I stretched as I woke up. After the session with James I had crawled back into my bed, I hadn’t gone back to Angel’s room for fear of waking him up and trying to explain where I had been.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in the bed. There in the chair across from me sat Angel. The shock of seeing him so suddenly made me put my hand to my chest as my heart hammered inside.

“What are you doing?” I asked, surprised by his presence and having a sense that nothing good would come of it.

He was fully dressed in a suit, so I had probably slept for a while. The sun was up and the brightness made me squint slightly.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” He was angry, it glittered in his eyes as they held mine. There was a hardness in his features that made me sit up straight.

I wasn’t stupid enough to believe he didn’t already know everything he wanted me to admit but I wasn’t going to roll over for him and spill everything because he was questioning me.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about Angel,” I said, my tone half assed. “If you want to know some specific, perhaps you should ask the question?”

His jaw tightened. I was playing with fire and I knew it but I couldn’t help myself. Even the thought of getting burned didn’t stop me.

“Where were you this morning?” His voice was tight.

He already knew where and what I was doing, why was he even bothering with the questions.

“I’m not playing this game with you Angel.” I slipped from the bed. I was dressed in my sleep shorts and top. When I made an attempt to walk past him to the bathroom he stood and grabbed me by the wrist.

My eyes went to where he held me. “Let me go.” His vice like grip didn’t give way.

“Not until we finish this conversation. I asked you a question and I want you to answer it.”

My eyes lifted to his. “I’m not answerable to you. I can do whatever I want Angel, and I don’t need to run everything by you. You don’t own me.” Why couldn’t he understand I wasn’t some sort of possession, I was a person, something that couldn’t be owned.

“You see that’s where you are wrong. To be able to protect you I need to know everything, even the things you believe aren’t my concern.”

I flattened my lips into a line, refusing to go along with the conversation. I pulled my wrist but he refused to release me.

“You already know where I was this morning Angel. I’m not going to answer questions you already know the answers to.” Was he trying to see if I would lie to try and cover it up?

“You went behind my back and asked James, someone I trust implicitly, to help you without checking with me first. You put him into a position where he kept something from me. Don’t you get it. You are making me question the loyalty of the people I need to trust.”

I shrugged. Even I knew James would never betray Angel.

“If James hadn’t believed it was something I needed he wouldn’t have agreed to it and kept it from you.” Let him chew on that.

“That’s not something you or he get to decide. Do you understand?”

“I’m not doing this Angel. I won’t be made to feel like I have to answer to you. And if you become my husband, it won’t change anything.” I lifted my chin defiantly.

I was never going to be that meek person he could control and the sooner he realized that the better for both of us.

“There is no if, our marriage will happen. Make no mistake about that Kira.” His hand tightened on my wrist and I frowned. He was exerting his physical power over me and I hated every moment of it.

“You’re being a bully Angel.” I looked down to where his hand still held me.

“You don’t get it. If I don’t know everything how am I supposed to keep you safe? I know how dangerous things are at the moment and perhaps you don’t understand the severity of the situation you are in. If you did you wouldn’t be playing games with me Kira.”

“Don’t you think it’s just as important for me to do everything I can so I feel like I have some control over what happens to me. I didn’t have much of choice but I’m here now and I have to find a way to survive. If I don’t do what I feel is necessary I won’t survive. Don’t you get it?” I hated how I bared some of my fears to him but I felt it was the only way to reach this testosterone man, hell bent on taking full responsibility for my safety. He had to understand it was just as much my own responsibility.

“Your actions imply I can’t keep you safe and I will Kira. Your safety is my top priority.”

“What happens if I’m in a situation where I need to know how to defend myself and I don’t because you were too egotistical to listen to me? Can you live with that?”

He frowned. “That will never happen.”

I shook my head. “You’re too stubborn to consider that you might fail.”

He released my wrist and I rubbed the area.

“Failure isn’t something I can accept. When I fail, people die. This is not just about you Kira. I’m responsible for the lives of the men who work for me. They are not just employees, they are family. Just like you Kira. I need to be able to trust the them, our survival depends on the loyalty of the men who I trust with our lives. And after your little stunt I had to have words with someone I have never believed for second would made me question his loyalty.”

Did this have something to do with what happened to Bruno? Did he feel responsible for what happened somehow?

“James would die for you.” Even I knew that, James keeping one thing from him wouldn’t change that.

