Anna's POV
“That's Gabriel Martinez, your fiance.” I burst out laughing uncontrollably, my shoulders vibrating violently. Liam however kept a straight face. My laugh was snuffed out like a candle on a windy night. “That wasn't a joke?” I asked. Liam tucked his hand into his pocket and brought out my engagement ring—Aiden. What did they do to him? “No, sister. I wasn't joking.” Liam lifted up the ring and pinned his gaze on it. “Pretty ring. But what were you thinking, sister? That you'd get away from all this? You can't run from the McClain name.” “That name is a curse.” Liam scoffed, threw the ring in the air and caught it, tucking it back in his pocket. I eyed his every movement. He leaned back in his chair. That was his subtle way of threatening me—of telling Aiden isn't safe if I refuse his proposal. “Hate it if you must, but that's our father's legacy and you will respect it,” he said firmly with every trace of warmth seeping out of his eyes. “I want no part of a legacy born from bloodshed.” “You can't run away from this, Anna. The next few months after a new Don takes power is the most important. There'll be war—everyone will want to test his power—kill him if possible; eliminate all competition—”I looked at his face“—yes, that's all we are now. Competition. You won't last out there, and your fiance will probably be the first to die.” I sighed in relief. His last sentence meant Aiden was safe—for now. “Cain and Jason will probably come back into town.” Those names ensured that he got my attention. “And when they do, all hell will break loose. You know it too; you and I are stronger together. It's either that or we get caught in the crossfire. Marry into the Martinez's family, and we'll have the manpower we need to win this war.” I knew he had a point. Now was the time to make allies and the Martinez family would make really great allies—if they don't stab us in the back. “So, let's assume that I buy into this stupid idea of yours. Indulge me. What do the Martinez’s possibly stand to gain from this union?” Liam began to drum his fingers on his thighs. I sighed, expecting another lie. What was he hiding? “Money. I told them I had access to father's secret stash—millions of dollars. You see, the Martinez's are broke and would need all the financial help they can get or their hold on their territory will break down. They're desperate.” I cocked my brow. “What secret stash?” “Father's secret stash…” Liam said, as he tucked his hand into his pockets, probably to hide his tell “You dumb fuck. You're scamming the Martinez’s.” He leaned back in his seat with a smile sitting perfectly on his face. “I saw an opportunity and I took it.” “And when it's time to meet up with your part of the bargain?” “Let me worry about that. I'll figure something out.” “You expect me to trust you and go along with this scam? How stupid do you think I am?” “Plenty stupid,” he said with a smirk. I looked at him with disgust and he raised both hands in mock surrender. “I'm kidding…I'm kidding. But what other choice do you have?” It was time to use one of the McClains' favored tools—manipulation. I braced for it. “If you decide to run and play ‘normal girl’ with your fiance, it's only a matter of time before you're found. Then it's certain death for you and him. You don't want to be the reason he dies, do you? If you love him, you'll forget about him and fight for your family. Family is all you have, Anna, and you know it.” I let out a heavy exhale. I wasn't disappointed. One of the rules of making an ally or destroying a rival was discovering their weakness; the next was exploiting it. My love for Aiden was my weakness, Liam knew this and was simply exploiting it. He was presenting himself as my only salvation. “Or I could side with Cain. He'll be happy to have me.” Liam's eyes darkened. “We both know Cain is a psychopath and a control freak. You don't want to ally yourself with him. What I'm offering you is a partnership, you won't get an offer as good as this from Cain. Once I secure the seat as Don, you can disappear for all I care. You can go to the moon with your fiance, do anything you want.” “I thought the whole essence of this was to survive the incoming war, not getting the seat as Don.” “Oh don't be naive. We kill Marcus and what? Leave his seat empty? As long as someone else is Don, neither of us will ever be safe.” I hated it, but he had a point—a damn good one. But I felt like a pawn in all of this. He was simply using me to secure his place as Don, but what did I care, as long as I survived and could eventually get away from this family. “You're not the one going into the Martinez's. What's to say they won't kill me once they find out you're scamming them?” “You only need to be engaged with him for a few months—just long enough to win this war.” “If we break off the engagement, what's to say that the Martinez's won't put a target on our back?” Liam's eyes glinted as a smile formed on his lips. He had probably thought up a stupid plan. “Trust me, if we pull this off, then we'd have destroyed the Martinez's too.” Classic Liam, a backstabber. “So are you in or out?” I look at the picture of Gabriel Martinez on the tab in my hands. It was my turn to lean back in my chair and smile. “I'm in.”Anna's POV.A couple of days passed, and we moved into another safe house. We couldn't stay in any place for too long; and we needed a proper place to prepare to meet the Martinez's. We were meeting today and I needed to score a good impression. I picked the necklace Liam got me and wore it. