IRIS ‘A driver will pick you up at 9. Be ready.’ I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stared at the message that I’d just received from Maverick. Last night was a blur. After I’d begged Maverick not to look into me, he was quiet. He just held me tightly while I cried. And the next thing he’d said was, “Go to bed, Iris.” I had no idea what was going on in his mind, or whether he was going to listen to my pleas and not dig into me. At least, not until I was ready to tell him. Today would be my first day working as Maverick’s assistant even though I didn't know much of what my job entailed. It wasn’t a real job that I had to be dedicated to, it was just a front. Something that would also bring me closer to the company. Closer to Sebastian and Eleanor. And Maverick had left without me. Apparently, he had hired a new driver who would drive me to work. An hour later, I was dressed in a black corporate gown that I found lodged somewhere in my closet, with a pair of stilettos. I tie
MAVERICK I was not prepared to see Iris in a corporate outfit.She looked… Fuck.She looked fucking phenomenal.The black dress hugged every curve, the heels gave her legs that extra length, and the way she held her chin high despite how obviously nervous she was?Infuriatingly sexy.I twirled the pen between my fingers, keeping my expression unreadable as Iris walked further into my office. I wondered what it would feel like to fuck her in those heels. What it would feel like to bend her over my desk, raise that fucking sexy gown up, and just fuck her.I wondered if she was wearing panties.Damn it. I had to stay focused.Last night should not have happened. It never should have happened, no matter how much Iris had tempted me.“This is a workplace, not a fashion show,” I muttered, leaning back further in my chair to disguise the fact that my cock was pushing against my slacks right now.Iris arched her brow, folding her arms. “Sorry, boss. Would you like me to wear a sac to the of
IRIS “I cannot believe you work with him every single day.” Megan shook her head in pure disbelief as she cut into her chicken. She looked at me like I was the craziest woman on the planet. “I mean, I get the whole revenge thing, but how are you still sane?”Megan, Amethyst, and I were having lunch at a restaurant not too far from the house.I rolled my eyes, sipping my margarita. “I think I lost my sanity the second I agreed to this deal.” It had been a little over a week since I started working at the company with Maverick, and let’s just say, things had been…electric.I’d thought that working with him would provide me with some sort of distraction or something for me to focus on, but I was wrong. Working with Maverick was fucking intense.I shared the same office with Chase, but every time Maverick and I were in the same room, I could feel him.And I fucking hated it.Coupled with the fact that he had made it his life’s mission to frustrate me. I was in charge of getting his coff
IRIS Maverick knew who had attacked Megan and Amethyst and he didn't tell me. Hearing it from Megan made it even worse—it meant that Maverick had known and he was keeping it from me. He even told Dwayne about it but not me? Something was wrong, and I was going to find out what it was. By the time Megan and I were finished at the restaurant, the time had already moved towards evening. “Hey, I’m sorry I just blurted that out. I didn't know Maverick hadn’t told you yet.” I arched my brow. “Are you really apologizing for telling me something I should’ve known?” Megan shrugged, giving me a sheepish smile. “I guess maybe if Maverick was keeping this from you, there had to be a reason, right?” I set my jaw. I refused to view things from that angle. This was something that he knew was important to me. I had almost lost them. If Maverick knew who the culprit was and he wasn’t even doing anything about it, he was going to have me to contend with. I pulled her and Amethyst into a hug, pl
MAVERICK Something wasn’t right.I felt it the moment I stepped into the house and I didn’t hear her, but I knew it the moment I knocked on the door to her room and there was no answer. No sign of Iris when I opened the door.I checked the time on my watch—past nine pm. Iris should have been back hours ago.Pulling my phone out, I dialed her number. It rang and rang, but there was no answer. No missed texts from her. Nothing.I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening around the phone as I exhaled. Iris wasn’t the type to ignore my calls, but maybe she was at Megan’s.But even as I dialed Megan’s number, the feeling that something terrible had happened nagged at the back of my mind.Megan picked up on the second ring.“Maverick?” She sounded surprised. “What’s up?”“Is Iris with you?” I asked, skipping the formalities. I already knew the answer before Megan even replied.Megan was quiet for a few seconds, processing my question, and then she said, “I thought she was with you. We parted wa
IRIS My pulse thundered in my ears. Every breath I took felt shallow, forced. I had been kidnapped, trapped and tied to a fucking chair im the dark. And my captor was none other than Quentin Sinclair. Maverick’s father. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to breathe as the rope dug into my wrists. I couldn’t afford to show weakness. Not in front of him. “Why am I here?” I willed my voice to be steady, but my body trembled slightly. Quentin stood a few feet away, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched me carefully, following my every movement with his eyes. He looked too much at ease. Too comfortable despite the situation I was in. Then again, he wasn’t the one who had been tied up. “You’re here because I needed to have a little chat with you,” he said smoothly, stepping closer. His voice was neutral, but there was something darker underneath. I narrowed my eyes. “And you couldn’t just call?” His lips pulled up in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I find tha
