Evan is getting dressed, and I don’t bother to cover up.He’s seen me completely naked, and he’s tasted every inch of me, so why should I?His eyes are on me, and he looks mildly upset. We stop getting along as soon as the sex is over, and that’s something that I myself can’t control. I know that I can’t fight the way my body feels when he touches me. We have this physical connection that’s otherworldly. He knows my body, and he knows how to get me off in a way that’s so addictive to me, but I can’t find it in me to completely forgive him. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Nothing makes sense. I started off knowing exactly what I wanted, and now I’ve ended things in the most unpredictable way. Evan heads out without a word, and I don’t know why that’s worse. I’d love to say that he’s just using my body for his pleasure, but that’s not true because there’s no way on earth that he feels more pleasure than I do when he’s fucking me. I turn on my side, complet
I'm in a permanent state of disbelief. Paramedics and officers have been trying to talk to me unsuccessfully for the last ten minutes. Thomas' body is being placed on a stretcher, and his body has been covered with a white sheet. He's gone. Dead. Thomas is dead. I can't believe it. He was alive earlier today, when I talked to him. Goddess, I've been thinking about him all day, and now he’s gone. I never got the chance to truly apologize to him.And that’s not even the worst part. Evan is the one who did this. He did it just to spite me. I didn’t really think that Thomas was in danger. I thought that Evan was a threat but not that he’d go to this extent. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m ridden with guilt and I’m in shock because of what I saw. After the questions are asked, I have no choice but to head to my apartment. I’m not even entitled to get updates because I’m not his girlfriend. I’m not anything to him. Victor is still in the living room when I come in, but he’s
"This is...I have no words, Leo. I really don't." I nod, agreeing with Anthony. We’re sitting side by side on my small table, with coffees in front of us. The tea went to waste when I made it, but I’m drinking the coffee, and it helps me feel a little better because at least there’s something inside my stomach. “He really crossed all the lines that there were to be crossed,” Anthony continues. “This is terrible. To commit murder to prove a point is…he can’t be near Victor. He’s a threat even to you. We have to make a plan and leave all of this behind. I can help you go into hiding. You can’t stay here, Leo.”I pick up my cup and take another sip of the bitter coffee. “I already have a plan,” I inform him.“What? What plan?”“I’m going to bring him down,” I announce. “He’s not going to get away with this.”“Can you prove that he committed the murder?”“No,” I reveal. “I can’t. But that’s not what I’m after. I’m pretty sure that the authorities will discover if any evidence is he left
Evan’s POVWorking hasn’t been easy since yesterday, and I’m forced to put down my pen, and loosen my tie. It’s the damn weekend and I’m in the office instead of doing something else. This won’t do. I have to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. I’m tired of waiting around for Leo to return to her senses and give into this feeling tying us together. Why is she pushing me away? Why is she denying me this?I swivel around in my chair, and stare out the window. My hands are behind my head, and although I’m staring at the world below me distractedly, I’m plotting nonstop. Thomas. He needs to get out of the picture. Once he’s gone, Leo will open her eyes to the world and let go of him. He’s dead weight as it is, and he knows too much. I’ve already given the order, so my men are expected to complete the job by the end of the week. It’ll be a weight off my conscience, that’s for sure. As for Leo, I need to find a way to win her back, but I’ve already tried to redeem myself to no av
I feel a little better after leaving Evan's office. Well, it's not really that I feel better; it's just that my head is clearer, and I'm more certain about what I'm going to do next. For some reason, I find it worse that he lied to me. Does he think I'm an idiot? Of course he had Thomas killed. He had no shame in admitting that he was going to do so by the end of the week. No, people like Evan have to be stopped. What makes him think that he has the right to take away a life? To act as judge and executioner? He did the same with me a decade ago, and I foolishly allowed myself to fall for him once again. Well, now it's over. It's never too late to change; that's something I firmly believe in. I've allowed myself to be drawn into his bullshit once more, but I'll be correcting that mistake once and for all. No hesitation. The authorities is the first place I go to. I have his papers with me; I never got rid of them and I'm glad for it. Our deal is over. He won't ever be able to ta
Evan’s POVWhen the detectives leave my office, anger courses through me. What’s Leo doing? What is she seriously fucking doing?I know I should’ve guessed that this was how she would fuck me up, but I honestly thought that my honesty would keep her from making such a drastic decision and trying to fuck me up. And fuck me up she has. I’m under investigation; that’s what I was told. The only reason why I wasn’t arrested is because I’m an Alpha, and as one, the phrase ‘innocent until proven guilty’ counts a hell of a lot. Which means that they’ll gather evidence and when they have what they’re looking for, I’ll be taken to trial and then proceed to be sentenced. Identity theft is a serious crime, and I didn’t just invent the name Hector Redburn. It existed. I stole it from a man I met five years ago. He was lonely Alpha with a very small pack. He had money, which he inherited from his father, but he had no ambition so his pack dwindled. Most of the members went rogue, and he didn’t
