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 POV“How is she doing on the new medication? There haven't been any complications, have there?” Dr. Charles Barney shakes his head. Strands of thin silver hair fall over his pale brown eyes. He makes no move to push them out of his line of sight, instead choosing to ignore their existence and look down at the chart gripped firmly in his hands. “As of right now, she’s responding well to the chemotherapy, but we will ensure we keep a close eye on her at all times. If anything goes wrong with the process and we need to go down a different path of treatment, you’ll be the first to know, Paetyn. The cancer is different this time. Stronger. But… we’ll figure it out.” I breathe a sigh of relief, my shoulders slumping ever so slightly. Knowing that Mom is being taken care of by the wonderful team at the hospital, led by Dr. Barney, brings a sense of peace I have been searching for since the moment she was admitted many months ago. Taking care of a parent is hard enough for anyone b
Paetyn’s POVMy heart rate hasn’t slowed down since the incident in the parking lot. Even as I drive further away, leaving the man standing under the streetlamp in my rearview, my heart continues to pound painfully against my rib cage, pulsating in my ears.Who was that man? And why did it feel as though his eyes were piercing through my soul from behind that mask? The car rolls to a stop in the driveway, and for the first time in twenty minutes, I exhale sharply. My lungs burn from holding onto a breath I hadn’t managed to release, and I gasp for fresh air to fill my lungs. I close my eyes and drop my hands from the steering wheel. Images of the masked man flash in my mind, sending a cold shiver racing across my skin and down my spine. Forget about it, Pae, I tell myself. Dwelling on the details of the incident isn’t going to change the fact that it happened. All I can do is be thankful that the man didn’t get close to me and that I’m home safe. Now that my breathing has calmed do
Paetyn’s POVThe voice of the client sitting across from me is slightly muffled by the rampant thoughts of the masked man racing through my mind. It has been two days since I saw him standing in my backyard, his eyes piercing me through the mask covering his features, and I haven’t stopped thinking about him. Liam told me not to worry about him, but how can I possibly not? It’s one thing to watch me from across the parking lot, but it’s another to stand in the darkness of my backyard and watch me like a hawk, making his presence known. He’s keeping his features concealed for a reason, so I’m unable to identify him, but if he’s going out of his way to let me know he’s there, watching me, then why hasn’t he made a move yet? What is he waiting for? The thought of him doing something to hurt me sends a shiver across my body, goosebumps pebbling my skin from beneath the cardigan wrapped tightly around my torso. I haven’t been able to sleep much the past two days for fear that I would see
Paetyn’s POVFor a split second, my brain convinces me I’m blind. Darkness surrounds me, engulfing me whole and holding me hostage. But the soft buzzing working its way into the depths of my mind tells me that I haven’t been completely dragged down to the depths of hell with no sight of return. Not yet, at least.My head thumps painfully, the source coming from deep behind my eyes. The rhythmic movement echoes in my ears, making it hard to think straight. I try my best to force my hand up to cradle my head, hoping it’ll ease the pain, but my limbs are heavy. Too heavy to move. With a groan, I fight against the pain coursing through my body to force my eyes open. At first, it’s almost painful. My eyelids feel as though they’ve been glued shut, keeping me from seeing. But with a great deal of effort, I pry them open and am immediately assaulted by a warm, orange glow above me. A hiss slips past my lips as I fight to clear my vision. The sudden intrusion of light hitting my eyes only i
Paetyn’s POVFor a split second, my brain convinces me I’m blind. Darkness surrounds me, engulfing me whole and holding me hostage. But the soft buzzing working its way into the depths of my mind tells me that I haven’t been completely dragged down to the depths of hell with no sight of return. Not yet, at least.My head thumps painfully, the source coming from deep behind my eyes. The rhythmic movement echoes in my ears, making it hard to think straight. I try my best to force my hand up to cradle my head, hoping it’ll ease the pain, but my limbs are heavy. Too heavy to move. With a groan, I fight against the pain coursing through my body to force my eyes open. At first, it’s almost painful. My eyelids feel as though they’ve been glued shut, keeping me from seeing. But with a great deal of effort, I pry them open and am immediately assaulted by a warm, orange glow above me. A hiss slips past my lips as I fight to clear my vision. The sudden intrusion of light hitting my eyes only i
Paetyn’s POVA deep voice booms through the wooden door of the room, startling me awake. My heart slams into my throat as I force myself into a seated position, clutching the sheets to my chest.What the hell is going on?Even though I’ve only heard the masked man speak a few times, I recognize his voice. His tone is deep and unlike anything I’ve ever heard. But who is he talking to? No one responds to him, so I can only assume he’s speaking to someone on the phone.His muffled voice filters throughout the room, but soon his words become clearer as if he’s pacing the floor outside, getting closer and closer to the door. The desire burning deep in my chest to know what he’s saying consumes me. If I want to know more about this man and potentially learn why I’m here, I need to listen in on the conversation.Without making a noise, I slide off the creaky matt
Paetyn’s POVI blink at him, unable to form a single thought, let alone a sentence to respond to his comment. The masked man blurs in my vision as I process his insane suggestion.Thinking about him? Has he lost his damn mind? In what world would I be thinking sexually about the man who kidnapped me, has had me chained to a dingy bed for days, and refuses to speak to me? The thought is insane, that’s what it is.And yet, I feel the dampness between my thighs from my fantasy from moments ago when I thought about him touching me, his large hands caressing my skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. I shiver at the thought.Yeah, I’m a fucking liar because I am thinking about him, and that’s the problem.But I won’t admit that to him, no matter how long he sits there and stares at me with his head tilted to the side as he regards me.God, I’m pathetic.
