Grace POV“Grace, wait for me,” Mom says as soon as I stand up from the coffee shop and walk out. I look up and the smoke it clouding the sun and the smell of smoke is terrible. How did I not realize there was something wrong? My legs work on their own as I start running back to the building. Leaving my mother behind, I run down the street and when I reach the street, there are police barriers everywhere. My heart is beating so fast that I think it might stop beating completely. My breathing is erratic and my brain is not working properly. Explosion? Why is Dash back here? He went out. I try to pass the police barrier, but a police officer stops me and starts to lecture me. “I live there, my fiance is looking for me, let me pass,” I say as he holds me by my waist, lifting me from the floor as I try to get him off of me. “My name is Grace Stewart, let me pass,” I shout and then I hear a familiar voice telling the officer to let go of me.“She’s allowed in,” I hear Jagger say and as
Dash POV“Grace, where the fuck is she?” I ask Jagger as I look around the dark room. I can’t even see my brother, but I know he is standing next to me. I can feel his presence. I don’t always have to see him to know he is there. Call it a twin thing. “She has to be here somewhere,” Jagger replies as I move my hands, trying to find the walls. The room is so dark that even when I try to adjust my sight, nothing changes. A loud bang makes me move to the side and I realize a fire door is opened. I walk as fast as my legs allow me, but I am not moving. I frown as I watch Jagger move faster than me and walk out of the dark room, leaving me alone. The door slams closed, and I am left in the darkness once more, but this time I am alone. “Dash,” I hear Grace’s voice call for me and my entire body starts tingling as I smell the smoke again. No the fire. “Grace, you need to get out,” I say, but my words come out muffled. “Dash,” I hear Grace’s voice again and my entire body stiffens and I j
Dash POV“Come on,” I say to Crow as I open the bedroom door. He walks past me, running down the corridor and down the stairs. I bet he is desperate to use the toilet, but he did well and didn’t do anything inside. “I’m taking the dog to piss,” I say over my shoulder as I reach the door and Jagger nods while he looks into his briefcase. “Meet you in ten in the garage,” I let out. Jagger is all dressed and ready to impress in his day job, while me, I am wearing Jagger’s tracksuit because it’s the only thing that will fit me. Even though we are twins, he is bigger than me. My brother is built like a fucking wardrobe. He has a lot more muscles than me or Wyatt. It’s like living in the gym is the only thing keeping my brother sane. I am grateful he found something that keeps his mind and body alive. I guide Crow to the elevator and once we reach the reception area of the building, two women are standing by the couches talking and I can see their eyes on me as I whistle and Crow follows
Grace POVAs soon as I enter the coffee shop, I watch as Amber’s face drops and her smile disappears. I stare at my best friends and then at her and take a deep breath, closing the door behind me. “Hey Jason,” I say as I approach the counter and he smiles at me. His eyes move from me to the girls and then back at me. “What are you having today, princess?” He asks, and I look at him and shrug. “Surprise me, but make it take away please,” I say and he nods, smiling before I walk to the table where Jamie and Hannah are sitting with Amber. I stand behind the chair that was left for me and all three sets of eyes land on me. Amber looks uncomfortable, and for once, I am happy about it. “I just came to say I won’t be coming here anymore if she is,” I say, looking at Amber and all eyes focus on her now as her cheeks go bright red and she chews on her lower lip. Jamie opens her mouth to speak, but I look at her, shaking my head. “Grace, we need to talk,” Amber says and I shake my head, den
Dash POVMy phone rings and I take a few seconds to realize it’s the phone. I sit up on the bed, grab the phone from the charger, and bring it to my ear. “Hello,” I say. I can hear the gruffiness in my voice and I scrunch my nose. One of my hands flies to my hair, pulling it back. Grace moves next to me and I can’t help but smile. “Need you, brother?” I hear Wyatt saying on the other side of the line. I look around the room until my eyes land on the small clock on Grace’s side of the bed attached to the wall and flinch. “I’ve been asleep for less than two hours,” I complain on the phone before I flop back down, attached to my phone. “And I haven’t been to fucking sleep, move your ass,” Wyatt says and I nod even though he can’t see it on the other side and take a deep breath. I sit up on the bed and watch Grace sleep with Crow on her feet. His ears rise as he looks at me and I shake my head. “Stay,” I whisper, and his eyes close again. I can’t help but smile, watching him look afte
Grace POV“Hi, my name is Grace and I would like to speak to Mr. Bolton please,” I say and the woman staring directly at me scrunches her nose as she eyes me from head to toe. I am wearing what I usually wear, nothing really flattering, but all my clothes are still in the penthouse and Dash is trying to convince me to buy everything new. But I think it’s ridiculous. The clothes can be washed and they will be as good as new ones. “Do you have an appointment?” She asks, standing up and leaning over the desk that separates us to look at me and I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek. “No, but…” I say and she raises a hand, cutting me off. The woman didn’t even let me explain who I am, or what I am doing here. “Look, Mr. Bolton doesn’t do pro bono,” she says and I frown, looking at her. I look around and I can see everyone wearing tailored suits and the women wearing very fashionable work dresses, skirts, and blouses while I am wearing denim pants and a light blouse. Something