“I don’t need him to die for me, I need him to not keep things from me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve tried to be understanding about your situation and I’ve allowed you some leeway to allow you to settle in but obviously it hasn’t been the right choice. From this moment on, you will do what you are told when I tell you. Do you understand?”

I put my hands on my hips, intent on arguing but he waved his hand in front of me.

“Let me make this clear Kira I won’t tolerate anything else. I’ve had to grow up fast when my father died and I had to take over the reins. I had no choice. This life is hard, and I had to toughen up. I wont allow you to wreck havoc in a environment I have built carefully for the survival of this family.” His eyes were hard. “No matter how you feel about.”

“That’s exactly it. I need to toughen up, just like you had to. If I don’t I wont survive Angel. Don’t you see?” Was this an opportunity for him to realize that I was in a similar situation to what he had to go through? “Because of outside factors I don’t have much of choice about marrying you, but I have a choice on how I handle things. I wont be some damsel in distress relying on everyone else to keep me safe. I need to be able to take charge and know I can defend myself if it ever arises. Why is that so bad?”

He studied me for several moments.

“If I had believed you would have taken my fears seriously I would have come straight to you but I didn’t. That’s why I approached James and pleaded my case.”

His features remained stone like. None of my arguing had changed his mind.

“Why do you think James might have agreed to help me when he knew you would disapprove? Maybe he realized I might do more harm than good if he didn’t show me some survival skills. What happens when I might end up in a situation where I might need to defend myself and I can’t get the safety off a gun? What happens if I have the chance to save myself and I can’t because you wouldn’t allow it?”

His frowned deepened. “Your sessions with James are over. I may never forgive him for this transgression. I’m prepared to allow you to keep up with the target practice only under my supervision.”

I frowned. I hadn’t expected that, I didn’t know if I was relieved he was allowing me to continue with something but mad because he was limiting me.

“Take it or leave it,” he said, drawing the line.

I didn’t want to negotiate, I didn’t want to have to give any of the stuff up but I knew better than to argue with a man who was making a concession.

“I’ll take it.”

After my run in with Angel, I kept a low profile and went for a walk around the estate. Fresh air and some time away from the suffocating dominance of Angel was what I needed most.

When I headed back to my room I found myself staring at an empty wardrobe. All my stuff was gone. He wouldn’t have dared, I thought to myself before I stormed down the hallway to his room. He had. All my stuff had been neatly move into his bedroom wardrobe. How could he do that?

I stormed downstairs and into his study, catching him mid sentence talking to James. They both stood behind his desk peering over some documents.

“Why did you move all my stuff?” I put my hands on my hips and it was only to stop myself from physically expressing my anger. Like a swift slap across his disapproving features.

“It’s rude to enter a room with a closed door without knocking,” he said, instead of addressing my question. It only antagonized my already hot temper.

“I don’t give a damn!” I was so mad, I was fearful I would do something that would tip me over the edge.

“Language Kira,” he admonished me, his voice authoritative like he was talking to a child and not a grown woman which just irked me more.

“James, let me have a word with Kira alone.”

James left, closing the door behind him.

I curled my hands into fists. He had this way of brushing me off like a naughty child and I wouldn’t have it. No more.

“I asked you to move your stuff across and you didn’t.” He went back to looking over the documents. I wanted to stamp my foot in frustration that he wasn’t even giving me his attention while he spoke. He treated me like an annoyance, and nothing more.

“I was going to,” I said, trying to explain why I hadn’t yet. The truth was, I wasn’t ready. To be with him every night, to sleep beside him tied my stomach into knots. Being with with him had already made me feel different about him, reminding me of the feelings I had harbored for years for him. It was dangerous for me to spend more time with him. I was protecting myself by delaying the move into his bedroom. I couldn’t delay it inevitably. What was a few days in the bigger scheme of things?

He lifted his eyes to mine as he picked up a document. “I’ve allowed you enough time to complete the task but you are dragging your heels and I won’t allow it.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I said, feeling indignant that he would even try.

“But I do Kira. It’s my job to ensure your safety and that means you will do as I tell you.”

I ground my teeth together as I glared at him. He set he paper back on his desk and finally gave me his undivided attention.

“I’m trying to do the right thing Kira. Even if you can’t see it through your stubbornness.” Where I was raging he seemed calm, it was annoying. He made me feel like I was being unreasonable and dramatic. I had every right to feel the way I did, even if he couldn’t seem to understand that.

“I’m not stubborn. I just wasn’t ready.” I had let it slip, my true feelings about moving to his room. I hadn’t meant to.