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
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
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
Ace“How is everything with you, Ace?”I blink at Enzo from across his desk, the leather seat cool against the back of my jean-clad thighs. He leans back in the large chair, his hands running down the front of his dark blue blazer sculpted to his frame. Not a single strand of dirty-blond hair is out of place, and his hard blue eyes focused on me.“Everything is fine,” I answer, my back pin-straight. “Is there any news on those Bonanno fuckers?”“They’ve been silent,” Enzo says and leans forward. “After they messed with our supply drop, it seems they’ve gone into hiding, likely waiting for us to retaliate.”“Are we going to retaliate?”Enzo hums. “Not yet. Patience is a virtue. If they think we could strike at any moment, I want them to fester in that anxiety, waiting for the unknown.”I nod. Enzo isn’t someone who rushes into a situation like this, guns blazing, ready to kill. He takes his time planning an attack down to the finest details. Partly because he likes to keep his enemy on
PaetynI need to get out of this goddamn house before I lose my mind.It’s been a week since Liam accused me of cheating on him, and I hit him with the evidence I have collected of his supposed infidelity. Whenever we’re in the same room, he refuses to look at me or utter a single word, choosing silence over discussing the situation at hand. Like a child.In the four years I have been dating Liam, he has never once apologized for a fight or admitted he was in the wrong. I’m the one who has to apologize first and start talking to him again. Otherwise, if I don’t, he will continue to play the silent game. And I can’t stand it. Knowing he’s in the same house, breathing the same air, and going about his day and not speaking to me makes me irate. He’s sleeping in the spare bedroom for God’s sake.By now, I would’ve given in and apologized just so he would stop this game, but I refuse to be the bigger person this time, especially when he has been no saint either.With a huff, I grab my car
AceIt’s taking everything in me not to snap the motherfucker’s neck. But I have to wait and be patient. Not only am I in public, watching as the rat lurks the street, his beady eyes following women as they pass by, but I can’t give myself away.Not yet.I lean against the streetlamp beside me, my eyes locked on the man I now know as Johnnie Abrams. After my encounter with him three nights ago when he attempted to mug my little bird, I did some digging into him and used my connections to learn everything I could about him.Nothing of importance turned up. He is nothing but a common street thug who is well-known to the police for his petty crimes, and yet, he still has the ability to stalk the streets, searching for his next victim. But not for much longer once I get my hands on him.Johnnie leans against the wall of a building beside a dark alleyway, much like the one Paetyn walks every night after work. A cigarette hangs from his lips as he lights the end of it. With it being almost
PaetynPAETYN: Hey! I’m going to get dinner with Raya before I head home. There is left over food in the fridge if you want to heat that up. I’ll see you later.“Texting your fiancé, are you?”My head snaps up at the sound of Ace’s voice, and I slip my phone into my purse, not waiting for Liam’s response. Ace has one hand on the steering wheel while the other rests on his lap. His eyes should be looking ahead, but instead they’re on me.Everything about him is intense, even when he’s doing something as simple as driving a car.I clear my throat and shift in the seat. “I don’t want him to worry about where I am.”“And what did you tell him?”“That I’m getting dinner with my friend.”Ace smirks and turns to look at the road, not saying a word. But he doesn’t have to since I know exactly what he’s thinking.Thankfully, he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he surprises me by asking, “How was work?”I blink at him. “Work?”“Yeah.”I rub my hands together in my lap, staring at the side of his
PaetynI’m not listening to a single word my client is speaking. The words are static in my ears as I stare at her, nodding when needed, but nothing she says registers in my mind.It’s not because I’m not interested in what she has to say. In fact, she’s telling me about her inability to choose between two men in her life and how it’s tearing her apart at the seams. This is certainly something I should be listening to as the person she has paid to help her and listen to what she has to say. But I just can’t.Her predicament makes me consider my own strangely similar one. I’m not in a position where I have to choose between two men, especially when there is only one right option in my case. But it doesn’t stop me from thinking about Liam and Ace.I shouldn’t even have them together in the same thought when they couldn’t be more different. Where Liam is kind and attentive, Ace is observant and dangerous. They are on different ends of the spectrum in terms of personality and even looks,
AceFor once, I’m not stalking my little bird.This time, I have my eyes set on her loser fiancé. I knew politics was fucking boring, but it’s even worse witnessing it with my own eyes. The mundane cream walls and white tiles in this building make me want to rip my eyeballs out of my skull.It was easy to blend in with the crowd, posing as a janitor who cleans the hallways and offices. Given how far up each other’s asses these people are, I knew I would be able to lurk the hallways undetected, keeping a watchful eye.When I decided to watch Paetyn’s fiancé today, just to see what he does throughout the day, I knew what I was walking into—boring people talking about an equally boring topic. I set up a video camera in his office when he left for lunch, hoping that when he returned he would give me something, anything, that would be of interest.I have no idea what I’m expecting to get out of this. But I knew I had to find something incriminating to hold against this motherfucker with he