Chapter 3

Alex’s POV

I’m standing outside in the front yard of our house, impatiently waiting for my beautiful bride to arrive with her father and sister.

Today will be the start of my life with her. I can’t wait to marry her and have her by my side all the time. It was torture enough that we were living two hours away from each other for the past four months since I ran into her by coincidence.

I never believed in love at first sight. Until my sight landed on her one day.

I still remember that first meeting like it was yesterday. I forever cherished that memory and kept it in my heart and soul ever since.

She was going to her hometown to visit her father during spring break, when her car broke down in the middle of nowhere.

I happened to be on my way back to Snow after conducting some business in Fairbanks; which is two hours from here, when I noticed her backing away from her car in clear panic, as smoke started to emerge from the front of her car.

I hit the brakes a few feet away and got out of my car to see what the problem was.

“Hello, what’s the problem?” I ask her calmly, and I find myself unable to keep from checking out the angel that appeared in front of me in the middle of nowhere.

She was literally a girl in the form of an angel to me. With her long wavy blond hair, her tall flawless body, her innocent light blue eyes, and her pink full lips. She was a perfection.

My heart gave a double beat as if telling me that it found it’s other missing half. It was something I have never felt before in the presence of any woman.

I was 28 years old and I haven’t found someone as intriguing and alluring as this mysterious woman I knew nothing about.

She looks at me in complete panic as she continues to back away from her car and says shakily “Oh my god! I think my car is about to explode now. I think we should run far far away because I don’t want to die yet”

I suppress a smile as I gaze at her calmly, completely mesmerized by her innocent reaction to what was probably a simple over heating issue.

“It’s not going to explode, I promise. The engine probably was overheating causing the white smoke to come out. It’s a small problem, don’t panic” I said slowly.

She looked at me for the first time and stopped dead in her tracks. She was also checking me out, much to my delight.

She gulped visibly as she said in a small shy voice “I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about cars. The smoke scared me to death”

“It’s okay, you have nothing to apologize for, my name is Alex by the way” I extended my hand to her.

She shook it immediately, without a hint of distrust, and I found myself feeling relieved by that tiny act of blind trust.

I felt a spark run through my entire body as I touched her soft hand.

“I’m Melanie, thanks for stopping to help me, I’m really grateful and lucky because I thought I would get stuck here for a long time, since it is a very deserted road and there is no cell reception here” she said appreciatively.

“It’s no problem Melanie. How about I offer you a ride, and get someone to come tow the car back to our shop, I’ll have it checked out and delivered back to you, where are you going?”

“You have an auto repair shop?” she asked in surprise.

I smiled and said “Yes, among other things”

“I was heading to Alcan, it’s my hometown I’m going to visit my father. Where are you from Alex?”

I hesitated a little before saying “I’m from Snow”

Her smile dropped a little at the mention of my town.

Alcan was located thirty minutes from Snow, I was certain she would recognize the town and everything it illegally stands for, her sudden change in demeanor confirmed it.

“Oh… and your last name is?” she asked with a little fear coloring her tone.

Shit! She is going to bolt now, I was sure.

Our reputation is enough to cause anyone to run the opposite way at the mention of our family name. We are well known in all of Alaska for being ruthless, cold, criminals who not only smuggle through the border illegally, but also for putting down our enemies to keep our land from being taken over by someone else.

There is blood on my hand, I can never deny that, but I don’t kill for the fun of it. I don’t kill innocent people, I kill to keep my family safe, I kill those who deserve it, who ask for it by interfering in our business.

But not all people can understand that logic. Once a killer is always a killer, it doesn’t matter if you only kill the bad people and spare the innocents, there is no distinct classification for that. You are a criminal, period.

While that popular reputation was an advantage to scare away and put the fear of god in anyone who means harm to us, in this particular situation, I cursed that damn reputation.

“Snow, my name is Alex Snow” I answer her reluctantly.

I watch as the blood drains from her beautiful angelic face, and a slight tremor runs through her body.

I raise my hands slowly, trying to calm her down and convince her that she is safe with me.

“Please, don’t be scared of me. I mean you no harm at all, you have my word” I said confidently.

She gulps and says shakily “If you really mean that, then you will get back in your car and leave, please”

My heart hurt a little at that. She wants nothing to do with me anymore. She already made up her mind about me without trying to know the real me. Without giving me any chance.

I wanted to try to ease her nerves about me again, but thought better about it and decided that it will only scare her further.

I back away from her, get back in my car, and start driving past her.

I waited till my phone caught some cell reception, then I called our auto repair shop and asked them to head towards that deserted road, tow her car back, and deliver it to Alcan’s repair shop.

After that, I headed to Alcan myself and asked around for a person with a daughter named Melanie, and they immediately gave me directions to her house. It was such a small town, everyone knew everyone.

