All Chapters of THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Annie's POVThe nightmare of marrying my twin sister’s fiancé was finally beginning to fade. I’d slipped into her life seamlessly, scrubbing away every trace that might make Tobin Voss suspect the truth.I was still on edge...I was always watching, always listening, but so far, I had played my part flawlessly.So, please… Tell me why.Tell me why my sister is standing at the gate in the middle of the night?"Who is there, Annie?" I heard Tobin's voice from up the stairs and I could hear his footsteps getting nearer.“No one! Just a stray!” I yelled out loud enough to stop him from coming downstairs.I glared at the monitor once more just to be sure it was really Claire, my sister.Fuck! We are all dead if Tobin finds out he has been duped.“Who is there?” I heard Tobin's voice right behind me.I felt my soul leave my body as I turned around to meet him a few meters away from me.“It is just a stray,” I repeated my answer.“Why then is your face stuck to that monitor like you had seen

Annie's POVThey took me back to the penthouse. I felt utterly uncomfortable as we stepped inside, and I couldn't keep my mind at ease with what Tobin’s punishment would be.Anyone who crosses him either ends up dead or vanishes, which is pretty much the same thing as being dead.We walked into the penthouse I’d been stuck in for the last four weeks. Tobin nodded at his goons. “Blindfold her.”Rough hands tied a cloth over my eyes. I became scared immediately as they grabbed my arms and led me forward.I stayed still for a while before they held my hand and guided me to walk blindly.After a few seconds, I heard a door squeal open. The guards’ footsteps retreated, leaving me alone and the lock clicked behind me.“Take off the blindfold,” Tobin’s voice ordered.I pulled it off and blinked.Holy shit. I’d never seen this room before.Black walls, chains dangling from the ceiling, hooks everywhere. A wooden cross with leather straps stood in one corner. A metal cage big enough for someon

Annie's POVThe coffee was too strong but I drank it anyway. I needed something to do with my hands. Two days. Two days of driving around, making calls, checking places Claire might have gone, and we had nothing. Not a trace. Tobin was sitting on the sofa in the living room, he was not moving, just staring at the wall. He’d been like that for an hour.I couldn’t take the quiet anymore. “Do you have another plan?” I asked. “Or are we just giving up?”He didn’t look at me. He just shook his head slowly, like it was a great effort.I put my mug down too hard, the coffee sloshing over the side. “So that’s it? We just stop looking?”That’s when he spoke, his voice was pretty low and without any feeling in it. “I know who can make someone disappear if they want to.”That got my attention. I walked around the counter to see his face. “Who?”“The Rossi family.”The name landed in the quiet room like a rock. The Rossis. Everyone knew that name. They were the reason people locked their doors. T

Annie's POVI twisted my body and managed to slip out of Anthony's grip, spinning him around as we continued our fight. We threw punches and grabbed at each other until we were both breathing hard and exhausted. I spotted a heavy metallic object on the nearby shelf and grabbed it, swinging it hard against his head. The impact made a sick thudding sound and Anthony staggered backward.I picked up the snooker stick that had fallen during our struggle and broke it over my knee, leaving me with a sharp pointed end. Anthony was on the floor now, looking up at me with wide eyes as I stood over him with the makeshift weapon."Please," he said, his voice desperate. "I have two children and a wife. Think about them."I wanted to let him go. Every part of me that was still normal and decent wanted to drop the broken stick and walk away. But I knew he would come after me the moment I left. He would tell people what I looked like, where I had been, what I had done.I shook my head slowly. "I'm so

Annie's POVThe brick wall was cold against my back and I counted in my head, my grip tight on the small metal canister. Tobin was in there and the sounds from inside were not good. I pulled the pin, leaned out just enough to see the open doorway, and threw the flash grenade inside. I turned my face back into the brick and squeezed my eyes shut. There was a loud pop and a bright white light that I could see even through my eyelids.I moved before the sound faded, stepping into the room with my gun up. The air smelled sharp and burnt. Three men were stumbling around, their hands over their eyes, cursing. One was on the floor. Tobin was in a chair in the middle of it all, his head down, his body tense. I grabbed his arm and pulled him up. “It’s me,” I said, my voice low and quick. “Move.”He staggered but followed my lead. One of the men, a big guy with a beard, was blinking hard, his vision starting to clear. He saw the shape of me and started to raise his weapon. I didn’t hesitate. I