AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hate was what fueled her—what lit her soul on fire.
Hate was the best friend she’d ever known.
When the performance was over—because that’s exactly what it was—Anna went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Diaz always joked about how much tea she drank. He thought it was cute. Little did he know she drank tea because it settled her stomach that he constantly made nauseous.
“There you are,” Diaz said behind her.
She turned, leaning on the counter, cradling the mug between her hands. She gave him a lazy smile.
“Getting my fix,” she responded.
He grinned. “What did you think?”
“I think you showed them exactly what you wanted to. The real question is, why did Alex talk?”
“He talked because he was weak. I should’ve trusted my gut about him all those years ago. Weak men have a price, and Alex had his. But,” he said as a sly smile spread across his lips, “sometimes it’s good to have a reason to remind men of the consequences.”
He cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her jaw. “I’ll be there in a few hours. Get some rest.”
She suppressed the shudder wanting to course through her body. Instead, she closed her eyes briefly and smiled lazily once again, a reaction she’d perfected for every time he touched her, when what she’d really wanted to do was grab her pocketknife and slice open his throat. But taking down Diaz wouldn’t be enough. One of his lowlife men would replace him and the operation would continue.
It wouldn’t stop with Diaz.
She had to burn it all down.
And Diaz would be the last to go. She wanted his last moment to be one of realization—the realization he’d been played and she’d destroyed it all. The realization that everything he’d worked for was gone.
Then, and only then, could he die.
“You’re so beautiful, my fierce little warrior,” he said as he kissed her neck. She drew a deep breath, which he mistakenly took as a sign of encouragement. Of course he did—Diaz’s ego was the size of New York City.
“You flatter me,” she said, putting a hand on his chest, coyly pushing him away. “And you have men to deal with. I’m going to head home and get some sleep. I’ll take a burner phone and message you.”
Anna was certain Diaz loved her... a testament to her acting skills. If she didn’t have to be a villain, she might’ve pursued an acting career.
But that was a dream for another lifetime, perhaps, because she was not done playing Anna White.
Not even close.
She watched Diaz walk away, playing the little mind game that gave her so much joy. She imagined his back was a cardboard target as she visualized her shots. But she knew it wouldn’t play out like that. She wouldn’t hit Diaz from behind. The last thing he would see was a pistol between his eyes—once she learned what happened to Olivia and where she was.
She downed her cup of tea, then went to the office to find a new phone, message Diaz, and grab a set of car keys from the drawer in his office.
She unlocked a black sedan and slid into the driver’s seat, pulled away from the warehouse, and exhaled properly for the first time all night.
Anna turned up the music, blocking out Alex’s screams, echoing in her mind like a nightmare on repeat. She’d seen enough of these tortures that she should be numb by now, but she wasn’t—because each time she knew, if she wasn’t more careful, it would be her in the chair.
She drove onto her street, looking for any suspicious vehicles, but there were none.
Anna pulled into her garage and lowered the door before she got out of the vehicle.
When she opened the door into her house, she heard the soft meow that told her everything was okay inside.
That it was safe to enter.
“Hi, Miss Casino,” Anna said, lifting her purring black cat into her arms. While some people believed black cats were bad luck, Anna disagreed. Miss Casino was the most honest thing in her life and, sadly, the most loyal. But Anna chose not to focus on that right now. This wouldn’t be her life forever. One day, she hoped to have a normal relationship, someone to love. A family of her own.
But she couldn’t afford to think about that. She needed to complete her mission; only then would her life truly begin. She couldn’t afford a single distraction or she’d find herself sitting in Alex’s chair—as ego-driven as Diaz was, he wasn’t stupid.