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. I looked different, dresser in an exquisite black gown, a perfect contrast to my usual manly dressing. But who could blame me? My father raised me to be a man.I heard a quick knock on the door and Liam walked in. He was clad in a suit and looked just as tense as I did, yet he flashed a smile as he walked towards me.“Ready to go?” he asked, placing his hands on my shoulder. I cringed under his touch, shrugged his hands off and stood up.“Yes.”We exited the mansion and embarked on a long drive to the Martinez's.“Are you tense?”I turned to look at Liam. “No. I should be the one worried about you. You can't seem to tell a lie without your hand
Anna's POV“Aiden, what the fuck are you doing here!?”The words rang in my mind, but never left my lips. Control, I told myself, Control. He froze in his steps as he laid eyes on me, but resumed his pace almost immediately—so fast you wouldn't notice the pause. Everything about him was different, his hair was different; not the tousled hair I was used to. The look in his eyes, his aura—every damn thing was totally unrecognizable. Could it be a Doppler? A Doppler wouldn’t freeze because of my presence. He knew me and I thought I knew him.My heart raced, thumping blood through my body with anger. Anger from the betrayal, from the lies. Was his name even Aiden? Or was everything a lie? Liam seemed to catch on, he had seen Aiden once. He immediately tensed up, with an expression that was pleading to me to remain calm. Calm was the last thing I felt. I wanted rage, to scream and burn this whole mansion down with my fury. But was it worth it? Maybe Liam was right—family was all I had.L
Anna's POV.Wake up stupid, Wake up stupid!I groaned, raising a heavy hand, as I searched blindly for my phone. My eyes were still tightly shut, as my hands rummaged through the confines of my bedside table. Finally, my fingertips felt cold metal and grabbed it. I held the phone in front of my face, and finally opened my eyes. 6am.I groaned again, slamming my head into the pillow. I could have sworn that I had slept only thirty minutes earlier. There was no greater evidence of the love-hate relationship between Sunday nights and Monday mornings. I turned off the annoying alarm, and swung my legs off the bed. I released a deep breath and summoned enough energy to get off the bed. I looked at the sticky note on my wall and read it out loud: You have to keep working hard until you marry a billionaire.My phone chimed, and I was reminded that I was never going to marry a billionaire, but I didn't care. I picked up the phone and read the text from Aiden Smith, my boyfriend.Wakey, wakey,
Anna's POV.“Yes!”That was the last word I said, before my door came crashing down. Three masked men burst into my house. They all held guns—glock 17 to be precise; light, too light it almost felt like you were holding air. Polymer frame, but the barrel and slide? Pure steel. Fifteen rounds of 9mm in the magazine—standard, reliable, efficient and favored by most gang members. Father made sure I recognized every gun from such a young age.I sprung to my feet clenching my fist. Who the hell were these dudes? I just had that door fixed a few days earlier. I parted my lips to speak but quickly shut it when I heard Aiden.“Pl—ease, take whatever you want. J—just don't hurt us. You can have my watch, and my ring—it costs a fortune.”No, not the diamond ring. Not the damn ring.“You're not giving petty thieves my engagement ring,” I gritted out.“It’s okay, honey. We'll get another one,” Aiden said, as he pulled my arm, trying to get me into a less opposing posture.“You're broke, you'll ne
Anna's POV.“Anna, father was murdered…”My breath hitched and my heart felt like lead. I couldn't explain the throbbing pain that took hold of my heart, even though I hadn't seen that man or heard from him in 5 years; it still hurt—inexplicably. But with all the blood he had spilled and the toes he had stepped on, maybe he had it coming. I was hurt, but surprised? I wasn't.I watched Liam's face fall. I had only just realized how terrible he looked. He had bags underneath his eyes and had even grown leaner than I remembered. I knew father's death was taking a toll on him, even though he tried to hide it. He had to look strong, and emotionless like father always taught us, or perhaps I was just seeing what he wanted me to see. Father had also taught us: when we're up against a weaker enemy or an enemy just as powerful as we were, we needed to act strong; but if it was a stronger enemy, we needed to act weak, so we could strike when they least expect.“It was bound to happen, sooner or