FAZER LOGINMilaSeven days had passed since the afternoon on the coastal cliffs.A week of driving perfectly. A week of watching Leo laugh in the sunlit solarium.In the week, Aaron hadn't pushed. He hadn't demanded anything. He had simply given me the space to realize that the cage door had been wide open this entire time.I stood in the center of the opulent guest bedroom, staring down at the single leather duffel bag resting at the foot of the bed. Next to it, Leo was sleeping soundly in his travel carrier, his tiny chest rising and falling in a peaceful, rhythmic slumber."Are you ready to go?"Aaron’s deep voice sent a familiar, violent shiver straight down my spine.I turned around. He was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over a crisp, dark button-down shirt."I think so." I murmured, my hands smoothing nervously down the sides of my jeans. "Is the jet fueled?"Aaron nodded slowly, pushing off the doorframe and stepping into the room. "It is. But before we head to the airst
RyanI didn't waste any moment.I grabbed Richard by the immaculate silk tie at his throat. I didn’t just pull him; I completely hauled him out of his two-thousand-dollar executive chair, dragging his upper body violently across the desk.His glass of scotch shattered against the floor. Files and documents scattered like dead leaves.“Don’t lie to me!” I roared, the animalistic sound tearing out of my chest, completely shattering the sterile quiet of the executive suite.I planted my knee on the edge of his desk, twisting the silk tie so tightly it instantly cut off his airway. Richard’s hands scrambled frantically against my wrists, his eyes bulging as he finally, entirely felt the absolute, lethal danger he was in.“You put a hit on Mila.” I snarled, leaning down until my face was inches from his, completely letting him see the monster he had resurrected. “You ordered a mercenary crew to put a bullet in her head because you thought she was a distraction. You used her life to chain m
RyanThe private elevator of the Empire Group tower was quiet and fast but inside my head, the world was tearing itself apart.I watched the illuminated numbers above the steel doors climb.Seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three. Each click felt like a violent countdown to an execution.I hadn’t changed out of the clothes I ruined in the penthouse. My knuckles were split and bleeding sluggishly from where I had punched a hole straight through the marble wall of my foyer. The sleeves of my ruined dress shirt were still rolled up, the dark ink of my Reaper tattoos entirely exposed under the harsh, sterile fluorescent lights of the corporate cage.I wasn’t the prodigal son returning to the boardroom. I was a thug from the southside, walking completely unrestrained into the lion’s den.Ding.The doors slid open to the seventy-fifth floor.The executive suite was a sprawling fortress of soundproof glass, imported Italian leather, and absolute silence. It was after hours. The army of assist
RyanThe penthouse was suffocatingly silent.Amelia had vanished hours ago, slipping out before dawn without a word. The only trace of her was the haunting scent of jasmine and the violently tangled silk sheets strewn across the king-sized bed. I hadn’t slept. I had spent the endless night perched on the mattress, half-empty bourbon glass sweating in my palm, staring down at the polished floorboards until my eyes burned red.My body was a carcass of exhaustion, but my mind was a roaring static storm.The sharp buzz of the intercom shattered the stillness, a jagged knife of sound in my pounding skull. I didn’t move. I let it ring.It buzzed again… longer this time, shriller, drilling straight into my temple. With a rough exhale, I set the glass on the nightstand, forced my leaden limbs upright and dragged myself across the cold marble wasteland of the living room.I pressed the silver button. “What?” I rasped.“Mr. Wylder.” The Concierge’s polite, filtered voice crackled through the s
MilaElena had practically shooed us out of the solarium, scooping Leo out of the baby lounger with a completely delighted laugh, promising to spoil him rotten until we got back.I followed Aaron through the sprawling, silent corridors of the estate, my heart maintaining a heavy, frantic rhythm against my ribs. He didn’t speak. He just walked a half-step ahead of me, his massive, broad shoulders moving with that lethal, predatory grace that usually terrified everyone in his path.But I wasn’t terrified. I was entirely, overwhelmingly captivated.We reached the subterranean garage, a massive, brightly lit expanse of polished concrete that housed millions of dollars worth of custom, bulletproof vehicles. My eyes immediately went to the passenger side of the matte-black Mercedes G-Wagon, out of pure, conditioned habit.I had never been the one in control. Not in my childhood, not in my relationship with Axel, and certainly not during the gang war that had torn my life apart. I was always
RyanHearing what I had said, Amelia laughed. "My father lost a company he was already running into the ground." she replied smoothly, crossing her long legs, the sheer fabric riding up her thigh. "He got a golden parachute, and I got my trust fund unlocked early. I am not here to fight you, Ryan."I finally turned my head to look at her.She wasn't looking at me with the same calculated, artificial seduction she had tried in my office weeks ago. There was a sharp, reckless edge to her dark eyes tonight. She had realized I wasn't a prize to be won. She realized I was a completely broken, incredibly dangerous mechanism and for some twisted reason, she wanted to play with the broken glass."Then why are you here?" I asked coldly.Amelia leaned in, her shoulder brushing against my chest. The heat of her body was a stark contrast to the absolute ice in my veins."Because you look exactly the way I feel." She murmured, her gaze dropping to my mouth. "Bored. Pressured. And desperately looki







