AceI step forward, my eyes locked with hers. “Tell me what you want.”Paetyn blinks at me, those soft green eyes piercing through my soul. “You,” she murmurs, her voice as sweet as her scent.Fuck me.That one word would be my undoing.Everything about this woman is intoxicating and messes with my fucking head. All I want is to keep her locked up in this house so she will never have to leave me again or go home to the cheating fucker who doesn’t deserve her.Hell, I don’t deserve her, but I’m selfish enough to keep her.“Me?” I say, rolling the word around my mouth as I brush my chest against hers. She shudders, but holds my gaze. My hand grazes hers, the heat from her skin lighting a fire in my veins. “And what do you want me to do, little bird? Say the word and I’ll make it happen.”She swallows hard, strands of silver hair falling delicately around her soft features. Paetyn is the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Anytime another man looks in her
PaetynI’m greeted by harsh rays of moonlight shining through the open window above the bed when my eyes flutter open, heavy with sleep. Every muscle in my body is tense, my back aches and my limbs feel like a weight is keeping them pressed firmly against the mattress.I force myself into a seated position, dragging the thin black sheet up to my chest. My eyes sting as I rub the sleep from them, hoping it’ll make me feel more awake when in reality, I want to lie down and go back to sleep. I want to feel Ace’s arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his firm chest as he strokes my hair.Ace…My eyes widen as panic crashes through me, nearly knocking the wind out of my lungs.Ace!I nearly get whiplash from the ferocity of my head snapping to the left where my phone sits on the bedside table. With my heart in my throat, I snatch the device off the table. The screen beams to life, almost blinding me in the dark room.10:18 PM.My heart sinks to my toes at the notifications on the hom
Paetyn“Is that…?”Ace’s voice sounds like static in my ears as I blink at the screen, one, two, three times, trying to process what I’m seeing right now.My fiancé hired a mafia enforcer to kidnap me… Why? Why would he do something like that? It’s not adding up, but the evidence is staring me right in the face.“That motherfucker,” Ace seethes, his balled fists on his thighs turning white. “I knew he was fucking hiding something.”I’m snapped out of my daze when Ace stands, shoving the chair back so hard it crashes against the wall behind us. Before he can take a step, I wrap my hand around his wrist. His body is vibrating under my touch, and fury seeps into his ocean eyes, turning them darker than I have ever seen them.If I were to let him go, I have no doubt he would go after Liam. Maybe even kill him. But hurting Liam isn’t going to change what he did. With him being a politician, he has a lot of eyes on him. He’s a household name at this point, so if Ace were to do something, I
Paetyn’s POVFor someone who ended their engagement with their long-term fiance not even twenty minutes ago, I feel content with my decision. I’m sure that might sound odd to someone from the outside looking in, but if people knew Liam—the real him—and the kind of man he is, I would be getting praised for my decision. They would tell me I dodged a bullet, and I’m better off without him. And while I agree with them, the lingering anxiety of how drastically my life is going to change without him in it has my hands tightening around the steering wheel, and a lump forms in my throat. Did I make the right decision? I mean, the asshole conspired and paid to have me kidnapped by the same man whose house I’m driving to. If that doesn’t scream I don’t care about you then I don’t know what does. This whole time, I was a pawn in a game he constructed so that he could reach his goals. At no point did he stop to think what something as fucked up as having me kidnapped and held captive for a week
Ace’s POVThis is the second time I’ve watched that asshole Liam from my car. Unlike last time when I caught him sleeping with his secretary, he has done nothing but pace his office every five minutes, constantly checking his phone.I know a paranoid man when I see one, and this fucker has it written all over his face. My fingers rub against my black jeans as I form fists on my thighs. I’m sure he’s feeling the heat after what went down with Paetyn yesterday. She knows the details of the sick plan he created to push him up in the polls and bring more attention to his campaign, all at the expense of his fiancee. If the media were to find out about it, I have no doubt it would bring a shitstorm his way. Good. It’s what he deserves for doing what he did to my little bird. Liam passes by the window of his office. He’s been on the phone for what has to be the twentieth time since I started watching him when he arrived just before 9:00 A.M. I don’t know who he’s talking to, but it doesn
Paetyn’s POVIt was a long day, to say the least. My mind was a jumbled mess of everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, making it hard to concentrate on my clients. No matter how hard I tried to push everything to the back of my mind, I would find myself getting lost in thought whenever a client was speaking or when I was on my lunch break. I hate that Liam has somehow forced his way into the corner of my mind, despite my breaking off our engagement. Every time I picture his face, or remind myself about how he put my life on the line for his own gain, I get the urge to punch his stupid face. He deserves it. It’s easier said than done to move on from what happened, but I’m optimistic that, with a little bit of time, I can put this whole thing behind me. At least, I hope so. I expect to see Ace when I walk through the front door of his house. Now that I know what he does with his spare time, I’m not sure what his schedule looks like. I mean, being an enforcer for
