Husband by Penelope Skye

much when I faced Ash, but even that fell below my expectations. “He wants nothing to do with me.”
“Maybe you need to give him some space…”
I couldn’t give him that much space. I needed to get this shit done. I couldn’t tell him outright why I
needed his forgiveness because he would hold it over my head to further my punishment. “I have to
make this happen…somehow.”
“Can I help?”
God, I didn’t want her anywhere near there. “No.”
She took the drink out of my hand then ran her palms up my arms, trying to comfort me with her
seductive affection. “You did your best. Let it go.”
“No.” I could never let it go. “It’s hard to look my brother in the eye and not hate him. I stood in the
bar and listened to the women service the men down the hall…women forced against their will. It
only reminded me why I killed my father in the first place. Now my brother is continuing his legacy.
It’s disgusting.”
“Then why are you trying to make amends with him?”
“Because…we’re family.”
“Sometimes water is thicker than blood.” She looked at me through her lush eyelashes, a priceless
jewel that sparkled in the darkest of places. “Damien is your brother. You don’t need this one.”
I needed him more than anyone else in the world.
“Even if he was receptive and you started to get along, would you want to be close to someone like
that? You killed your father for a reason. Now you’re just turning the other cheek.”
“If I offer him something better than what he has now, maybe he’ll walk away.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“A cut of my business.”
She raised an eyebrow. “The business you gave up?”
I nodded.
“I don’t see how that could work. You made a deal with Maddox…”
“I know. It’s just an idea.”
She dropped her hands. “If you make a deal, you should honor it.”
“I know. But the real world doesn’t operate on right and wrong. It operates on survival. The biggest
monster prevails…that’s how things really work. If I let Maddox push me out, it could affect every
aspect of my life.”
She watched me with trepidation. “He could have killed Damien, but he didn’t…”