Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I lock my eyes on her, but she has her gaze focused on her feet. I lift my head, feeling obstinate despite knowing there's a very real chance I'm walking to my death. I was told the day I was welcomed into the home under Ivan's employ that it was certain death putting my hands on his daughter. She seemed like the perfect way to get the most information. Only I wasn't supposed to actually fall for her.
Damien's knuckles rapping on the heavy office door make gooseflesh run up both of my arms and, despite my best efforts to be brave, there's a slight tremble in my hands as Ivan demands our entry from the other side.
"Damien," the boss says with a frown before his eyes drift to me. "Pretty boy."
They gave me the nickname from the very beginning. I have a feeling the way Aspen looked at me the first time we met was the reason I was issued such a warning about her.
"What the fuck is going on?" Ivan demands when Aspen slips past us two men and walks into the room.
"Seems these two have been sneaking around," Damien says. His tone is only calm around Ivan, making it very clear that he's a true psychopath in his ability to turn the rage on and off like a light switch.
"Aspen?" her father demands, but she keeps her head dropped, no words spilling from her mouth.
She doesn't confess her love for me. She doesn't tell him that we have plans for the future. She doesn't ask to marry me.
It feels like a betrayal, but then again, she also doesn't repeat the confession I made mere minutes ago.
I know she's terrified of her father. She has been raised with that fear, knowing if she steps out of line that there are things the man is willing to do that are worse than death.
"Have you ruined my daughter, Pretty Boy?"
"No, sir," I lie.
I haven't spent much time with Aspen, but we got to the intimate part of our relationship pretty early on. If she's not making that known, then neither am I.
"I love her. I'd like to ask your permission to marry her."
Ivan stares at me much like his daughter did earlier, and for a split second, hope swells inside of me.
I would marry her. I'd spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy. Hell, if she had a problem with me working for ICE, I'd give that up too. I'd do just about anything for that woman, short of being a true criminal. That's where I draw the line.
"Marry her?" Ivan repeats as if he's considering it.
"Sir," Damien says, and that seems to snap Ivan out of whatever ideas he might've been having.
"I want him on his knees," Ivan snaps, his anger starting to bubble up, his face reddening.
Damien kicks my legs out from under me before I have a chance to lower to them. It takes away the chance for me to show loyalty to the man and removes any and all goodwill it might've created.
"He's too damn pretty. I think that's what's wrong here," Ivan mutters, shaking his head with a snarl curling up one side of his mouth. "Let's fix that."
As if they're speaking another language only they understand, Damien pulls out a knife. Before I can argue or beg, he slices the knife down the left side of my face. I scream out in pain as blood fills my vision.
I can't recall a single moment in my life that I've ever felt such searing pain.
My throat clogs with the need to cry, something I can't recall needing since I was a child.
I look up, locking my eyes on Aspen, wanting to beg her to defend me, to proclaim her love. But despite the tears dripping from her eyes and falling on her shoes, she doesn't even look up at me.
"I want him dead," Ivan says. "Get him the fuck out of here."
She doesn't care enough to look at me one last time after her father's declaration. As Damien drags me from the room to my death, I realize that I was her pawn all along. Maybe she has done this before, making someone fall in love with her just to get attention from her dad.
I think I'll love her, hate her, and feel betrayed by her even in death.
Chapter 1
Jericho
"Did you see her?" Jersey asks as my feet hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Who?" I ask as I slip past him on a mission for coffee.
"The woman who Ace brought home," he answers. "Can you believe it? The man was ready to eat Hemlock alive for Zara and now he brought someone back here."
"Leave that man alone. Don't you think he deserves happiness?" I grumble.
I don't like to speak often, much less sit around and fucking gossip about what other people are doing. Talk to me about a case, but whispering about what other people are doing in their personal lives, makes me want to rejoin ICE and spend months in solitude.