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I rolled up to the keypad at the gated entrance to my home outside the city, tapped at the numbers, and then waited for the black wrought iron gates to part.
Inside, I fumbled with the lights. I rarely came to this place; it was much more convenient to stay at my flat in the city. I undressed in the master bedroom, freeing myself of the façade of normalcy I’d carried every day for the last five years. The life of a businessman. A man who didn’t knock the shite out of other people with zero reward.
As I pulled on my sweats I stared into the mirror above my dresser. I worked out every day, religiously, even though I hadn’t fought in years. But working out was different than prepping for a fight.
I stared into my blue eyes, wondering if I’d find the man I once was staring back at me. I needed him right now, even though I didn’t want to be him. But I needed him because I had to win. I had to win for Anna, for Les.
How the hell had I gotten myself back into this situation? And why didn’t I feel more remorse for the fact that I was planning to do what I promised I’d never do again?
I raised my hands in the air and stared at them. They were clean, smooth, unmarred. Not like the inside of my arm. I wore the tattoo as a reminder . . . and now I had to ignore it. I didn’t have a choice, did I?
Or was I giving in to Donovan because I wanted to fight?
“No,” I said beneath my breath, shifting my eyes back to my reflection.
I stormed out of the bedroom, darted down the hall, and made my way to the last room there.
When I stepped inside, I flicked on the lights—finding my fighting ring and punching bags waiting for me, dusty as hell.
I cocked my head and rolled my shoulders.
I hated myself at that moment.
I hated myself because I realized Donovan was right.
I wanted this.
CHAPTER NINE
ANNA
A soft breeze tore through the trees above me and a flurry of red and gold leaves sprinkled down. I brushed one off my shoulder, remembering that Adam had done that for me when we’d walked through the park.
Adam’s sporty motorcycle wasn’t in the parking lot, and I hadn’t seen him in the building so far today. I’d been slightly bummed at his absence. Although I knew that it was incredibly stupid to feel that way.
Why did I keep thinking about him? He wasn’t even close to my type.
Looks, yes. Because who didn’t love a tall, broad-shouldered guy with insanely blue eyes, dark hair, and—oh, God—the accent. My body shivered at the thought of his deep, silky voice. I’d been obsessed with the voice of the Irish ever since I’d landed, but no one had given me the kind of chills that Adam did whenever he spoke.
But, no—he wasn’t my type. For starters, he was my boss.
B.O.S.S. Four letters that were jammed full of meaning.
And how about another B word—billionaire. I didn’t necessarily have anything against money, and most of what I knew about the uber rich was from the media. But it seemed like the rich were always looking for the one thing they just couldn’t buy—happiness. And it was kind of sad. I didn’t want to get caught up in all of that.
But the third B . . . I rolled my eyes as I thought about it. About him.
Beautiful. And not just any beautiful. The handsome kind of sexy beautiful that almost hurts to look at. I’d be getting lines between my eyes and wrinkles on my forehead from squinting at him as if the sun was always in my eyes.
I blinked away thoughts of Adam, however, when I thought about the men who had approached me last night. That was another check in the list of his cons—Adam was involved in something shady. What if the whole company was involved?
God, I’d come all the way to Dublin to experience the world and get away from my problems, only to find myself caught up in new ones.
I no longer had an appetite, and so I wrapped the rest of my sandwich up, saving it for later. I set it on the bench next to me as I heard a low rumbling sound. It was my cell phone. I reached into my purse, a tinge of annoyance winding through me. I had bought a small purse because I was sick of always digging around in a large bag to get my phone. But even with this smaller one, I still couldn’t get my hands on it as quickly as I’d like.
When I finally yanked it free, I realized it was a text. Adam’s name was on the screen. I swiped at the message and opened it to read.
I just wanted to let you know that everything should be fine now. You should be okay.