My face is swollen, and I’m in pain. I hadn’t been realized that the ropes were interwoven with silver until I tried to shift to get away from them. The ropes are slowly burning my skin, and making it impossible for me to shift and get out of this situation. I would’ve done it, and they probably guessed that, which was why they took the necessary precautions. Barbara grabs a chair, and sits right in front of me. I can’t even find the strength to raise my head, and before I know it, one of the guys who just beat me, grabs the hair on the back of my head and forces me to look at her. She has a small smile on her face, and her eyes are glittering with cruelty. I almost can’t see her because of how swollen my eyes are. She says, “Now that I have your attention, here’s what I want from you: In my hand, I have a tape recorder, and when I press record, you’re going to tell me exactly what you and Hector did to Julius, do you understand me? If you don’t, my men are going to keep beating y
Evan's POVIt's nighttime, and Leo hasn't shown up. I haven't taken my eyes off the entrance of the building for a second, so I know she didn't go inside. Is it possible that she was inside the apartment building when I knocked? I'm getting frustrated. I need to talk to her, and I'm running out of time. I decide to head back upstairs. I tell myself that if Anthony dares to stop me from talking to her, I’ll put him down and enter the apartment nonetheless. I’m not afraid of him; never have been. He can’t stop me from talking to her. And why won’t she talk to me after the shit she just pulled?When I reach her apartment, I halt when I catch a glimpse of Anthony talking to a member of the authority. I recognize it because of the uniform he’s using. Anthony’s enraged eyes land on me, and he quickly closes the distance between us. “Where is she!?” he demands. “What did you do with her?”The man pulls him back before he can ram into me, and I stare at him in the eyes and tell him, “I do
The longer I stare at Anthony and he doesn't wake up, the more I panic. What if he's dead? What if I didn't just slam the vase in his head for him to pass out? I walk around him, trying to get a good look at his face. He doesn’t appear to be breathing, but maybe I’m just panicking way too much. So, I try not to panic and wait for him to stir, which he hasn’t done in the last ten minutes since I’ve been here standing over him. I decide that I’ve had enough. If he’s dead, then I’d rather know now than wait for longer. I kneel down, barely breathing as I reach out, and press two fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse. My own heartbeat is so loud that it drowns out everything else. But then—a faint throb under my fingertips. He’s alive.I let out a sharp exhale of relief, though it’s short-lived. Slowly, his eyes flutter open, a groggy confusion clouding his gaze as he begins to stir and come to his senses. For a moment, he looks like he doesn’t recognize me, his gaze unfocused
Evan’s POV The road stretches out in front of me, winding and dark. My knuckles are white on the steering wheel, but I can’t let myself loosen my grip—not until I have him back. The text from her still sits on the screen beside me, her message short and mocking. It’s an address, nothing more, like a command.I’m not entirely sure of what to expect from this. Is she mocking me? Did she believe me when I said that I wanted to be with her?I know her well enough, since we’ve been together for quite some time. She wants me to come crawling. To say I was wrong, that I never should’ve left her. She thinks she has that kind of power over me, and I’ll let her believe it. I’ll say whatever she needs to hear, promise her the world if that’s what it takes to get my son back. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll do whatever is necessary. I’ll be selfless for once. My stomach twists at the thought, a bitterness that feels like swallowing nails, but there’s no other way.I turn off the main roa
Evan’s POVI call Phillippa, and she doesn’t answer the phone. It’s not off, so she’s probably staring at her phone and smiling to herself as she watches her screen light up with my name flashing across it. “Bitch,” I curse before groaning in frustration. Each passing second deepens the knots in my stomach. Victor’s gone, and every instinct in my body screams to find him, to bring him back where he belongs. I didn’t even think that I had it in me to feel so much paternal instinct. I barely know him, yet my despair would’ve been the same even if I’d raised him his whole life. I’ve lost count of the calls I’ve made by now, and I still have no answers. Even some of the men who once were on my side won’t answer the phone. Then again, they were Montgomery contacts, not mine. Every lead has crumbled, and I’m left staring at the emptiness of my own mistakes.I’m fucked, through and through. I should be leaving the city by now if I have any hopes of escaping the bullshit investigation tha
