“Dax, I’m not fucking around any—”
“It’s your father.”
The breath whooshes out of me in one heavy swoop. He has to be fucking kidding me. My father with Vera? What the fuck is he thinking? Surely, my mother knows about it. She has to. Perhaps that’s why she’s been calling me nonstop.
My mind calculates the fallout from this. If my father wants her, he’ll have to go through me. I may have walked away from her once, but I’m not doing that again. There is no love lost between my dad and me, and this would definitely kill any lingering doubt.
“What if I took her?”
“Then it will be your head he’s searching for,” Dax warns. “Listen to me, Logan, I may have done some stupid shit before, but this is taking on the king. You do realize that it could get you killed,” he tells me.
This is not news to me. My father has the connections, he has a fucking army behind him, and me, all I have is her. But then again, once she learns who I am, she’ll only hate me even more.
“I know. I . . . I need to do this.”
“He’s going to be at the club tonight. I can try to get some information out of him. He still trusts me even though Theia’s dad was his friend.” Dax can do this. Theia, Dax’s submissive, grew up around the same men Vera did. Dangerous and violent. And her father was one of the worst. Thankfully, her brothers, Samael and Kael, didn’t turn out like their dad.
“He can’t know where I am, Dax.”
“I’m not going to throw you into the lion’s den,” he tells me. “And you know I have the Wolfes on our side.” He’s talking about Samael, Axel, and Kael. They’ll step in if needed. I haven’t seen them in years.
“Do it. Just leave her out of whatever the hell you’re going to talk to him about. I don’t want her name coming up. If it does, shut it down. Contact me once you have more.”
“What will you do with the girl?” he asks, knowing I can’t let her be captured by my father and his fucking squad of murderers.
I don’t have to think twice about my answer, and it falls freely from my lips. “Take her and keep her.” He knows what that means. Sometimes, to be the hero, you have to be the villain too. And nobody knows that better than the man I’m currently talking to.
“Fine. Don’t show your face around until I contact you.”
I nod before realizing he can’t see me. “Sure, I’ll wait.”
I have to somehow get her alone again. Once I can, I’ll snatch her and keep her safe. Her life hangs in the balance. The sooner I can get her out of this town, the easier it will be to let Dax do his thing.
“Will you handle Herbert?”
“With pleasure.” I hear the satisfaction in his voice. I’m not averse to getting my hands bloody, but my focus is on Vera. Having her safely stowed away will be best for her. But for me, it might just fucking kill me.
“Good luck,” I tell him.
“I don’t need luck, Logan.” I nod even though I know he can’t see me. I hang up before he has time to say anything more. I’m about to kidnap the woman who’s trusted me so far. Would that break her trust? Or will she be able to see this for what it is—me saving her life?
I open my laptop, log into the browser, and find a message from her.
SB: You ran. I wanted to see you. Those things you said, you didn’t scare me. Perhaps you’re right. I’m a stupid little girl who’s about to get herself into trouble. But all I needed, ached for, was to see your face as you told me those desires. They’re dark, but they’re something I need to hear, that I want to hear. Is that something you promise? Or is it something you told me to make me ache for you even more? Tell me . . .
She’s slowly flaying me open, giving me the answers I crave so badly. The monster inside bares his teeth, and I can’t stop the growl that vibrates through my chest. She’s unnerving me. How can someone so young, so innocent and naïve, crave such darkness?
I sit back and decide how to respond. She already trusts me, but to steal her away from a life she’s built for herself is another thing altogether. She believes I walked away all those years ago because I thought she wasn’t good enough, but she couldn’t be more wrong about that.
Besides the anger toward my father, it was the fact that I knew she’d grow up to be pure. And I would be the impurity that would only corrupt her. But now that I’ve made contact, I can’t just leave her here to be taken by that old asshole. And there’s about to be a war, where my beauty will be used against me.
I finally decide on my response. I need her to accept that her life will be with me, hidden in the shadows until Dax can finish this war we’re about to wage on my father. He doesn’t realize I’m still in contact with Dax, and thankfully, my friend isn’t going to tell him.
I have time, but I need to make my move soon. They’re not going to sit around and wait for me to decide between doing right and wrong. They’re going to attack, and I need Vera to be safe by the time that happens.
So, with a sigh, I allow my fingers to offer her a response, as it bleeds directly from my heart.
BP: You shouldn’t ache for a monster, Beauty. It’s what will get you hurt, maybe even killed. My face is unimportant because the moment you see it, our fantasy is over. Isn’t this meant to be just that—a fantasy? This is no longer a game to me. Your scent drove me wild with need; your sweetness and purity will be tarnished with my darkness and violence. I need you to tell me honestly . . . Is this something you want? Me? Because if it is, I’ll make it so. The fear that turns you on will intensify. I’m not a gentle man. I’m not a soft and affectionate person. When I take you, and yes, that’s a when not an if, it will be harsh and brutish. I will push your limits and test your boundaries. And when I’m done, you’ll be mine. Tell me, yes, and I’ll come for you.
After I hit send, I picture her sitting on her bed, reading my words. I even imagine her touching herself to the dark promises, because I know that’s what she would do. I want to see what she looks like when her body finds release. I want to watch her shiver and tremble as she comes wildly, bucking her hips. And I want to be the one who does that to her.
My father will never lay his hands on her.
She was mine first, and she will be mine last.
6
Vera
I don’t know how many times I’ve read his words. Again, and again, yet my body still responds the same way—with desire. Even though he promises pain, I have a feeling it’s more a warning of what he is capable of than what he will do to me.
I have a gut feeling about him. Something that hits deep in my soul, and I wonder if I know this man from somewhere else. He asked about my past, about the reason I believed my suitor didn’t want me. He listened so silently; I wonder if he was cursing the man who walked away from me.
I never knew why he left. My father never spoke of him again, but I know his friendship with the boy’s father was still strong after that day. I don’t recall why my father never unfriended the man afterward, but I remember the boy, Logan Phillip Oakridge. When I was older and I knew more about him, learning that he was known as the prince in Chicago, and his father a king of the criminal world, I was shocked. My father wouldn’t sell me off to someone like that, but when Herbert walked in, I realized my father would’ve given me to anyone just to keep them happy.