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“Do you have family?”

She nods, pulling her hands away from me and clasping them in her lap. I instantly miss her touch. “They went no contact with me.”

I get a feeling I’m not going to like the answer, but I still ask, “Why?”

The most heartbreaking expression I’ve ever seen tightens her features, and it immediately brings out the bloodlust in me.

Before I can stop myself, I move Annie’s legs so they’re draped over my lap and hug her to my chest.

She wraps her arm around my front before saying, “I grew up in a privileged household. My parents are wealthy, and they only expected the best from me. They signed me up for extra classes and after-school activities so I could get into an Ivy League school.” She snuggles into me and clears her throat, then continues, “All I did was study until the day I graduated from MIT. Then I started working as a quantitative engineer, which was a very stressful job. To make everything worse, they chose my boyfriend for me, and I just had to go along with it. He started becoming very controlling, and . . .” She stops mid-sentence and shakes her head. “Anyway, that’s when I walked out of work, got in a cab, and kept going until I saw Miles’ bar. The rest is history.”

With every word from her, anger burns hotter in my chest, and when she falls silent, I grip hold of her chin and force her head back so she’ll look at me.

“And?”

Her eyebrows draw together with confusion. “And what?”

“He started becoming very controlling, and . . . ?” I give her a pointed look. “Finish that sentence.”

Annie moves her hand from my side to the middle of my chest and grips my shirt, then vulnerability creeps into her eyes.

“He would check my phone, and I wasn’t allowed to go out unless he gave me permission. I had to wear and eat what he wanted.”

My anger turns to rage, hating that Annie dated a narcissist.

I’m one to talk. A narcissist has nothing on me.

She clears her throat again and pulls her chin away from my fingers. Looking down, her voice is filled with embarrassment as she says, “I barely knew him when we had sex for the first time. It hurt and was really unpleasant. I made a promise to myself that I would get to know the next guy I date before sleeping with him. I want it to mean something more than just . . . fucking.”

Feeling like absolute shit, I press a kiss to her forehead and close my eyes. “I’m sorry, Annie. I’ll take things slower.”

Her eyes dart to my face. “Does that mean you want to try to have a relationship with me?”

As I look into her hopeful gaze, something shifts in my chest.

I’ve tried to stay away from her, but it’s impossible. If the time comes for me to move on to the next stage of my plan, I’ll take her with me.

When I nod, surprise flutters over her face, and she gasps, “Oh my God. Really?”

Tilting my head, I ask, “Why are you surprised?”

“You’ve been so hot and cold. I expected you to say no and pull away again.”

And even though I’ve done that, she’s still sitting on my lap and giving me the time of day.

Chapter 14

Owen

After we opened up to each other a little yesterday, Annie called it a night so we could get some sleep.

The entire day I thought about what I’m doing. Even though I know it’s a bad idea and things can go horribly wrong, I can’t stay away from Annie.

I went to check my escape routes out of Portland to make sure everything is still in place. If I’m going to do this relationship with Annie, I have to be prepared for anything.

Her life depends on it.

When I walk into the kitchen, I switch on the fryers, and as I head to the freezer, I see a white paper folded into a star shape lying on the counter. Walking closer, I pick it up, and noticing writing, I open it.