The next morning at breakfast, I was on my own. Maria, Angel’s housekeeper, dotted all over me. She had missed me and was determined to go show it by giving me the biggest selection of breakfast treats to choose from. She had prepared enough food to feed an army, but Angel had been a no show. I barely made a dent.

I hadn’t been able to sleep much. Angel had affected me more than the Vincents. He had a way of getting under my skin like no one else could.

But I couldn’t avoid Angel as I was hoping he had figured out a way to save me from being handed over like an object to a bunch of gangsters who only knew cruelty. The brief thought gave me a shiver down my spine, and that was enough for me to push back my chair to go in search of him.

I hadn’t seen him since the night before and I was nervous to see if he was still angry with me. I blew out the breath I had been holding as I neared his study. Outside the door, I stood for a moment, gathering courage before I knocked.

“Come in.” He was in his study.

Tentatively, I opened the door and peered inside, trying to gauge his features to see if I needed to keep my distance.

He had his back to me, so I entered the room, giving him space like you would a wild animal. He wore a crisp white shirt and dark trousers. I allowed myself to take in his powerful stance. I swallowed nervously.

He turned. It was difficult to read his expression.

“Are you able to keep the Vincents away from me?” I blurted out. It had been playing on my mind all night long. I hoped he had figured it out because I couldn’t contemplate a situation where there wasn’t a solution.

“I have. It’s the only option we have.”

That sounded so grave and final. His tone made me slightly more anxious.

“Surely it can’t be that bad.” I swallowed.

“It is what it is.”

He was annoying. He talked in a way that gave little away.

“How about you share your idea and we decide from there?”

It couldn’t be worse than being handed over to some thugs.

He studied me for a few moments. “Perhaps you should take a seat.”

“Why do you always do that?” I said, feeling annoyed. “Why are you always telling me to sit down?” He always had this was of treating me like I was some child that needed to be told what to do all the time. I wished he would see me for the grown woman I had become.

He was making me angrier by the second.

“You’re going to marry me.”

At first I thought I had misheard him. “Did you say marry?” I spluttered.

When I realized I had heard him correctly, I laughed. “You can’t be serious.” I held my sides as I laughed even harder. It was the funniest thing he had ever said. I wiped the tears from my face.

It was his expression that made me falter. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was scowling at me.

“You’re not joking, are you?” I murmured, not sure I wanted anything to do with his only way out of our predicament now.

He shook his head.

I found the closest chair and sank down into it as I realized what that meant. Marry him. It felt so unreal, like I was waiting for someone to jump out and say “Gotcha”. I could stop my mind from wondering to thoughts of what married couples did, and I swallowed.

“No.” I whispered. “There is no way.”

“Suit yourself. I’m not the one who needs saving,” he said as he walked matter factly back to his desk and took a seat.

“It can’t be the only way. There has to be something you haven’t thought of…” I was in shock and for the life of me, I couldn’t think of any alternative.

“How about you think about it and let me know what ideas you come up with because trust me, I’ve thought of all of them.” The sarcastic edge of his tone riled me up.

“I don’t want to marry you,” I blurted out.

“The feeling is mutual,” he said, like he was bored with this conversation already.

“Then why? I don’t understand.” I echoed, feeling like someone had yanked the rug from beneath my feet and I was still falling.

“This is about doing what is right and I can’t, with a good conscience, hand you over to the Vincents no matter what it costs me.” His words were precise.

As a little girl, I had always dreamed of getting married, but this is never how I imagined it going down. No rose petal in sight, no romantic burning candles, and no love of my life on a bended knee with a sparkling ring. There was no professing of love. Hell, we didn’t even like each other.

“Are you serious?” I whispered, still hoping he was playing a horrible joke and he would tell me his actual idea, but his stone face didn’t change and with every second that passed, I had to accept that he was serious.

“Dead serious.”

“But… but…” My mind went blank.

He was watching me, and I felt like I was floundering.

“Is this really the last option?” There was a sense of urgency in my voice I couldn’t disguise.

He nodded. “It’s the only way.”

Marriage? To him? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Memories of my drunken proportion came back to me in that moment to haunt me for a second time. There had been a time when the younger version of me had hoped he would fall in love with me and one day it would have led to marriage. None of my daydreams had conjured this up.

“As my wife, you will be untouchable. They wouldn’t dare lay a finger on you.” There was a dangerous glint in his eye as he spoke.

He was right, but to think I would have to take such a drastic step to keep myself safe seemed unreal, and I needed time to take it in.

