“Yes, Ricardo. An exchange. If that’s what you want to call it. A settling of debts,” I sigh.
He doesn’t even take a moment to consider what he’s doing or what the consequences might be for his daughter—he just shoves her toward me and takes a step back, keeping the revolver aimed right at us. “Take her,” he demands.
“Dad, what are you doing?” she yelps as I pull her to my side.
I’ll be coming back for this asshole. A man like this doesn’t deserve to live any kind of life in my city.
“Dad!” she screams again. “Tell him it’s a mistake!”
Her father says nothing as I drag her out of the house and onto the snow-covered ground outside.
She is still trying to pull away from me when I tug my car door open and push her inside.
My head is already scheming. How do I stop him from trying to take her back? Kill him, yes, obviously.
What if he is somehow tied to one of my rivals? They’ll demand the girl back and protect the old man.
I can’t let her go back to him, not after what he just did.
I guess there is one method that has been used time and time again without fail. Tying her to me permanently.
“Shut up and stop fighting,” I growl as I lean over her and grab the safety belt to clip it in.
“Who are you? What’s going on? Where are you taking me?” Questions roll from her lips.
I ignore them and start the car. I need to phone the lawyer and get paperwork drawn up. Now.
There’s no point in wasting any time getting it done. The sooner the better. Once she’s my wife, it won’t matter if he has connections to one of my rivals. She’ll be untouchable. He won’t be able to try to take her back.
Chapter 2 - Athena
I don’t understand what’s happening. He must be taking me to prison or something. Maybe he’s a cop. Undercover? What does he think my father stole?It doesn’t matter! He has the wrong person.My father would never be involved in anything like that.
“Please,” I try again. “There’s been a mistake,” I say. My body is on high alert. Anxiety pulses through me, fueled by adrenalin and cortisol and all of those things that make me want to fight and scream. But I need to try and stay calm and reasonable so I can get him to understand that this is all a big mistake.
He glances briefly across the car at me. If I can just get him to see reason…
The man says nothing, but his dark brown eyes pierce into me in the dimly lit car. For a second, my heart stutters as I get caught in his stare. I forgot what I wanted to say. My eyes quickly trace over his face, taking in the sight of his rugged good looks and strong, angular jaw. The way the muscles ripple across his cheeks as he pulls his mouth in disapproval. Or anger. It’s hard to tell.
What I can tell, however, without a flicker of doubt, is that he’sgorgeous.
I didn’t know they had such beautiful police in this city. I might have gotten into trouble much earlier.
What the hell are you thinking!I snap at myself. This isn’t funny or the right time to be daydreaming about some hot guy arresting you!
“Sir, I don’t know what is going on, but I think you have to tell me what I’m being arrested for,” I try a new tactic. It is the law, isn’t it? You can’t just take people away without telling them why?
One minute, I was walking into my dad’s place to bring him some groceries. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged away by this darkly handsome, very dangerous-looking stranger.
I often stop by Dad after work. He doesn’t eat right. I do my best to make him proper meals and check in on him as often as I can.
He’s a good man. A bit rough at the edges. A bit cold. But I know his heart is in the right place…he’s never done anything wrong. He’s never been in trouble with the police.
It’s just an accident. He got caught up in something. Maybe someone tricked him. There are all kinds of scammers out there. If I can just talk to someone, I can explain that my dad isn’tthattype of person.Give me back what you stole.That’s what the stranger said to him.
No.
It’s a mistake.