MAVERICK Ryan was waiting for me when I arrived at The Haven. He sat in the booth in the farthest corner, swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand like he didn’t have a fucking care in the world.I didn’t hesitate. I stormed toward him, gripping the edge of the table hard enough to crack the wood. “Where is she?”Ryan didn't even blink. He tilted his head lazily, smirking as his eyes met mine. “You look like shit, Sinclair.”I instantly reached for him, pulling him out of the booth by the collar of his shirt. I didn’t care about the attention I was getting from the bar goers. My girl was fucking missing.“You’d better start talking if you don’t want me to bash your face in,” I growled at him.Ryan—the little fucking shit he was—smiled at me. He wasn’t scared. Wasn’t even fucking moved. I tightened my grip on his collar, resisting the urge to slam him against the wall.My patience had run out.“Tsk, tsk,” he tutted. “That’s no way to treat the only person in this room who knows where
IRIS I couldn’t think. Couldn’t even breathe. My mother. My fucking mother was here. I hadn’t seen her in years. Not since I ran away from home, leaving her and my stepfather. And now, she was here, standing in front of me. She looked like a ghost from one of my worst memories. Her hair was tangled and uncared for, her skin dry and worn. The dirty, tattered clothes hanging off her body told me everything I needed to know. She had hit rock bottom. But I didn’t feel pity for her. I could never feel pity for Rhoda Blake. I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to make sense of what was happening. “How…” My voice cracked. “How did you find her?” I asked Quentin, not taking my eyes away from my mother. She was a frail thing. Much smaller than I remembered. “I did a little digging on you, Iris.” I turned to look at him and he had a smirk on his face. “Found out that your own mother kidnapped you for some change.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered yo
IRIS “What are you going to do?” That was Megan’s question after Dwayne had stormed out. There had been an uncomfortable silence in the room for a while, both Megan and I lost in our thoughts. Me thinking about Maverick and Amethyst, and Megan?Well…“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, crossing my arms in front of my chest as I leaned back in my seat. “Maverick wasn’t exactly clear on what he was going to do to me.”I hated that I sounded bitter when I said that, but I couldn't help it.Maverick was about to do away with me. I was sure of it. This was going to be the end. That, maybe I could deal with. Maybe I could forfeit all the drama and the plans for revenge that we hadn’t even started to go into yet.But, Amethyst?How was I going to beg Maverick not to take her from me? The look in his eyes, him wanting to be alone with her…My greatest fear had come to life. Maverick was going to take Amy from me, and he was probably going to marry Layla because of how attached they were
IRIS The first thing I heard as soon as I opened the door to Megan’s room was the soft, steady beeping of the heart monitor.Other than that, it was quiet. Dwayne sat beside her bed, his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. His entire body was tense. Too still.The doctors said that Megan had woken up earlier, but now, she was asleep.“Hey,” I whispered.Dwayne’s head snapped up, and he looked at me warily, then shifted his gaze tp the door like he was expecting someone to come in.“Where’s Maverick?”I took a seat across from him. “With Amethyst.”That answer alone multiplied the tension in the room. Dwayne heaved a sigh, his hand moving to the back of his neck. And when his eyes met mine, he gave me a sheepish smile.“Sorry for my outburst earlier,” he muttered. “I was just—”“Dwayne,” I interrupted. “There’s no need to apologize, okay? I should be the one apologizing.”His eyes widened slightly and I swallowed nervously. “And you were right. This happened because of me. If Me
IRIS I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the moment things went south, Layla would swoop in and try to “fix” things.But that still didn’t soften the hurt that I felt. Seeing Maverick wrap his arms around the girl that so obviously wanted him, was heartbreaking, to say the least. It pulled at something inside of me that shouldn’t have been pulled at all.But I had to remind myself that Maverick wasn’t mine. And that even if he was, I deserved whatever he was dishing out at me right now.Dwayne gave me a short glance, and I could see a hint of… worry or pity in his expression.And then, shaking his head at the scene before us, he disappeared into the corner, heading toward Megan’s room.I should’ve turned around. Should’ve taken one look at Maverick’s arms around her and left without saying a word. But I couldn't.My legs had frozen in place. My lungs refused to work.And my heart?God, my heart was cracking wide open.Layla turned slightly in mavericks arms, noticing me stan