“But I don’t understand why you would do something like this… um, for me.” He seemed committed to something huge for someone he had always treated like an annoyance. Why on earth would he do that? It made no sense.

It wasn’t like he had been celibate over the years and it had made me take a step back each time there had been a new woman in his life. But all of those interactions had been fleeting, not one woman lasting longer than a few weeks.

He shrugged. “It’s also a good business move.”

“How so?” I asked, not sure I liked the idea that something that had held more of an emotional feeling for me was a business choice for him.

“Handing you over was never an option, and they knew it. They are trying to force a war between our families, and I won’t allow them to bait me into bloodshed.”

I had never even considered the bigger picture and now that he was revealing it; I wasn’t sure I was going to have any choice but to go through with the mad idea of marrying Angel. Marriage was supposed to be based on trust and love, not hatred and desperation. Was it going to be doomed from the start?

“I tried the easiest option, and you put an end to that with your little strip show.” The distaste was obvious in his features as his eyes rested on her.

“Well, maybe if I had known I was supposed to be dead, I wouldn’t have done it.” How on earth could he blame me when I had known nothing?

“I was unconvinced you would have complied if I had been honest with you.”

“You think I’d rather become some object at the whim of the Vincents? Geez, you don’t know me at all.” I shook my head. Only someone with a death wish would have rather gone up against the Vincents.

I might be a tad dramatic, but I was not crazy or suicidal. Although if I was sane, I wouldn’t even contemplate marrying someone I had held a secret crush for but who didn’t feel the same about me. That was insane.

“So, how long do we do this for?” I asked.

It was better to be prepared so I could make sure I could get out unscathed.

He linked his hands. “Marriage to me is forever.”

I was stunned. Like in forever, sickness and health, all of that. I felt winded.

“You can be serious.” I stood. “We can even stand each other.”

“Marriages based on love do not last.” He sounded so cynical. He was stamping all over every fairytale happily ever after I had ever dreamed of.

“But we hate each other. How can you expect a marriage to last when I can’t stand the sight of you?”

“How you feel is irrelevant. There will be no divorce.”

His words made me want to rebel. How dare he say that my feelings didn’t matter.


This is what I had watched with my mother. She had allowed my father to walk all over her and I would not allow Angel to do that to me. I wouldn’t let him suffocate the life out of me. The only alternative was turning to drugs to dumb the pain. I would not suffer the same fate, no matter what circumstances forced us into a loveless marriage.

“You didn’t hate me when you dressed in the skimpiest lingerie, promising to fulfill all my sexual fantasies,” He said, reminding me of my adolescent mistake.

My past actions mortified me. Why did he have to throw that night in my face every chance he got?

Sex. Marriage entailed sex. With heated cheeks, I swallowed, very aware of him physically. In my dreams, we had been together more times than I would have liked to have admitted.

“That was lust. Don’t confuse that for emotion,” I said, determined to get the upper hand when he only saw me as some immature girl who had tried to seduce him.

This was going to be a battle of wills and as strong as I was, I didn’t know if I could hold my own with him. He was domineering, and he was used to getting his way.

His phone rang, and he answered it.

“Send him in,” he said before he ended the call. “Kaiden is here.”

Although I was happy to see my brother again, I was unsure of how he would take the proposed solution. My brother had fought against the life we had been stuck with, so I didn’t think for a moment he would endorse it. Especially committing my life to a way of life he didn’t agree with and had been trying to outrun from the time he had become an adult.

The door to the study opened, and I rose to my feet. My brother came to me and lifted me off my feet with a bear hug.

“I still can’t believe you’re okay. You don’t know how rough it’s been the last two years.” His eyes filled with emotion.

“I missed you.” I hugged him back.

My brother’s features tightened when he released me to face Angel. “Angel.” He greeted stiffly.

“Kaiden.” Angel gave him a brief nod while he remained seated behind his desk.

It was difficult to see the years of friendship they had shared before they had become adults and taken different paths. One into a life of crime, the other into a life of law enforcement. Complete opposites.

“Did you come up with a solution?” Kaiden asked Angel.

I shared a look with Angel, unsure of how my brother was going to react.

“We have been discussing it,” Angel answered.

“Good. I’m happy to hear we have a solution. So what is it?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Kira will marry me.”

The change in my brother’s face was instantaneous. “Are you out of your mind? Is this some sort of sick joke?”

Angel rose from his seat, his expression hard. “Don’t forget who you are speaking to.”

Kaiden’s jaw tensed and I reached for a hand to touch his arm to calm the situation before it spiraled.