Grace POV“Good morning,” I say as soon as Dash’s arms wrap around my body as he pulls me to him. His front is pressed against my back as he kisses my neck. I can’t help but giggle with the shivering from my body. “Happy birthday,” I say and he stops kissing my neck and I turn around to face him in bed and his eyes are glued on me and his natural smirk is plastered all over his face. “Happy fucking birthday to me,” he says, pulling me to straddle him and I let out a squeal as he positions me on top of him. His fingers dig into my hips as he lifts his slightly, pressing his hardening cock against my pussy. “Happy fucking birthday to you,” I repeat his words as I pull my t-shirt off my body, exposing my breasts and Dash sits up on the bed, pulling me to him as his lips fall on my nipple straight away. A moan leaves my lips as I throw my head back while his arms to keep me in place. The sensation of his hot, wet tongue against my sensitive nipple is sending waves of pleasure down my b
Dash POV“Seriously, why are you doing this to me?” I ask Jagger and he shrugs his shoulder than his hands rest on the steering wheel of his Hummer. “I thought you were supposed to want me to be happy,” I huff. “You’re behaving like a child, now shut the fuck up,” Jagger barks at me and I cross my arms in front of my chest. This is becoming seriously the worst birthday in human history. Jagger never cared about our birthday and this year, when I had grand plans of spending the day fucking my girl, he decided he wanted to spend the day with me. I don’t even know why he is bothering to do anything. The light turns green and Jagger keeps driving and when he stops the Hummer; I look around, frowning. “Is this where you kill me?” I ask, and he rolls his eyes as he opens the door and leaves me inside the Hummer. What a prick. I open the door and follow him out and then suddenly a plane lands nearby. I frown and he rests one hand on my shoulder as he guides me to the smallest plane known
Jagger POVEntering the elevator, I press my key card to the reader and the doors close immediately. I hate sharing the elevator with people, so I like to come early, before everyone is supposed to start. Today is a bad day for me. It’s been ten years today since my life changed and made me the man I am today. The elevator doors open and Janet looks at me with a wide smile. I look at her, shaking my head slightly as I walk to her desk and she offers me a cup of black coffee. “Good morning boss,” she says and I raise an eyebrow, looking at her and her shoulders slump as she looks at me. “What? Can’t I try to make your day a little better? Today is your dark day after all,” she says and I nod slightly, offering her a small smile. I don’t smile a lot lately, I don’t have a lot of reasons to smile, anyway. “Every day is a dark day,” I correct Janet, and she crosses her arms in front of her chest giving me her sassy attitude and I nod “Thank you for the coffee,” I tell her and her entire
Dash POVStanding at the altar waiting for Grace to walk up to me is making me more nervous than I have ever been in my life. Waiting for her to walk to me in her wedding dress, ready to make me her husband, is the weirdest feeling ever. The past year I have spent showing Grace how much I love her and how important she is to me. The Bridal March starts playing and I look at my brother, who is standing next to me while I adjust my jacket. Fiddling with my hands seems to be helping with the anxiety of seeing Grace.Everyone stands up and then I see Grace walking towards me next to her mother. The veil is covering her face, but I can see her smile underneath. Once they stand in front of me, Marie kisses me on the cheek before offering me her daughter’s hand. I hold Grace’s hand, bringing it to my lips before I remove the veil from her face and her eyes shine with happiness, but it soon disappears when her eyes move from me to my brother standing behind me. “What happened to Jagger?” Gr
Dash POVOne year laterOpening my eyes as I feel the sweat dripping down my face and my heart beating fast makes me sit up straight immediately. I look around the room, remembering I am in Jagger’s house. Today is my wedding day and Grace came up with the whole shit. I am not allowed to see her before the wedding kind of crap.I tried to explain to her that superstition made no sense, not when we lived together and shared a life already, but she made me promise I would respect what she wanted. What can I say? The girl says jump and I ask how high. I am entirely in her hands and she can do whatever the fuck she wants with me that I will allow her to. Pulling up a pair of shorts that I left on the chair, I walk out of the room towards the living room to find my brother with an ice pack against his lip. I raise a single eyebrow as I step closer to him and chuckle as his bruised face appears behind the ice. “Holly shit, Grace is going to fucking kill you, and those bruises won’t be any
