have to read his cousin’s self-satisfied reply.

Was Sylvie holding Lady and cursing his name? He had to make sure the dog got her medications. He would work something out. Despite what his mother had said, he did have his own money. It wasn’t the Darois fortune, but he would be comfortable.

Financially. Emotionally it would take a long time to recover. If he ever did. He would go to Dallas. New Orleans was far too close.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking he might be able to catch her scent.

Instead he heard the sound of the hardwoods creak and realized he wasn’t alone.

Adrenaline flooded his system and he opened his eyes in time to see a man coming at him with a baseball bat.

His awful day wasn’t done.

chapter twelve

Rene felt his eyes widen as he realized who was on the other side of that bat. He’d been ready to fight, but he couldn’t punch this particular attacker. “Dre! It’s me.”