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Chapter 4

Looking down at Aiden Galveston's battered face, Khalid was glad he had sent Ash to pick up some of Shania's belongings and come here himself. He hadn't been able to get her image out of his head. He needed to understand her better and she only socialized with one person.

The burning need to smash in the face of the man that had put hands on, and made love to, Shania was nearly overwhelming. Khalid knew it was unreasonable to expect the woman, who was around thirty, to be a virgin. But he was disgusted by the fucker that she'd had sex with. Aiden was a waste of humanity, while the man's wife was a fucking saint in comparison.

"Wake up," he snarled.

Aiden opened his eyes and struggled to get out of the hospital bed when he realized who stood over him.

"Calm down," Khalid snapped. "I'm not here to kill you."

Aiden stopped struggling and lay back, colour draining from his face as he stared up at the man he was sure was here to end him. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice choked by the swelling in his face.

Khalid eyed the other man like a bug he might crush. "Tell me about your wife?"

Aiden relaxed slightly, a knowing look entering his eyes. "You met her?" he asked, the corner of his mouth hinting at a cautious smile.

Khalid raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay. What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about her," Khalid demanded, dragging the only chair in the room up to the bedside. He stretched long legs in front of him and rested an elbow on the armrest. The tight cords in his arms and neck betrayed his otherwise relaxed posture. "What's she like?"

Aiden slid into a sitting position, wincing against the pain as broken bones shifted to accommodate him. He licked his lips nervously, trying to gauge the other man's intentions.

"No bullshit. Tell me what I want to know. If you try to lie to me, I'll know and I will not like it."

Aiden shuddered, the fresh memory of the last time he made Khalid unhappy written plainly on his face.

"Yeah, okay," he agreed. "She's just about what she looks like. Keeps to herself, doesn't talk a lot, like other bitches. She works at some kind of shelter for homeless people. She's a do-gooder, likes to help other people. She never does anything illegal. She hardly swears, even when she's alone, and she barely touches alcohol. Never gets mad or nags. She's about as good as you can ask for in a woman."

Khalid nodded, filing the information away. He had suspected her spark of temper was unique and perhaps a little surprising, even to herself. "How did you get involved with someone like her?"

"I saw her at the shelter while I was working construction on the building next door. I decided it wouldn't hurt to talk to her. Figured she talked to those poor dirty fucks anyway, why wouldn't she talk to a guy like me? I guess she was lonely or something and agreed to go out with me. She was pretty useful around the house when I took her home, so I decided to marry her. She didn't want to at first, but after I took her to bed she decided she loved me, and that was that."

"What about the sex?" Khalid asked.

Aiden smirked knowingly, his busted lips twisting grotesquely. "She's a decent fuck. Pretty unused when I got to her. She doesn't know much, but she'll be easy to teach. I never bothered. I had other bitches for that kinky shit, if you know what I mean."

Khalid breathed hard through his nose, straining not to smash his fist into Aiden's face and finish the little bastard off. He knew Shania would have had sex with her husband. But the fucker had to go and dirty what they'd had together in their marital bed. Khalid was suddenly intensely glad she had walked into his casino. No way would Aiden have let her out of his greedy clutches, despite all of her insistence that the man was soon to become her ex-husband. Eventually, Aiden's gambling addiction would have landed her in the path of some low-life bookie.

Khalid chose not to examine his role in her life too deeply. He landed on the wrong side of the law more often than not, but his world had a twisted sense of honour. He would not hurt the woman. That couldn't be said of other such men that lived in his city.

Khalid stood and towered over the broken man on the bed. He reached down and took hold of Aiden's good hand , the one he hadn't stomped on during their last meeting. "You listen to me well, Galveston." He crushed the fingers in an iron grip and twisted until he felt fingers pop. He spoke calmly, ignoring the shout of pain, "You stay the fuck away from Shania and the casino. Your debt is paid in full. Get the fuck out of town as soon as they discharge your sorry ass from this hospital. I'll hear about it if you don't and I'll grant your wish to die."

He let go of the hand, stepped away from the bed and exited the room. Determined to see to the health of his woman, Khalid called his personal physician and requested a check up for her. If she tested positive for anything, he would come back and finish what he started with Aiden Galveston. In the most painful way possible.

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