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  The priest. Since Alana shared her encounter with the priest at their last meeting, her story prompted Devin to spill the beans about following her. Halfway through his story Devin sensed Alana’s eyes on him. She even mouthed the word “stalker” at him a few times before he concluded what he thought he had seen at the cemetery.

  Kevin asked a lot questions about the priest. Alana became increasingly convinced the priest was a part of the puzzle. In a firm voice, Kevin insisted, “If this priest is stalking you, he likely doesn’t know where you live. His sightings have been in public areas you frequent periodically. If either of you encounter this priest again, please don’t engage him. Get as far away from him as possible. Alana, to be on the safe side, I recommend you take a leave of absence. The safest place for you right now is with my aunt and uncle. You have double protection there. The neighborhood is gated and the house is gated and protected. Trust me, your safest there.”

  The situation started to tick her off. “So let me get this straight, I’m on house arrest until we figure out who this shady priest is and find out what this Cartel family wants?”

  Devin saw the onslaught of anger in his wife’s face. She wasn’t going to stay put no matter what Kevin said. She enjoyed her job, so he couldn’t foresee her taking a leave of anything, much less a leave of absence. Placing a hand on her arm he knew her well enough to know that her anger was starting to stir. He also knew enough at this point that not even that weird priest would keep his hardheaded wife from doing whatever she wanted to do.

  Kevin smiled. "I see it in the defiance on your face and sense it in the sound of your voice; you are not going to listen to my advice and stay put, are you?" Alana didn't answer.

  Kevin's eyes found Devin. “The idea of you two getting married is actually a smart move given the circumstances.”

  Alana saw Kevin's eyes move back to hers. “Your father covered your tracks very well Alana. Even before you were married he had put in place measures to keep you hidden in plain sight. Now that you have a different last name, it helps your cloak of invisibility. You’re still trackable, but difficult to pin down. Your father seemed to have been creating you a cover your entire life. He made this current move because he knows that Uncle Joe has the means and ability to keep you hidden.”

  Trying to decode his words, Alana hung on to every word Kevin spoke. “Before I became a Nazari, you’re saying my dad made my true identity an alias of sorts. I was never actually Alana Santos or any other prior alias, was I? This goes back to my birth doesn’t it?”

  Kevin started, “Most people wouldn’t be able to wrap their heads around what’s happening much less figuring out some of the logic behind the madness.”

  Devin's furrowed brow emphasized his confusion. “I don’t understand.”

  Kevin explained, “Anyone can live their lives under a new identity, but usually if you dig into that person’s past well enough, you can find out the truth. I dug deep into Alana’s past and found only aliases, one of which happens to be Alana Santos. There are no birth records, so technically she doesn’t exist. There is no true identity of who she is and no traces of where she actually came from—something that is extremely difficult to do.”

  The questions were mounting; so many Alana had to bit her tongue.

  "I know you have many questions but I agree with my uncle on this, it's best and sometimes safer not knowing everything. Knowing too much, you two can go and poke at something that could get them killed." Kevin flashed his watch at them in the mirror. “That’s my time guys. I promise I will get you more answers.”

  Alana was not fooled. “That’s all you can tell us.”

  Kevin smiled at Alana's comment. “Remember, if you decide to leave him.” Giving her a wink, he slapped his cousin on the shoulder before hopping out of the car. Kevin had disappeared so quickly into the nearest alley; Alana had to glance away from the mirror to see if her eyes were being deceptive.

  Her eyes found Devin's. “I guess this marriage is not as much a sham as we thought. It seems that you and your family are my saving grace. What I don’t understand is why?”

  Devin’s smirk turned into a teasing smile. “Since that is the case, don’t you think it’s time you started treating me better? Maybe show me how thankful you truly are?”

  Rolling her eyes, Alana replied sarcastically, “Sure, let me get right on that.”

  Devin couldn’t do anything but shake his head and laugh at her.

  Chapter 16

  Argumentative Foreplay

  Making it to their fifth month together without causing bodily harm or permanent damage to one another was a huge accomplishment for Alana and Devin. However, several legendary brawls had been added to the household entrainment reel.

  Devin remembered his mother and father mentioning that they'd never encountered a couple like them, able to go from verbal abuse to calling a truce and putting their heads together to solve a problem, all within the same hour.

  Devin hated the fact that Alana held firm to her plan to move back into her apartment. As much as Alana got on his nerves sometimes, he didn’t want her to leave nor did he believe it was safe.

  He took every opportunity to see her. In turn, it seemed she took every opportunity to avoid him. Fighting a losing battle, he had come to believe this was the first battle he might lose.

  Escorting her to many events, he secretly hoped he could dazzle her and spark the interest she had shown when they had kissed.

  She allowed him to take her out, dance, hold hands, and an occasionally hug, but she had not allowed him to kiss her again, not on the lips.

  In public, they looked magnificent. Photos of them were plastered all over the internet and social media broadcasts. Alana stayed hidden in plain sight under a cover identity she didn’t know she needed.

  Now, standing at Alana’s doorway, Devin had lured her into another of their heated arguments.

