Grace POV“Where did you go the other night?” Hannah asks, and I can’t help but smile at the memory of the club’s opening night. I Haven’t had sex since that night. Dash is working every night and I am always busy during the day, so we have barely seen each other. I am always asleep when he comes in and he is asleep or already gone when I wake up.“I can’t tell,” I say, winking, and she rolls her eyes as she smiles while Jamie puts her phone on the table after replying to a text message.“Amber is on her way,” she says and the fun we were having disappears and the air becomes thicker. “You two need to sort it out. We can’t keep going like this,” Jamie says, and I nod. I know I can be very judgemental and after what happened a few nights ago, I learned to let go of my prejudice a little.Jamie and Hannah stand a few minutes la
Dash POV“What the fuck were you thinking?” Wyatt shouts, and Jagger shakes his head as he looks at me. I take a deep breath, crossing my leg over my knee and lace my fingers, resting them over my stomach. I watch as Wyatt paces around the room like a fucking lunatic and Jagger stays still. I knew this was gonna come back to bite me in the fucking ass, but I needed the intel. “And you…” he says, pointing at Jagger, who raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “Careful,” Jagger warns our best friend as his rage takes over. I knew Wyatt was going to lose his shit as soon as he found out Jagger tortured the poor bastard we have in the holding cells but what he doesn’t understand is that while he’s been playing house I had to deal with the shit happening around us. “You should’ve come to me,” Wyatt says, looking at Jagger and then at me. I look at my hands and when Wyatt calms the fuck down, I raise my eyes to meet his, ready to explain. “We couldn’t. You were busy, and it was something that ne
Grace POVMy mother’s words invade my thoughts for the rest of the day. My dad having an affair is something I never imagined possible, but then again, I never imagined he would try to sell me to the highest bidder to pay for his own lifestyle. “Grace?” I hear Jamie say and I raise my eyes to meet her and she frowns. “Are you listening?” She asks, and I shake my head slightly. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind,” I say, and Hannah takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. I look at her and she shakes her head. I can see anger plastered all over her beautiful features and I raise my eyebrows, questioning her. “What?” I let out. “I understand why Amber is so annoyed. You don’t even care to listen to us,” she says as Jamie looks at her, shaking her head and holding Hannah’s hand, trying to calm her down. “Wow,” I let out under my breath. “Don’t hold back on what you really feel,” I say, and Hannah shakes her head, pointing at me. “Don’t turn this on us, Grace.” She says
Grace POV“I can’t believe you did all of this,” I say as I walk further into the apartment to find a dog bed, water and food bowls, and toys. Everything Crow will ever need is there. Dash takes care of everything. Dash looks at me, smiling with his hands in his pockets and that’s when I notice Crow sitting next to Dash with his head up, staring at him and his tail wiggling. “I think he likes you,” I say, and Dash rolls his eyes and then looks down at Crow and shakes his head. “Go to Grace, come on, fuck off,” Dash says, pointing at me, but Crow sees it as if he is going to stroke him. Crow stands on his back legs supporting his front ones on Dash’s stomach and Dash takes one step back. “Hey, you listen to me, just because I brought you to live with us, doesn’t mean I suddenly like dogs, so go to Grace, she’s the one that likes you,” Dash says but Crow sees it as a game of catch and follows Dash as he moves around the living room.“I really hate this dog,” Dash says, shoving his hand
Grace POV“The problem is…” he stops talking and I stay silent waiting for the rest, “I want you Grace, I want the kids, the family, the house with the fucking white picket fence but I can’t do it, it wouldn’t be fair to you, to drag you into my life,” he finally says after a few agonizing minutes in silence. My heart skips a beat and I stay still as he looks into my eyes as if trying to read what is going on inside my head, but right now there’s nothing there. My brain has gone blank and I don’t even know what to think. “I never wanted anyone the way I want you, Grace, the way you looked at me the first time I saw you.” He tells me. “When I saw that guy on you, something in me made me take you away, I never believed in love at first sight but after seeing you in that party I had to give in,” Dash says taking one step closer to me but I don’t move. I feel like my feet are stuck to the floor, not letting me move from here. Neither away nor to him. “You entered my life like a fucking
Dash POVAs I enter the Law firm where my brother works, I smile at the receptionist on the ground floor and she smiles back, giving me a small nod that basically tells me I am allowed to go up. Well, she would never stop me anyway, but it’s nice to have the confirmation I am allowed up.As soon as the elevator doors open, I am greeted by his secretary that is a milf. I don’t know how my brother can keep his hands to himself. The woman is stunning. I wrap one arm around her waist and hug her, and she smacks my shoulder as she giggles. “Let go of me, you womanizer,” she says as she laughs and I smile, letting her go.“How are you beautiful?” I ask Janet, and she looks at me over her shoulder as she walks down the corridor with her heels clicking on the marble floor.“I am well. How about you?” She asks me, and I shrug in reply. I never let out a lot
Grace POVI don’t know how I allowed myself to get dragged into this by my mother. Of all the people who could have gotten me into following someone to see if they were cheating, my mother was the last person who would pop into my head. I still think this entire thing is ludicrous. How is even possible that my father is having an affair? I start mentally kicking myself as I walk to the town car waiting for me outside my house.I smile at myself, thinking that I finally said it, my house. It’s not just Dash’s house, it’s my house as well. I can’t stop smiling at the thought. After he got me Crow and he broke down declaring himself to me, I have been even more obsessed about him than I was before. Dash is the perfect man, he is a gentleman, and caring, and he really, really, really knows how to please me.“Hey mom,” I say as I enter the car, and when I look at her, I cover my mou
Grace POVI don’t know what my mother is going to do about the entire thing. Hell, I don’t know what to think. I can imagine her. They have been together most of their lives; they were high-school sweethearts, and this is how their marriage is going to end?I look at my reflection in the mirror, trying to push away all the thoughts about my parents and the mistress. I blink several times, trying to adjust my eyes to the contact lenses. I always hated these things. I think they were made by the devil to cause pain and discomfort. There’s no other option.My red dress clings to my body, and I feel like a different person. My hair is up and straight into a sleek ponytail on the top of my head, and my makeup is dark and sensual. The people Dash hired to pamper me really did an amazing job. I never imagined looking at myself in the mirror and seeing someone sensual.“Fuck me sideways
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