Paetyn’s POVI swallow hard, but the pressure of his hand on my throat doesn’t leave me with much room. “Stand up,” Ace commands, his intense blue eyes holding mine.I do as I’m told and stand, the barstool skidding across the tiled floor. My neck strains as I tilt my head back to meet his gaze. Inky strands of hair fall over his forehead, framing his intrusive eyes as they peer down at me. A nervous energy thrums in my veins as I wait for him to make the next move. Ace is a man who enjoys watching me squirm, knowing he is the one in charge and has total control over me. When I was with Liam, he never took charge and would often ask me what I wanted to do when it came to sex. But not Ace. He doesn’t need to ask what I want because he knows what I need without me having to say it. In the short time I’ve known him, he has learned to read my body and the way it reacts to him. Which means he knows how to drive me crazy. “Turn around,” he murmurs. “Hands on the countertop.”Ace releas
Paetyn’s POVMy eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “What?”I blink at him, trying to process what I just heard. Ace has a recording of Liam sleeping with his secretary. I mean, I had a feeling he was being unfaithful but didn’t have the evidence to prove it. But somehow Ace does…. How? He stares down at me, unmoving. His silence indicates he’s allowing me to process the bomb he just dropped on me, but his not saying anything is making the anger bubbling in my veins worse. “What the hell, Ace? How do you have footage of that?” I fold my arms over my chest. “I want the truth.”Ace runs a hand through his messy hair and takes a step back as if pushed aside by the anger radiating off me. “Does it matter how I got it? We can use it against him and destroy any chance he has at progressing his campaign. It’s a win-win for both of us.”“Ace,” I growl. “Tell me how you got the footage, or I’m walking out that door.”His eyes darken. The ticking in his strong jaw tells me I hit a nerve, but th
Paetyn’s POVI’ve been bedridden at home for twenty-four hours, and I’m already losing my damn mind. Who knew sitting in bed all day would actually be so bat shit boring? Sure, I love a relaxing day as much as the next person, but when it’s forced upon me, and I get no say in what I do, I can’t stand it. The quiet throughout the house besides the voices coming from whatever TV show I threw on is growing increasingly more unnerving. My gaze sweeps across the duvet to the book on the bedside table, bookmark nestled between the pages. Not even reading a new bestseller has diminshed any of the boredom I’m experiencing. No amount of distractions has helped me to relax. It doesn’t help that I’m worried about Ace. When he got into bed last night, I could tell something was off. Whatever happened in his office while I was on the phone with Clarissa rattled him to the point that he could barely speak. I didn’t push him on the topic because I had a feeling it was related to Enzo and the Gambi
Ace’s POVI’m so fucked. I knew it the moment I took the call from Amos last night.When I sat down at my desk, intent on catching up on emails and texts, my phone rang. I was close to not answering the call from Amos because I had been ignoring him and Enzo all week, too busy at the hospital with Paetyn, so why connect now? But I knew I couldn’t avoid this conversation for much longer. “Boss wants to see you in his office tomorrow morning,” Amos said, voice gruff. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “And what’s this about?”“You’ll find out when you get here. Ten A.M. Don’t be late.”The call ended as quick as it started, and I was left staring at my desktop, ice filling my veins to the point I was almost suffocating. I knew what Enzo wanted to see me about and knew it wouldn't end well for me. Walking out on a job last week and ignoring him since had clearly landed me in scalding water. All I could do was face the music and accept the punishment I knew would be coming my way. Sit
Paetyn’s POV“Now, are you sure you’re okay, Pae?”I turn in the front seat, eyes lingering on the curve of Ace’s jaw. His knuckles are pale as they hold the steering wheel in what I’m sure is a death grip. Even beneath the leather jacket he’s wearing, I see the tension rippling through his muscles. Since the attack seven days ago, Ace has hardly left my side. Unless it was to grab coffee, food, or use the bathroom, he’s been glued to the chair beside my bed, holding my hand. I hadn’t expected him to do so since I knew he had his own business to deal with and work he needed to do, but he reassured me that he wasn’t going anyway unless it was to take me home once I was discharged. I don’t remember much about the attack. All I know is I blacked out after taking a boot to the side of the head—which I’m thankful for. If I was conscious throughout the entire ordeal, I can’t imagine how much more pain I would’ve suffered. The doctors and nurses said I was lucky to be alive because of how