MAVERICK Fucking hell.I stood outside the hospital, staring at the hood of my car like it had personally betrayed me.My pulse thundered nonstop in my ears and my knuckles ached from how tightly I’d been clenching my fists.I was going to fucking lose itI had a daughter. My own flesh and blood. And Iris Blake had kept her from me.It was funny, really. I didn’t even know if I was mad at her for hiding her in plain sight, or mad at myself for not figuring it out sooner.Before I could realize what I was doing, my fist was coming down against the roof of my car. Hard. I felt the impact from my fist down to my shoulder, but I didn’t care.So fucking stupid. That’s what I was. Too fucking stupid and lenient to dig into a woman who was important to my plan.But then again, maybe I just didn’t want to find out.With a sharp grunt, I started to punch down on my car again, but a voice stopped me short.“Careful there, bro.”I turned to see Dwayne walking toward me, hands in his pockets. He
IRIS The expression on Maverick’s face was either going to make me lose my breath, or ruin me. Either way, I was going to die. I shouldn’t have said that. Definitely shouldn’t have included Maverick in the list of the Sinclairs that I didn’t trust, but I couldn’t help it. I just… couldn’t trust him. But I couldn’t also help but feel like I’d made a horrible mistake. Not a mistake as horrible as keeping his daughter from him, but horrible nonetheless. Maverick sneered at me, and in a flash, my back slammed hard against the wall with my hands above my head. Maverick had pinned both my hands against the wall with one of his. “Give me one instance,” he seethed. “One instance where I made you feel like you couldn’t trust me. Where I caused you damage like you say the Sinclairs do.” I didn’t respond. Not because I didn’t want to, or because I couldn't. But because I didn’t have an answer to Maverick’s question. My lips remained parted, but no words came out. His jaw
MAVERICK I knew. Of course I fucking knew. I’d suspected for a long time, but I just didn’t want to find out. Didn’t want to believe that Iris would keep something as serious as this from me. My own daughter. Even after everything that Iris and I had been through, she had kept her from me. Had even fucking begged me not to dig into her. I should’ve. Respecting Iris’s wishes was a decision that I was going to regret for the rest of my life. “Maverick…” Iris’s voice cracked as she trailed off. That was all she could manage at this point. My name. Because there was nothing she could say or do to fix this. Dwayne arched his brow at me. “Yeah,” he muttered through his teeth. “That’s the fucking reaction I’ve been looking for.” Last week, Dwayne had told me that Megan had slipped and said something that hinted at Iris being Amethyst’s mother. I’d though it was a ridiculous mistake because there was no damn way that it was true. That didn’t mean I was able to stop thinking
IRIS Megan.My baby.My baby. My baby. My baby.I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t even speak.I was a zombie when Maverick led me to his car. A zombie when he drove, but not oblivious to the worried stares that he kept throwing my way.But before Maverick had even parked the car in front of the hospital, I was already out. Already running inside. The ground was cold beneath my bare feet. At some point, I’d taken my shoes off, and I hadn’t even noticed. I had no idea where they were.“Iris!” I heard Maverick call behind me, but I was already disappearing through the doors. “Wait!”I was a zombie when I walked over to the reception. The nurses looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.Anything.But I couldn’t. Even though my mouth opened, no words came out. My throat, my breathing. It was all constricted. Fear and panic wrapped themselves tightly around my chest, gripping me so harshly. Rendering me speechless.“How can we help you, Miss?”“My…m–my b—”“A w
IRIS “You know, it never really made sense why Layla would dye her hair until I saw you in this dress,” Ryan said as we turned into a corner.His gaze assessed me from top to bottom, and he had a slightly amused smirk on his face. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”I cleared my throat, shifting on my feet. “Thank you.”“I really wish my sister wasn’t so obsessed with that fucking guy. I hope you’ll excuse her shortcomings, Iris.”My brows shot up as I scoffed. “Shortcomings?”Ryan’s perfectly white teeth showed as he grinned, and I realized with a start that he had dimples on both cheeks.There was no doubt about Ryan’s gorgeousness. His blond hair was tousled stylishly and he had on a black button-down shirt that was tucked into same colored slacks.He was handsome in a way that was… rugged. Carefree.And I… was noticing way too much about him.Well, forgive me for being blinded by his smile.“Maybe a little more than shortcomings.” He let out a chuckle. “My sister can be… intense.”I
IRIS “Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath as Layla catwalked toward us, in the same hair and dress color as me. I mean, I could look past the dress because I didn’t really care about that. But… the hair? Was she that much of a psycho that she would change the color of her hair? “What are you doing, Layla?” I heard Maverick ask as she came to a stop in front of us. Layla assessed me from my head to my toes, an amused smile playing on her lips, and then she turned to Maverick, an innocent, wide-eyed look on her face. “Whatever do you mean, Mav?” Maverick clenched his jaw, his gaze steady as he glared at her. “Layla.” Layla let out a laugh, reaching for her hair to play with the strands. “Oh, you mean this? I wanted to try something new.” She pouted. “Are you upset? I know how much you loved my blonde hair. You said you never wanted me to dye it, remember?” Maverick’s arm tightened around my waist, the only sign that Layla’s taunts were affecti