I shove Anthony off of me with all my strength, and even that doesn’t feel enough to completely shake his touch off. It seems this terrible night is determined not to end. It’s like a never-ending nightmare. A surge of disgust and anger rips through me. I can’t believe he’s done this. That he would try to kiss me. I’ve always seen him as a father figure, so this really messes with me more than words can say. He stumbles back, his eyes widening with shock, but his shocked expression quickly changes into a bitter scowl. "Milena," he says, his voice low and edged with that same twisted need he’s tried to rationalize as love only a few moments ago. “You don’t understand. Everything I’ve done... I did for you. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again until you understand. Until it sinks into your thick skull!”“For me?” I hiss, my voice shaking with disbelief and rage. “You murdered Thomas. You tortured Evan. And now you think you can stand here and—what? Kiss me? Confess some sick
Sitting alone in my apartment while Evan goes hunting for our son is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. The silence in the apartment is almost unbearable, pressing down on me with a weight I can't carry. I sit on the edge of the sofa, staring blankly at the door, waiting for it to open, and for Evan to walk into the apartment with Victor safe in his arms. The ache in my chest is relentless; a mixture of fear and guilt and helplessness that threatens to consume me.It’s the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. This despair is unlike any other. There’s no pain worse than having my son taken away from me by some lunatic with the worst of intentions. I’d been a fool to leave him by myself. I was irresponsible. If anything happens to Victor, I’ll blame myself forever. I’ll never get over it. Not ever. Phillippa took him—our son, my sweet Victor. It’s hard to even wrap my mind around the reality of it, that she would go so far, that she would hurt Evan and me by taking the one th
Evan’s POVThe taxi stops outside Leo’s apartment building, and she pays the nosy asshole before we step outside. Leo opens the door and exits the car quickly. She’s moving fast, her body almost vibrating with energy. She’s probably in shock, maybe in pain after everything that’s happened, but right now, she’s got one focus, and that’s Victor. I don’t mind it. At least one of us should get there fast and make sure that that fuck isn’t there, hurting him. I’ve promised her that I have a place where I can put her and Vic for a while, at least just until she can get to the bottom of this. I’d follow her up the stairs, but I know that I’m not going to be able to make it. I watch her disappear inside the building for a moment, feeling that pull again, that sense of her slipping through my fingers, just like she did once before. But I don’t have time to think about that now. But this is different. Now, we have a sort of understanding with each other. She’s not going to run away. Where wo
After a few minutes of messing with the chains, I finally figure out how to release him. Evan lands on the ground with a thud, and groans in pain as a result. I make my way to his side, wanting to touch him to help him stand up, but then stopping myself. These conflicting emotions will be the end of me. I stare at him as he tries to catch his breath, and for a moment, I feel sorry for him. His eyes meet mine, and within them, I see the same amount of sadness that I feel, but his is blended with disbelief. “You shouldn’t have come,” he says before coughing weakly. “You shouldn’t be here. I’m not...worth it.”His words catch me off guard. “What?”“I deserve what’s being done to me,” he then says before his eyes study my face. His body is shaking, and I’m not sure why. “I’m just glad to know that you’re alright.”I grit my teeth. “That’s not your decision to make, Evan. I’m the one who gets to decide what I do, not you.”He turns on his side, and then peels his shirt from his body, sh
“Why would I tell you anything regarding that?” Anthony says to him in the most cruel voice imaginable. I’ve never heard him use this voice on anyone before. I barely even recognize it. Why has he been keeping Evan here? So, he knew where he was this whole time?I have a terrible feeling in my gut. “I just want to know that she’s safe,” Evan rasps. This is followed by a dull sound, like someone punching a wall of meat, and Evan groans in pain. I cover my mouth with my hand. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Why would Anthony do this? Out of all the things he could do, why? Why keep Evan prisoner? He’s clearly hurting him. I came here thinking that I would find a clue concerning whether he killed Thomas or not, but instead, I find this. And there’s no satisfaction in this for me. This is something I never expected from Anthony. I know he hates Evan, but to go to this extent. I almost feel ashamed of my feelings. It’s not like I’m saying this because I care about Evan—he has ruine
“…right, Leo?”I turn my attention back to Anthony, and ask him, “Sorry, what?”Anthony is standing by the window of the living room, eyeing me strangely. He then says, “Are you okay, Leo? Is there something in your mind? You’ve been distracted all day.”“No, I’m fine,” I claim, even though it’s a blatant lie. “Don’t worry about it.”I have to admit that I haven’t been fine since I found that sweater. My spirit is restless, and I have to find out what the hell is going on here. Anthony is hiding things from me. It’s easier to notice this when I’m paying attention, and I can tell the huge difference between his normal state and now. I’m just horrified. The sun behind him is setting, and the fading light casting long shadows across my apartment. I’m sitting on the couch, trying to seem relaxed, but there’s a tightness in my chest that won’t go away. There are times when I think that my suspicions are nonsensical, and that I should just ask him what the sweater was about outright inste