  “I’m your husband. You should be all over me. Take a good look at me, Alana. What woman in her right mind could turn away from someone that looks like me? Oops. That’s right. You don’t have your right mind.”

  The statement lit Alana’s fuse. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I don’t have to kiss you. I damn sure am not going to be all over you. You need to get that out of your scrambled brain.” She waved her hand around to display his scrambled brains.

  His eyes rotated, following her circling hand. “You are the reason my brain is so damn scrambled.”

  Devin looked defeated. Alana considered his position with her and harbored a touch of empathy. Her eyebrows tightened in thought.

  The few drinks he consumed during their at home dinner date had given him tipsy courage. The kind of courage that allowed put his feeling towards his wife on full display. He continued, “There are hundreds of women who would love to be with me. What’s your problem?”

  Tipsy herself, Alana refrained from laughing at him. Her stubbornness wouldn’t let her give in to him. “If you have hundreds of women lined up to be with you, then by all means go be with them, Devin. Don’t let little ole’ me stop you. Go and get all the women you damn well please.”

  With a commanding glare, he was determined to get what he wanted from her. “Woman, I demand a kiss right now. You’re my wife, you’re supposed to kiss and cleave to me. What good is a wife if she doesn’t provide some kind of benefits?”

  Like it made a difference, he continued yelling.

  Alana could no longer contain her laughter. Seeing Devin clumping around like a prize winning Clydesdale was hilarious. The more she laughed, the more he yelled.

  Her hands rested on her hips. “I don’t have a problem. Obviously, you’re the one with the problem if you can’t get your own wife to kiss you. Besides, if you have tons of women lined up, who by the way are likely hookers, why in the hell are you bothering me?”

  Devin paused to consider the question. “You know what? I don’t know why the hell I keep wasting my time on you. You
aren’t worth the trouble.” A sorrowful plea filled Devin's face, immediately realizing he hadn’t meant what he said.

  The statement ignited high powered explosives. The letters ‘TNT’ may as well have been shining bright as diamonds above Alana’s head.

  Nudging him back, Alana’s finger sank into his chest. “You act like a damn crack addict sometimes. You need to get over yourself.”

  His chest heaved. “How dare you call me a crack addict? You… You…”

  Her finger was aimed at his mouth. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything else out of you.”

  Devin stood his ground. “You better move your finger away from me Alana. And don’t you tell me to shut up. You are not the boss of me.”

  Hearing enough from her tipsy husband, she decided to put a stop to the argument. Promptly, she pushed him the rest of the way out of her room and slammed the door.

  Devin spent the better part of an hour knocking and blowing a fuse at the exterior of Alana’s door. He was still making a scene when she climbed into bed and put her iPod on.

  ***

  Although the couples arguing had taken them in and out of Alana bedroom door, they were too busy verbally slashing each other to notice that they had attracted an audience.

  Walking back down the stairs, Sue glanced at her husband. "I think they’re in love with each other.”

  Joseph looked at his wife in disbelief. “Love? What kind of love is that? I’m considering hiring a professional referee to live here. I don’t understand. One minute they’re ready to kill each other and the next they have their heads together like two philanthropists solving the problems of the world.”

  Smiling like she knew a secret, Sue continued, “Some couples have to find their way to each other the best they know how. Those two argue to hide their true emotions. Eventually, they’ll stop arguing. I think they are a love match. I’m talking full blown soulmates.”

  Joseph gave Sue a questioning look. “Honey, sometimes I think you are a little too naïve. Soulmates, I don’t think so.”

  “All in due time, Honey. Right now, it’s all a little augmentative foreplay. Sooner or later, one will not know what to do without the other.”

  Joseph wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know. What I saw and heard didn’t have anything to do with finding a way to each other, especially not to each other’s soul. It was more like my son finding a quick way to the hospital if he keeps pushing his wife’s buttons.”

  Sue laughed. “They definitely keep things exciting around here.”

  Chapter 17

  Family Time

  Joining the rest of his family for breakfast the following morning, Devin bid good morning to everyone. Taking a seat across from his wife, he noticed she hadn’t rendered a reply. He fixed his eyes on her. “I said good morning.”

  Alana addressed Devin. “My ears work fine. Ever stop to think that maybe I’m not having a good morning? Well, not anymore, at least.”

  Devin replied with an irritating smack of his lips. “It’s polite to speak back anyway, but I guess if I were the devil’s daughter, I’d probably not be having such a good morning either.”

  Sue nearly spit strawberries across the table. She spoke behind the napkin covering her mouth. “Son, don’t you think you should apologize to your wife for that horrible comment?”

  Devin showed no intention of apologizing.

  Speaking sarcastically, Joseph said, “Sue, let it alone. It’s like you said, it’s the process of them finding their way to each other. Soulmates remember?” Sue cut her eyes at her husband.

  Out of respect for her in-laws, Alana was hoping to forgo arguing to enjoy breakfast.

  Alana hadn't missed Joseph's interested expression. The huge smile on his face confirmed his interest and the sudden jump and awed look implied that Sue may have kicked his leg under the table.