Dash POVI open my eyes and immediately regret doing so. My mouth is dry and my vision is blurred. I move my hands up and down my face, trying to wake up, but the headache makes me flinch. I groan in frustration and when I move; I feel something next to me in bed. No, no… Fear strikes and I stand still, not wanting to look at how much I fucked up last night. Getting drunk is one thing, but hooking up and ending up fucking a random girl is an entirely different kind of fuck up. A fuck up, I will not forgive myself. Gathering the courage to look after taking several breaths, I move slightly to see Grace sleeping next to me. I look up and then look at my side again, sitting up on the bed in one movement. Not believing my eyes, I smile, but at the same time freak out a little. How the fuck did I end up in bed with Grace?I look around the room, not recognizing it, and then look down at my body to find a pair of green boxer shorts I have never seen in my life. What the fuck? Looking arou
Grace POV“Grace, dinner is ready, sweetheart,” Mom says as she opens my bedroom door. I nod my head slightly without lifting my head from the pillow. “I’m not hungry,” I whisper back as I feel a single tear roll down my face. I have been crying on and off since I left Dash’s house. Everything he has told me, plus everything else that happened, has taken a toll on me. It’s like my brain has gone into overdrive and shut down. Refusing to cope with what is happening.Mom takes a deep breath as she sits on the edge of the bed, resting her hand on my legs. I look at her and I can see the concern plastered all over her face. “I am worried about you,” Mom says, and that is the last thing I want. She doesn’t deserve to be feeling this. She has gone through so much, I hate putting another thing on her back. Mom looks like she has aged years in the last few days. The betrayal, the divorce, my dad’s death, and my kidnapping have taken a huge chunk of her life away. “Sorry Mom,” I say, sitting
Dash POV“What do you mean, you do things that would make my skin curl? What do you mean by that?” Grace asks and I close my eyes for a few seconds and when I open them, her eyes widen as if she is finally understanding everything. “I am innocent Grace, and I will make sure no one comes back to hurt you,” I say, and she stands up so fast it makes my head spin. “Careful, you can’t do that,” I say, but she ignores me as she paces around the living room. “Are you telling me you are like Parisi?” Grace asks and I stand walking to her. I place my hands on her neck and her eyes meet mine as I caress her skin lightly with my thumb as I shake my head. “I am nothing like that fucker, I don’t traffic women, I don’t rape women, I don’t force them to do things they don’t want, and I sure as hell don’t hurt innocent women,” I add and Grace’s eyes widen again as her hands fly to touch mine. Her hands gripping mine but she doesn’t push away. “I am not like him, but I am not innocent,” I say and s
Grace POV“I can walk by myself,” I let out with a giggle as Dash lifts me from the car. His arms holding me bridal style as he carries me to the elevator. His eyes meet mine and he plants a small kiss on my lips as we wait inside the elevator. The doors open, taking us into our apartment and when we are inside, I look around trying to find my furry friend, but disappointment takes over as I can’t see him anywhere. “Where’s Crow?” I ask Dash and he smiles as he puts me on the couch. His eyes follow my every move as I adjust to my position. “So? Where is he?” I ask and Dash sits next to me, smiling. “Jagger has him, because I was spending so much time in the hospital with you he offered to stay with him, shocking I know,” Dash says and I widen my eyes, nodding. “I never thought I would see the day the big bad wolf would become a teddy bear and decide to offer his help with a dog,” I say as I laugh, and Dash smiles. “Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat,” he says and I sh
Dash POVI walk straight into the room where all the instruments are kept. Things here are different from the safe house. The cells are like rooms and we can’t keep the stuff inside because otherwise they could use it against us or against themselves. Gathering my favorites, I smile as I grab the baseball bat, the knife, and the nail remover. I shove them into my pocket as I rest the baseball bat against my shoulder and I walk into Amber’s room. Her eyes meet mine and she immediately moves against the wall. “Please, don’t do this Dash, I can give you more information,” Amber says and I can’t help but laugh at her poor attempt at getting out of this. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” Amber says, and I shake my head as I grab my phone from my pocket. I log into the security camera feed and show the bitch she is not alone anymore. Amber gasps, covering her mouth with her hand as she sees her pile of shit boyfriend or whatever Parisi is in the other room. He is tied to the wal
Jagger POVWatching my brother almost go through everything I went through has become my worst nightmare. The way he was barely breathing while we tried to find Grace was killing me. I don’t wish that pain on anyone, especially not on my twin brother. He is everything to me. He is the only person I can rely on. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Ghost asks and I nod as he wraps my wrists and hands. Ghost has become a good friend in the last few months. “You can still leave,” he adds, and I shake my head. “Are you trying to get into my head?” I ask, looking directly into his dark eyes. and he shakes his head, cocking his head to the side slightly. When I am done, I walk out of the changing rooms straight into the cage where I am about to have my first underground fight. Ghost introduced me to this world and I come here every time I want to distract myself. There’s something therapeutic for me watching people bleed. “Remember what I told you,” Ghost says and I nod. This is an under