I told her father about Melanie’s car trouble, and her reluctance to ride with a complete stranger. Then I gave him her exact location to go pick her up with his car.

Before he could have a chance to thank me or ask who I am, I drove away back to my home.

Her innocent blue eyes looked at me with such fear back there, it nearly destroyed me, it made me hate who I am for the first time.

Despite that bitter encounter, I still hold a lot of value to that memory. Because if it wasn’t for that car trouble, I would’ve never laid eyes on my angel and got so lucky to marry her today.

After that meeting on the road, I never thought I will ever see her again. And that realization almost tore me apart.

Despite our brief encounter, she left such an impression on me, my heart had a mind of its own. The heart that always beat steadily under any condition, was acting so weird ever since I laid eyes on her. It was hurting over the loss of its half, over her refusal to allow me the chance to show her that I am not the bad person everyone believes I am, and neither is my family.

Just before noon that same day, I received a text message on my phone that caused my heart to beat irregularly just from reading the first sentence:

“Hi, it’s Melanie, the girl who had car trouble on the road. I’m in Snow park right now, I’d like to speak with you personally…if you’re available of course”

My lips stretched into a smile as I reread the message again just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.

I got out of my house and drove away in a matter of seconds, as I accelerated towards the park, anxious and excited to see her again.

My eyes instinctively land on her sitting on one of the park benches. It was like she was a beacon of light guiding me towards her without the need to search, furthermore confirming the special place she was forming in my heart.

I walk over to her with my hands inside my pockets to hide my nervousness. I was wary about her request for meeting me after clearly stating that she wanted nothing to do with me.

As I approached her, I noticed that she too, was nervous about this as she kept clenching her hands together.

When our eyes meet, she gets up and gazes at me in what appeared to be an admiring gaze. But I didn’t want to fool myself only to end up disappointed.

“Hi, I’m glad you got my text and came to see me despite my impolite behavior earlier” she said with embarrassment.

She carried on nervously without giving me a chance to respond.

“First of all, I want to apologize to you. I was very rude and judgmental as soon as I found out your last name. But after you sent your tow truck and my father told me that you sought him out yourself, I felt so guilty about the whole thing. You still helped me despite my lack of manners towards you. That made me realize that I acted impulsively based on your reputation and for that I really truly apologize. When I went back home with my father and told him who you were, he told me that despite what everyone speaks about your family, you always help the nearby towns with their problems. He told me how your father helped fix Alcan’s water problem that was probably going to leave it waterless for months and become inhabited. You have no idea how much I hated myself after that. I knew then, that I will never be able to sleep today without apologizing to you. So I drove here, found your auto repair shop and asked for your number…Please forgive me?”

I found myself smiling amusingly at her very long apology speech, that whole speech flowed from her perfectly shaped lips without a pause and in a single breath. It made me wonder how long she was practicing it since she decided to come her.

Her big light blue eyes were staring at me with a burning regret, as she anxiously waited for my response.

I don’t think anyone was capable of resisting those alluring innocent eyes and remain mad at her for more than five seconds.

I felt a burning sensation to make her mine right then. To make her a part of me. I felt an unusual attachment to her, and her only, that superseded any logic or rationale.

“I forgive you, on one condition” I said with a smirk.

She smiled beautifully as she responded without missing a beat “Anything”

I blurted out before my courage faltered “Have dinner with me”

It was a bold, hasty move that held a very high chance of her refusing me, but I took it anyway.

She looked at me with surprise “Right now?”

“That is if you’re single of course, otherwise I wouldn’t want to put you in a tough position” I said reluctantly.

Just the thought of her belonging with another man raised the hair on my body.

There was a huge possibility that she had a boyfriend. An angel who is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside must be already taken by someone.

She gave it a thought, while my heart was threatening to explode from waiting to know if she’s already in love with someone else.

“No, I’m single… and starving” she said with a sweet smile.

I released a sigh in relief as I smiled broadly at her, and thanked god for sending this mesmerizing angel my way.

Now, after four amazing months spent with my angel, I was finally going to make her mine. There was nothing preventing us from making our love official. Her father gave us his blessing, along with my parents. She also just graduated from nursing school in Fairbanks and was going to start working in our hospital at the beginning of the month.

We were madly in love with each other, despite that very short time. It felt like we have known each other for years.

It didn’t take a lot of convincing for her to agree to become my wife. She was incredibly happy to marry me, not having any doubts or fears about living in my dangerous town, or our illegal line of work.

She trusted me with her whole heart, and believed that I would do anything to keep her safe.

My family welcomed her with arms wide open ever since I introduced her to them. They were so happy for us. My parents were so thrilled, they invited the whole town to our wedding.

Today will definitely be unforgettable…

Little did I know then, it will be unforgettable for a whole other reason.

It will be remembered as the day my father got murdered… right before my wedding, right in front of my eyes.