  Alana turned an amused face away from her in-laws and flashed evil eyes Devin’s way. “If your parents weren’t sitting here, I’d tell you exactly what you can do with your morning. I would definitely like to show you what the devil’s taught his daughter. Remember what I said I would do to you with a rusty spoon?”

  Automatically, Devin placed his hand over his heart and rubbed his chest. The thought of his wife scooping out his heart with a rusty spoon was disturbing.

  Devin frowned. “Don’t hold that lethal tongue of yours for the sake of my parents. I’m sure they would like to hear the horrifying manner in which you address their son. And the way you neglect me and have no regard for my feelings.”

  His sarcasm had Alana’s leg bouncing under the table. She wanted nothing more than to throw her bowl of cereal at his head.

  Closing her eyes, she fought to get her disrupted nerves under control. Bowing her head, Alana positioned her hands for a prayer. Audible enough for all to hear, she began, “Lord, I ask for your strength in dealing with this demon, for he knows not who he is messing with. Grant me calm mercy so that I don’t throw this bowl of cereal at his face, or place strangling hands around his neck, or kick him in the chest like Leonidas did in the movie 300, or sneak into his room tonight and place a pillow over his face until life leaps from his body. Thank you. Oh, and Lord, I almost forgot. Please let him find someone who cares about his morning. Amen.”

  No one spoke a word until Alana raised her head. Speechlessness was evident on the faces of her in-laws as they sat unblinking probably wondering if she was serious.

  Used to the abuse, Devin gave Alana a dismissive wave. He gave his parents a pleading look. “See what I mean? She is sassy and disobedient. See what I have to deal with every day?”

  Maggie had been standing in the corner seemingly enjoying the action. For the first time, Alana noticed it actually took great effort on Maggie's part to keep from bursting into laughter. Was her and Devin's constant arguing a source of amusement? She overheard Martha in passing talking of a running bet to see which of the two of them, her or Devin, would break first and finally give in to the other.

  Maggie approached Devin. "What will you be having for breakfast this morning?"

  Glaring at Alana, Devin told Maggie, “Juice and toast please. I don’t seem to have much of an appetite anymore.”

  Alana could see it; his tongue itched to say something crazy to her. If he knew what was good for him, he'd stop feeding her already raging fire. Why was he all of a sudden showing up at breakfast anyway?

  Alana watched Maggie walk back toward the kitchen with a hand over her mouth. When she opened the door, she had to keep Martha from falling over. The woman had been on the other side of the door listening to her and Devin act like fools. She should have been embarrassed that she was a part of the houses entertainment, but their arguing was never violent and that mattered to her above all else. And if she was being totally honest with herself, she enjoyed their back and forth verbal battles.

  The simmering couple ate their breakfast in silence, gawking at each other like two rams ready to lock horns in battle. They spoke only when Joseph or Sue addressed them.

  Finishing her breakfast, Alana excused herself from the table.

  Devin watched Alana place kisses on each of his parent’s cheeks. He hadn’t missed the teasing look she gave him while doing it.

  Alana hadn't missed Devin’s expression as she left the dining room. Teasingly, she poked her tongue out at him and swore she saw him smile before she rounded the corner. Although her husband managed to get on her last nerve, for some reason she hadn’t discover yet, she couldn’t seem to stay angry with him anymore.

  Devin couldn’t keep a smile from his face. His wife had a way of upsetting him and at the same time managed to make him smile through the anger. He couldn’t figure out what it was about their conflicts that appealed to him.

  He eyed his parents with suspicion. “When did all this happen? You guys acting like the Brady Bunch?”

  Joseph countered, “You sound like you’re jealous son?”

  Devin admitted, “I am.”
>
  ***

  Jessie Nazari had made a decision to take the rest of the summer off, but now in the heart of the fall semester, school was once again a priority. Studying to eventually become a heart surgeon, she was in her fourth year of college.

  Disappointed in herself, she sometimes neglected her family to put her dreams of becoming a doctor first. She'd planned to use her Thanksgiving break to study and rest, instead she packed and prepared to drive to the airport. Her family expected her for Christmas but she wanted to surprise them for Thanksgiving as well. After some of the stories her mother had been telling over the phone, she was interested in meeting her new sister-in-law, not having been at the sudden wedding.

  Her mother greeted her with jubilant hugs and kisses before she’d gotten a chance to drop her bags. Jessie enjoyed the warm reception and rejoiced in simply being home. Once she was somewhat settled, her eyes darted around the interior of the house. “Where’s dad, Devin, my new sister-in-law?”

  Sue shook her head at her nosy daughter. “Calm down. Your father and brother had a business convention to attend and will be back later tonight. Alana will be off from work in a few hours.”

  Jessie's eyes widened. “She works? Devin doesn’t allow his women to work because he wants them at his beck and call.”

  “That’s all changed. Alana is a Physical Therapist, hardworking and has no intention of letting your brother deter her. She is well on her way to earning her doctorate degree. It looks like we are going to have two doctors in this family.”

  Jessie was so excited about everything else, she had completely forgotten about her Thanksgiving surprise. “I’m staying this week and I’ll be back for Christmas break.”

  Happy, Sue gave Jessie another round of hugs. “Your dad is going to flip when he finds out you’re here.”