LOGINI swallow hard, the word boyfriend hanging in the cold air between us.A few days ago, I would have used that title as a shield. But tonight, the word just feels like ash in my mouth. It doesn't give me the satisfaction it used to. It just feels wrong."Okay, but..." I refuse to let go of his arm. "I need you to give me something. You have to tell me what actually hap…"Click. The heavy, unmistakable snap of a light switch echoes from the top of the grand staircase and Nathaniel and I both freeze.I hear Nathaniel let out a low, dangerous growl under his breath. "Fuck." I drop his arm and look up.Harriette is standing at the top of the landing. She isn't in her nightgown. She wasn’t asleep. She is fully dressed, gripping her cane with white knuckles. I can feel the anger radiating off her frail frame is so absolute that it makes the temperature in the foyer drop."A word, Nathaniel," Harriette demands, her voice entirely stripped of emotion. It is the voice of a judge delivering an e
BETTYThe stone steps of the front porch are freezing, and the chill is biting straight through the thin fabric of my sweatpants. I wrap my arms tighter around my legs, pulling my knees against my chest, but I refuse to go back inside.It is almost two in the morning.The massive estate at my back is finally, mercifully silent, but the quiet is almost worse than the suffocating chaos that consumed it for the last twelve hours.The second the news alert had flashed across our phones—Nathaniel Blackwell Abruptly Resigns as CEO of Blackwell Enterprises—the mansion had practically imploded.Harriette had gone completely rabid. She spent the entire afternoon and evening pacing the floors, screaming into her phone at lawyers, PR managers, and board members, demanding an explanation for a betrayal she couldn't comprehend.But by 10.00 pm, completely drained and vibrating with a terrifying, champagne-fueled fury, she finally retired to her wing.Rhys had been completely bewildered when I took
NATHANIELA cold laugh escapes my chest. I step back, drag one of the heavy wooden dining chairs over, and plant it directly in front of him. I sit down, leaning forward so we are eye to eye."No. Fuck you," I snarl. The icy, corporate facade finally cracking, and letting the asshole completely off the leash. "You beat my cousin to the brink of death because he didn't want to be in business with you. You bought the house the mother of my child was working on so that you could make her an accomplice of your dirty business. You sent people to stalk my child…. Should I continue?I stare at the bleeding, pathetic cartel boss on the floor, and all I see is Betty. Her stubborn green eyes. Her fierce defiance. The intoxicating taste of her mouth in that goddam elevator. I see Rhys lying in that hospital, and I see Grace.I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste copper, locking all that in a vault so I can finish this execution."Another thing," I say, my voice dropping to a terrifying,
NATHANIEL"Is this some kind of sick joke to screw me over?" Fausto roars, violently slamming the titanium tablet onto the hardwood floor with enough force to shatter the screen, sending shards of glass sliding across the polished wood.I don't flinch. I just slowly lick my lower lip, casually adjusting my posture to cross my ankle over my knee."Apologies," I say, my tone entirely deadpan. "There is nothing that can be done. Like I said... I am not in control of anything."Fausto shoots out of his chair and slams both his heavy hands down on the marble table, leaning over it, his face turning a dangerous, mottled crimson."You and I had a deal!" he spits. "I give you back your cousin in exchange for access! Do you know what happens to people who screw me over, boy? You think what I did to Rhys was even a fraction of what I would do to someone like you? You don't want to find out! So I suggest you stop screwing around and give me what I want!"His chest rises and falls rapidly, his br
NATHANIELI don't move a single muscle in the back of my armored SUV until my earpiece crackles with the confirmation I need: Betty is safely out of the beach house. I let out a slow, rigid breath.I couldn’t let her stay in that place for a second longer. Especially when I watched Fausto and his cartel muscle pull up to this location. It made the reality of the threat razor-sharp.I was dealing with a criminal, a murderer. And having the mother of my child breathing the same air as his men was no longer an option.I lock the screen of my iPad and lift my head, locking eyes with Pete and Alex, the two other elite Marines flanking my doors in the parking lot of The Pearl."The man I am meeting inside is highly dangerous," I state, my voice stripped of all emotion. "Keep the perimeter tight. Nobody goes in, and if things go south, nobody comes out. Understood?"They both nod firmly.I step out of the car, adjusting the cuffs of my bespoke suit, and my hand tightens around my iPad and my
BETTYI pull my car onto the coastal road approaching the beach house.But before I slow down for the gates, my eyes dart to the rearview mirror, confirming the black SUV with Nathaniel's Marines is parked exactly where he promised, blending into the distant tree line.At first, when he suggested this, I thought he was being overly dramatic. But now that I am actually here, staring at the imposing perimeter of the property, the presence of those Marines is the only thing keeping my hands from shaking off the steering wheel.I pull up to the gate, and the security guard who steps out of the booth isn't the friendly, older gentleman I had grown fond of.This man is built like a tank. He is wearing a dark, tailored suit, and a coiled earpiece disappears into his collar.He doesn't smile. He doesn't say hello. He just holds up a hand, checks a digital tablet, and stares at my license plate before his dead eyes flick to my face.He presses a button, and the heavy iron gates slowly swing op
NATHANIELIt’s finally time to close the Virnkirk deal, a moment that should feel clean and decisive, but for reasons no one has bothered to explain properly, they want Rhys present.The request irritates me more than it should because I don’t need his theatrics or his unpredictable presence muddyin
BETTYAfter a full day of dust, drills, and paint samples, I still feel like the construction site clings to my skin.My fingers smell faintly of fresh cement and marker ink, and my back aches from leaning over blueprints all day.I should have gone home to shower, but Lucy can be very persuasive.S
BETTYI’ve been avoiding Rhys since the day he found me at the cemetery.The way his arms wrapped around me, and how I clung to him longer than I should have, hasn’t left my mind since.He didn’t pull away. He didn’t say a word. He just let me stay there, quietly breaking against him, and it didn’t
NATHANIELI check my watch for the tenth time, the ticking sound suddenly louder than my own breathing.It’s seven in the morning, and she still isn’t home.My hands flex at my sides as I start pacing across the room again, each step heavier and sharper than the last. “Where the hell is she?” I g







