ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 18

DAMON’S POV

I followed Zane out of the hall.

He stopped by the open field beside the building, took a cigar from his submissive, and lit it.

I stood a few steps away from him. “I thought you were dead, Carter.”

He froze, then turned to me slowly.

“Gravari,” he said, his expression dark. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

His submissive kept staring at me.

I ignored her. “What are you doing with Don Lorenzo?”

Zane exhaled a slow stream of smoke, his gaze steady on mine. “Business.”

“Funny,” I replied. “I didn’t think your business involved men we’ve always been against.”

His jaw tightened slightly, but he kept his composure. “Careful, Gravari. You’re starting to sound like you own me.”

“I just want to know if you’ve switched sides,” I said. “Then I’ll be on my way.”

A deliberate brief silence stretched between us.

Zane took another drag from his cigar, then flicked the ash to the ground. “You always did have a way of making everything sound like a threat.”

“That’s because it usually is.”

His submissive shifted beside him, tightening her grip on his arm, but he didn’t look at her.

His lips curved faintly, though there was no humor in it. “I am on the side I always was. Mine. No one else’s.”

I took a step closer. “Then you won’t mind explaining why you’re standing with one of Bellini’s loyalists.”

He didn’t respond.

His silence confirmed what I already suspected.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “That’s what I thought.”

Zane’s gaze moved to his submissive. “Go inside. Don’t drink another glass tonight.”

She held his eyes and nodded. “Yes, Master.”

Then she walked past me, giving me one last look.

I waited until she was out of earshot before speaking again. “Tell me the truth, Carter. Are you now working with Rocco’s loyalists?”

Zane didn’t look at me immediately.

He took his time, brushing invisible ash from his sleeve before finally meeting my eyes. “And if I am?”

My fist tightened beside me, but I forced my temper down.

I exhaled and took a step back. “Then it was nice seeing you. I hope I never do again.”

I turned to walk away.

His voice reached out to me. “So you’re just going to walk away? You won’t try to know why or ask me how my life has been since I ruined it to help you?”

I paused and turned to face him. “What are you talking about?”

Zane laughed and tried to take a puff from his cigar, but he realized it had gone cold.

He relit it and smoked some more. “I have files on every Don in this building. I know all their secrets, weaknesses, and net worth.”

I said nothing, just watched him speak.

“And most of them are aware that I do,” he continued. “One tries to kill me, the other offers to protect me, but in the end, my life is still at risk.”

“So you chose them,” I said. “The ones who want us to go back to being nothing but weapons and banks?”

“I chose survival,” he replied.

“At our expense?”

His gaze hardened. “At anyone’s expense.”

A quiet beat passed.

“You could have come to me,” I said. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have helped you?”

Zane let out a short laugh. “And say what? What exactly could I have said that would make you break your resolve of not taking another life?”

I didn’t have a response for that.

“You would have to kill to help me but you’re done with this world,” he added. “You finally accomplished your dream. A wife who loves you, two daughters, and a happy, fulfilled life.”

Guilt rose to my throat.

“So tell me, Gravari,” he said. “What could I have said to make you risk all of that for me? You wouldn’t even kill that lousy reporter.”

I raised a brow. “How did you know about that?”

“Your wife left me a note,” he answered. “The old you would have gotten rid of him by now. I also saw your fight last night. Perfect, as ever, but you still couldn’t finish them off.”

My expression didn’t change.

If they wanted The Pit’s Reaper, then congratulations to them.

They just got him back.

My phone rang, dragging me out of my thoughts.

It was my wife calling.

I picked up the phone immediately and placed it against my ear. “Sorry I took so long. I’m waiting outside for you.”

Static crackled through the line.

“Gabrielle?” I called out, straightening. “I’m outside. Where are you?”

For a second, there was nothing.

Then I heard her uneven breathing. “Damon…”

A shift went through me before I spoke again.

I frowned, my mind already alert. “Where are you?”

“Damon—” her voice came through, strained and unsteady.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my grip tightening around the phone. “Talk to me.”

“I—” Her words broke, swallowed by the noise. “You need to come—”

“I can’t hear you,” I cut in. “Say it again. Where are you?”

“Aiden—” she choked out.

My chest went tight. “What about him? Gabrielle, answer me.”

There was a sharp sound on the other side of the call.

“Damon—please—just come—”

“Where?” I demanded. “Tell me where you are.”

More static.

Then a muffled noise, like something hitting the ground.

“Hello?” I snapped. “Gabrielle!"

A brief silence followed.

Then she screamed, and the line went dead.