“It’s the only way.” I tried to reason with my brother. “It’s my choice.”

I would not admit all my doubts about whether it would work. For my brother’s sake, I wouldn’t waver in my choice.

“Do you know what this means?” His eyes pleaded with mine, ignoring Angel.

I nodded slowly.

“You can never leave this life, never.” The finality in his voice reminded me of the finality that only came from death. “It will never let you go. Do you understand that?”

I nodded. He gripped my arms.

“Let her go,” Angel commanded softly, but there was a dangerous edge to his voice. My brother immediately released me, knowing Angel would act if he didn’t.

“I understand Kaiden,” I said, softly.

“This isn’t temporary. This isn’t a few months of playing pretend. Once you marry in, you can never walk away. I don’t think you understand how serious this is.”

I had grown up in this world and I knew the consequences of marrying a crime boss. I understood I became a target of a different kind from his enemies and the law would always look over my shoulder. Unlike my brother, I would never be free of it.

“Maybe you should look over the files of the innocent women the Vincents have murdered and abused before warning her off the only solution to keep her safe.” Angel argued.

“But who will protect her from you?” My brother was walking a fine line and had he been anyone else, he would already have felt Angel’s wrath.

“Remember your place, Kaiden.” Angel walked around the desk. “I will protect her with every man I have. She will have everything money can buy. No one would dare touch what is mine.”

He was already talking like I was his possession and not a person with hopes and dreams of my own.

Was I jumping from one dangerous situation to another?

“I need to speak to my sister alone.” Kaiden said, still fully focussed on me.

Angel studied him before nodding. He left the room and as soon as the door closed behind him, my brother grasped my hands in his.

“We can get you out of here. We can put you in the witness protection program. You give up a few secrets. I’ll be able to keep you safe.”

I was already shaking my head. I couldn’t live like that.

When he realized I would not go along with what he was suggesting, he grabbed my arms.

“Please Kira. You know where this will lead. Look what happened to mom. Do you want the same?”

“No, I don’t,” I breathed with every fiber of my being. There were plenty of things I was unsure of, but that was one thing I knew.

I didn’t want to wilt away into an insecure, depressed shadow of myself.

“Angel isn’t like our father.”

“If you believe that, you’re naïve,” he scoffed. “You think you know him, but trust me, you don’t.”

“I know him. I’ve known him practically my whole life.”

“You have only ever know one side of him, but you haven’t seen the ruthless side to him. The one that people fear.” He rubbed his chin. “I thought I had lost you and for two years I mourned your death. All the while, he knew you were alive and where you were. What kind of man does that?”

I bit my lip, feeling his grief as he spoke.

“He did it to protect me,” I explained.

“Now that I have a second chance, I can’t let you do this. I won’t let you do this.”

Then I sighed. “I can make my own decisions, Kaiden. I know you’re coming from a good place, but this is my choice. It’s not yours or Angel’s.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t standby and do nothing while you make the biggest mistake of your life because I know the only way this will end is in tragedy.”

Was he trying to make me choose between him and Angel? Not that simple. I was choosing the best way out of a really dangerous situation.

“If you do this, you will give up your only chance at love and happiness.”

He was right, and it was an enormous sacrifice, but I didn’t honestly see another way out of the situation.

“I know you believe going into the witness protection isn’t for you, but you could have a good life and you could find love and happiness.”

Slowly, I shook my head. “I can’t do it. I’ve been living under a false identity for the last two years, and I hated every second. And I would always fear being discovered. What kind of life is that?”

My brother rubbed his hands over his face. “Becoming his wife will make you bigger enemies than you realize. And he won’t be able to protect you from every danger. Surely you know it will be a life of fear. The best chance is for you to leave and never look back. Please let me help you.”

“I’m no snitch Kaiden. I won’t give up any secrets.” Doing that would go against every value I held dear. I shook my head.

Our father had instilled it within us from a young age. In our world, people who snitched were are as good as dead. It went against everything he had taught me about revealing secrets about the family we belonged to.

“Is there anything I can do or say to get you to not marry Angel?”

I shook my head slowly.

He took my hands in his. “I should never have left you behind. I needed to get out of this way of life and by abandoning you, I sealed your fate in it.”

His words made me tremble inside.

“None of this is your fault,” I assured him. “This our father caused. He is the one who did this to me, not you.”

My brother studied me. “One day you will see I was right and then it will be too late.”

The fierceness of his features broke my heart. He turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

I trembled and reached a hand out to the chair to steady myself. I felt so alone.