Narrow-mindedness

HELLFIRE HORSEMEN: BOOK 1 Ruin is not only a Beta to Alpha Ryker; he's the reincarnation of something much darker. When Alpha Ryker sends him on a mission to be the bodyguard to a prominent Alpha's daughter, he expected it to be a straightforward thing. But when he first lays his eyes on Chloe Jane, and inhales her scent, he feels the pull of the mate bond, but since she is blind, the bond seems to be one-sided. Oh, fate can be cruel... Chloe Jane wasn't born blind. But she has always known darkness, and it is not only from being sightless. When she first meets Ruin, there is an immediate attraction even though she cannot see him. His scent seemed familiar and felt like home. But how can the Goddess mate these two, who already share a dark history? *** I narrow my eyes because I know this man. He's older, but…The last time I saw him was fifteen years ago after a botched rescue mission to save his wife and daughter… I try not to show my surprise at what I've just realized, because there's no bloody way it can be true. There's no way this is the same man from back then, and there's just no f*cking way that this woman in front of me is— “I see you've met my daughter already; this is Chloe Jane, your charge for the next few months, he says, shutting up my doubts. Now I understand Ryker's words better; and as that realization sets in, I can finally hear the word my wolf is saying. Ryker is cruel, but the Fates even more so. How could they mate me to a woman I nearly killed, a woman whose life I ruined by my careless actions?

I stepped closer. Close enough to smell his cologne—cedarwood, leather, and power. My hand moved. Smooth, practiced. The pistol slide from under the apron into my palm. I raised it fast. But before I could pull the trigger— BANG. Not my shot. A scream tore through the restaurant as another man launched himself toward Romano’s table, blade flashing. Another assassin. What the hell— Romano didn’t flinch. He shoved the table forward, knocking the attacker off balance. The blade scraped across wood, not skin. I ducked instinctively as the room erupted into chaos. Gunfire cracked. Glass exploded. People screamed and dove for cover. “Get him out—NOW!” one of the guards barked. I aimed for the second attacker. Didn’t even hesitate. One shot—head. Gone. The guard saw me. Confusion flashed in his eyes. Then rage. I ran. I weaved between overturned chairs, plates, and screaming bodies. The smell of blood was real now, thick in the air. One of the guards grabbed me. I slammed my elbow into his ribs, twisted, and brought the butt of my gun down on his skull. He dropped like a sack of bricks. Out. I had to get out. My boots pounded the floor as I tore through the narrow hallway. But then— “Elisa.” His voice stopped me cold. I turned. Antonio Romano stood in the middle of the carnage, suit untouched, blood spattered behind him like art. His eyes were on me. And he was smiling. It was darker. Slower. Like a hunter seeing something worth chasing. Somehow, he knew who I was. “Interesting,” he said softly, tilting his head. “They sent you.” I didn’t answer. I ran. But that voice followed me. He knew my name. And he let me go. This wasn’t over. It had just begun.