“The Vincents aren’t going to wait for you to be ready. I’ve been patient but I’ve realized I have to be firm with you Kira. Your life depends on it.”

I frowned. “If you push me too hard, you will regret it Angel.”

I spun around and stormed out of his study. I wanted to get far away from him as I could without actually leaving the property.

What I really wanted to do was go back up to his room and move all my stuff back to my room but it would be pointless. He would just get someone to move everything right back. I didn’t seem to have much control over my life at the point didn’t sit well with me.

This time I went for a longer walk, trying to ease my simmering anger that Angel just did what he wanted irrespective of how I felt. It made me feel small and irrelevant. I wonder if this is how it started with my mother and I experienced a moment of panic, making me feel like I was about to hyperventilate.

I sucked in a breath and counted to ten before I released it slowly, trying to make a conscious effort to deal with my anger. I leaned against the trunk of a nearby oak tree and stayed there allowing the peaceful scenery to help ease my volatile mood.

After I managed to calm down I looked back to the house in the distance and decided it was probably time to make my way back. My stomach grumbled. I was hungry as well.

It was when I passed the cottage, I was reminded of the night I had gotten Bruno into trouble when I had used the secret passage. I stopped. It made me think about him and the memories of his shooting seeped back, making me feel a little unsteady. It brought back all that trauma and fear like I was leaning with my hand against the wall and watching him bleed out in front of my eyes. There only way I could pull myself out of the horrible memory was to remind myself that he survived. I should have made a plan to go see him or at least given him a call but I had been tied up in my own problems. It had been a couple of weeks since the shooting, and I wondered how he was doing.

Surely Angel would be able to give me an update. But after my last run in with him, I wasn’t in a hurry to see him again so soon. Who else could I ask? I didn’t see James around, so the next person on my list was Jack.

With the new mission on my mind I went back to the house. I found Jack in the garage. He stood up immediately when I entered.

“Hi Jack,” I greeted.

“Miss Ward,” he greeted with a nod as he rose from his seat. “Should I call the driver?”

I shook my head. “Not that’s not necessary.”

“Is there something else I can do for you?”

“I wanted to know find out how Bruno is doing.”

He gave me a puzzled look and then straightened his features.

“When will he be returning to work?” I looked at him expectantly.

“Um,” he shifted nervously while averting his gaze.

I frowned watching his strange body language.

“What Jack?” He was trying to hide something from me, I could tell.

“It’s best you speak to Mr. Knox.”

“Why can’t you tell me?” My question was direct. I had asked a simple question, why was he acting like I had asked him to reveal a deep dark secret?

“Mr. Knox wanted all questions about Bruno directed to him.”

I frowned at him. “Why?” I asked but Jack had clammed up and wasn’t answering.

An anxious feeling settled in me as I left the garage determined to find out why my bodyguard couldn’t answer a simple question about the recovery of someone I had nearly watch bleed to death.

I searched for Angel but he wasn’t in his study and no one would tell me where he had gone. Feeling frustrated and annoyed I went to the kitchen where I found Maria making cookies.

“It smells wonderful,” I said, sitting at the kitchen counter, watching her take a tray of baked cookies out of the oven.

“I made your favorite.”

She set the tray down and closed the over. “What’s wrong?”

Usually I loved her cookies and couldn’t wait to eat one but I wasn’t hungry at all. Bruno was the only thing on my mind and finding out why Jack had been told not to answer any questions about him. What was Angel hiding from me?

I shrugged. “I was just thinking of Bruno.” I sighed. I don’t know why I mentioned it, perhaps I was hoping she would say something Jack had been sworn to secrecy over.

Maria’s features softened. “It’s very sad what happened to him.” Was she talking specifically about the shooting or was she referring to something else? I didn’t want to ask her to clarify for fear she wouldn’t.

I schooled my expression, keeping my confusion beneath the surface, hoping she would reveal more without me prompting. Sad, that wasn’t good. My stomach twisted.

“It is.” I sighed, pretending I knew exactly what she was talking about when I didn’t.

“He was always so kind and gentle.” She stopped and sighed.

“He was,” I agreed, hoping as I kept the conversation going she would reveal what Jack wouldn’t.

“You know that saying ‘only the good die young’. In his case it was very true.” She stared fondly out the kitchen window while I took in what she had just revealed.

My brain couldn’t process what she was saying. Die? I didn’t understand. He had been fine. Angel had told me he had pulled through.