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Back home, I felt different. David and I went our separate ways, both of us sure that our one night together could never mean more. Yet, whenever our eyes met across the room, or if we ever passed each other in the hallway or across one of the palatial rooms of Alex’s estate, our side glances would linger, and a small smile would tug at our lips. Once, his fingers brushed mine as we passed each other on the steps leading to Alex’s office, and the spark was there. A gentle promise that perhaps we were wrong, and there was more to us than just Cabo.
But we never found out.
Two weeks after we returned home, David was killed when a car bomb meant for Alex detonated.
That same night, Alex—who still hadn’t forgiven me for my betrayal—informed me I was to marry Jean-Paul the following week.
But I was reeling from David’s death, and when I fought him, Alex really let his anger reign.
He told me I had given up my rights to decide what I wanted the day I’d climbed into his car as a naïve fifteen-year-old. That he owned me. That I no longer had a choice in anything. That he made me.
“I know you made me,” I’d bit out at him through gritted teeth. “Because only a monster can make another monster.”
“You think I’m a monster?”
“The biggest.”
“Oh, Taylor, you haven’t seen anything yet. Just keep fighting me and disobeying me, and you’ll see what I am really capable of.”
Right then, I knew I had to go. And I had to take Noah with me.
By the weekend we were gone. Disappearing into the darkness and vanishing for good.
Only it wasn’t for good.
Because Alex found us.
Seven years later.
In fact, he’d always known where we were. Always knew what we were doing. What we were up to. Who we were involved with.
And he had waited for the right moment to pounce.
For seven fucking years.
When I arrived home to see him and Jean-Paul standing in my living room after so many years, my heart had almost stopped in my chest. My fears were being realized. They had found us and they were going to take Noah from me as punishment.
But he didn’t.
Instead, Alex made me an offer.
For freedom.
“You and Noah are going to move to a place called Destiny, in Mississippi. There you’ll slip into the anonymity of the town and move quietly among the community. But you will always have your eyes and ears on one man.”
He showed me a photograph of a man he called Bull.
“He is a monster, Taylor. Ruthless. Merciless. He causes a lot of pain and suffering. I need you to watch him.”
“Just keep an eye on him?” I asked. Because I was done with the other work Alex had made me do for him, and I had no desire for any more bloodletting. I was still trying to forgive myself for what I had already done.
“Yes,” he assured me.
I looked at the photo of Bull again. He looked fierce. Dangerous. “It seems like a lot of effort just to watch someone. Can I ask why?”
“He is the president of a motorcycle club. Almost untouchable and free to inflict whatever damage he likes on anyone he chooses. We need someone undercover, if you will. If we send men to watch him, he’ll know. What he won’t see coming is a feisty young woman and her brother who moved to town for a fresh start. Have fun with it. Make up your past. Be who you like. Just don’t let them know who you really are, Taylor.”
He said the last sentence with the evil cadence of Hannibal Lecter.
I wanted to vomit.
Instead, I remained painfully still as I asked, “This isn’t about hurting him, right?”
“No. It’s about keeping an eye on him and reporting back to us when we contact you.” He smiled reassuringly. But it was cold.
“We?” I asked.
“He is of particular interest to my dear friend Gimmel, who simply doesn’t want his business interests thwarted by this backwater hillbilly any further.” His expression darkened. “This biker scum is a bad man, Taylor. Bad to the bone. But we simply need you to watch him. It couldn’t be easier. There’s not even a need for you to contact us. We’ll reach out to you when we need any information.”
“And if I do this, you’ll leave me and Noah alone?”
“If you do this for me, Taylor, I will grant you your freedom. I won’t call on you again. You and your brother will be free to do as you please.”
I hated the plan, but was lured by the idea of no longer running. Of never having to look over my shoulder again. Of Noah and me being safe and free.
“How do I know I can trust you?” I had asked.
“You can’t. But you will have to.” His eyes had gleamed with the nefarious glint I remembered from long ago. “Because the alternative is much more, how do you say…painful.” He turned his back to me to study the photos on the wall, then swung around. “Remember that bodyguard who used to work for me? The good-looking one who died. Now what was his name?”