Ace’s POVIt pained me to leave Paetyn in that sterile hospital room this morning. The nurses were kind enough to give me a blanket and let me sleep in the chair, mainly because I refused to leave her side despite visiting hours being over. It became obvious rather quickly that I wasn’t the type of person to back down from something as trivial as visiting hours, so they relented and let me spend the night. Sleep didn’t grace me with its presence. How could I close my eyes when all I could picture was Paetyn’s battered body lying on the cold, dirty ground of the alleyway? Guilt ate away at me while I watched her sleep, her breathing labored and her chest rising and falling unevenly. She wouldn’t tell me every detail of the attack, just that she eventually lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital. A nurse told me someone called 911 after finding her, left for dead. If that person hadn’t found her when they did, she could’ve died. I left the hospital before the sun had risen, ne
Ace’s POVA scream pierces through the air, sharp and painful. Any normal person would cringe at the sound or be filled with such fear it would make their knees wobble like a newborn fawn. But I’m not a normal person. Never claimed to be. I’m the fucking devil. I squat in front of the man chained to the roof of the basement in the Gambino mansion. His trembling arms are attached to the hook on the low ceiling by a thick metal clasp. He hangs there helplessly, leaving the rest of his body exposed to me to do with as I please. My gaze rakes over the sweat and blood clinging to his pale skin. Bruises and gashes paint his body like the finest piece of artwork, thanks to my fists. Electricity thrums through my veins at the sight of this kid, not much older than nineteen if I had to guess. I should feel some ounce of remorse for punishing someone who is nowhere near mature enough to understand his actions. And some part of me wants to feel that because he doesn’t know any better. But I d
Paetyn’s POVI’m concerned about Ace. Last week, I noticed he had busted knuckles that were split and beginning to bruise around the torn skin. When I asked what happened to him, he gave me that same straight-faced look I always get when I asked questions about his job. I know he is an enforcer and has to hurt people, but it doesn’t make me any less worried about him when he leaves in the morning. Not knowing if he’s out on the streets in danger sends me into a spiral more often than not. I know he’s a man capable of looking after himself, but it still doesn’t ease the tension in my chest. He won’t tell me the details of his job, and I don’t expect him to, but sometimes I think I would be better off knowing to help me relax a little more. But until that day comes—if ever—I will have to get used to worrying about my boyfriend. Boyfriend. It’s an odd feeling thinking of him as that. Who would’ve known that Ace, my kidnapper and stalker, would become my boyfriend? Certainly not me, bu
Ace’s POVEnzo was adamant about this shakedown going smoothly. He doesn’t want a single thing to go wrong. The goal is to get the message across to the Bonanno crew and their leader, Antonio, that we’re not to be messed with. If they don’t back off, Enzo will have no problem coming at them full force with me at his side. And unfortunately for them, I like getting my hands dirty. All the made men in the group stand around me, black hoods covering their heads, concealing their identities. Enzo ensured they were equipped with every weapon under the sun that’ll be useful in protecting them if shit goes south. I’d like to think I have this under control. After all, Enzo trusted me to do this, so I’m going to do it right. “Does everyone remember the plan?” My voice is quiet but deep in an attempt to not be detected where we stand in the shadows of the quarry. The full moon is our only source of light, which works in our favor for staying hidden. “The Bonanno crew have a gun shipment comi
Ace’s POVIt took every ounce of self control I possessed to not kill Patrick Aster with my bare hands. The smug look on his face when he told Paetyn to publicly name herself as an obsessed ex-fiancee to save Liam’s ass, and in return she’ll recieve one million dollars, had me seeing red. If Paetyn wasn’t standing in front of me, I would have lunged for the motherfucker. As much as I wanted to paint my hands red with his blood for having the audacity to speak to my girl that way, I reigned in my temper and allowed her to make her own decisions. Plus, I got far too much enjoyment out of seeing his face when I answered as her boyfriend. I’m sure Pat will have a swell time informing his son of that development. Paetyn trails me as we walk the small pathway to the front door of our house. Her presence behind me is all-consuming, like a wildfire licking at my back, ready to devour me. Every inch of her is ingrained in my mind—there isn’t a thing I don’t know about this woman or what she
Paetyn’s POVThe Aster mansion sends chills down my spine. Every dinner I ate with them consisted of Liam and Pat talking about politics while Angie smiled and nodded along as if it were the most riveting of topics. I was always bored out of my mind because not only am I not interested in politics, but they hardly ever included me in their conversation. All they cared about was their precious son. The same son who had me kidnapped and held hostage as a trick for his campaign.I never thought I’d be back here after I ended the engagement with Liam, but now, here I stand, staring down the barrel of the gun. My muscles itch, desperate for me to turn around and hightail it back to the comfort of Ace’s house where I know I’m safe. Here… anything can happen. No one is truly safe in the presence of Patrick Aster.“Pae, are you okay?” Ace’s hand rests on my shoulder, his chest brushing my back. I lean into the warmth of his hand, soaking in the comfort his gentle touch brings me. “If you