Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
I keep turning, but there isn’t much there.
“She wasn’t formally adopted.”
That piece of information has me placing the file down on my desk and looking up toward Cristian. “Then how do you know she’s important to him?”
“He paid for her school. We tracked her credit card, and from there, we got a name. It wasn’t too hard to piece two and two together once we knew where to look. Plus, it can’t be a coincidence that she uses his first name as her last name.”
My fingers begin to tap a rhythm as I take in this information. A habit that makes me think of my brother—and apparently, I’ve picked up as my own after losing him. “Seems too easy.”
“Not if we didn’t know Michael had a son. That was a stroke of luck. The man gave no indication that anyone meant anything to him.”
I nod my head. It’s true. All these years, I could never find a thing, and now, she found me.
“It can’t be a coincidence.” Cristian bobs his head in agreement.
“No. It can’t.” We both fall silent as I continue to stare at the exotic beauty. Last night she was gorgeous, but in this picture, she’s even more so.
Full lips, small freckles dot her nose, long wavy dark brown hair falls to her breasts, and bright blue eyes.
She was a knockout last night. Someone I could imagine myself drowning in, but seeing her without a stitch of that shit on her face is better. She looks innocent, and it makes me want to corrupt her even more.
“What are you going to do about it, Boss?”
I lean back in my chair. Thoughts and ideas run through my brain a million miles a minute.
What to do with Phoenix? The name isn’t really fitting for her. She’s too small and weak. What to do with the little dove?
I look up and reach for my glass, lifting it to my mouth and taking a long swig.
What to do?
What to do?
I’m halfway through my glass, and I meet Cristian’s stare.
“You have that look, Boss.” He laughs.
“Grab a glass.” I’ll need a few minutes to concoct a plan, and while I do that, we’ll have a drink. Cristian stands from his chair and moves over to the side table, followed by the sound of the tumbler being lifted and then scotch pouring into the glass. When he finally takes his seat in front of me again, I lift my own to make a toast.
I don’t offer words, just a wicked and devious smirk. She came to me, and she will get what she deserves, but first, I’ll play with my new pet.
“So, what will it be?” he asks. His brow furrows as he waits. He leans forward, and I smile brightly, placing the glass down. Standing, I walk to the door to return to my stateroom so I can get ready for the night. My hand reaches for the knob, and I pull open the heavy door, but just as I’m about to step through, I turn, looking over my shoulder at Cristian.
“Isn’t it obvious?” My lips pull up into a sardonic smile.
“Not to me,” he responds.
“Well …” I like the idea more and more the longer I think about it. “Obviously, we are going to catch a bird.”
“And once we do?”
His question makes me laugh.
“We put her in a cage.”
* * *
Someone rarely pulls one over on me. It’s even rarer that I find myself surprised. But here I am.
She doesn’t know that I know her.
I do.
I know everything.
Including her face.
If she thinks she can pull a fast one on me, she is wrong. Deadly wrong.
The thing is, she has no clue, and I plan to use that weakness against her. So here I am at the club in the VIP lounge yet again—trap set.
She’s not here yet, but if I know anything about her, I don’t expect her to be. No. No, she will make me wait.
Lure me in.
Maybe another guy would be fooled, but another guy isn’t me.
I almost find it insulting that Michael thought this plan would work. That he thought he was clever enough to use his daughter against me.
Shows just how desperate he must be.
I take a seat on the soft velvet bench of the banquette that Mathis reserved for me. Women dance to the left and right of me, but I don’t have eyes for any of them. I’m waiting for one bird, a little dove.
That’s what she is. She might think she’s a phoenix, but to me, she’s a small, helpless little bird that Michael tried to pull out of his hat for a trick.
As if she can hear my inner ramblings, she enters. Now that I know who she is, I shouldn’t find her as gorgeous as I do. But even if she had a knife to my heart, she’d still be the most beautiful woman in the room.