Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
If it wasn’t for the fact we do business with him, I’d have shut him down before now. He’s a pain in my ass and the kind of man who’s only got to where he is through threats and fear. My men respect me, like they respected my father before me, because I’ve earned their loyalty. But Ford commands his crew with violence and cruelty, and I know for a fact I’m not the only one sick of his shit.
“Why?” I manage to grind out, barely keeping my anger in check.
Nick grimaces. “He’s hiding away like a coward, but I got Knox looking into it.” Knox is our hacker, and I gesture for Nick to go on, knowing there’s nothing Knox can’t find out. “He’s not just broke, he’s dead broke.”
I scoff. “Not our problem. I’m not asking him to pay. I’m fucking demanding it.”
“I know, Boss,” Nick agrees. “So, how are we gonna deal with it?”
I pause to think about it. He’s way overdue paying, and we’ll need to make an example of him because of it. But I hate the idea of sending my men into his territory. We’re stronger, sure, but starting a gang war is risky business that puts my guys in danger no matter how we do it.
Before I can answer Nick, the door rattles with another knock. Both our heads turn in the direction, and my spine straightens as I hide my frustration behind a mask.
“Enter!” I call out, my voice as steely as my demeanor.
Jace slips into the room, a streak of blood on the side of his face. Nick pushes to his feet beside me, his relaxed exterior hardens like mine has. Jace is another part of my inner circle, head of our weaponry and training. He’s nearly as big as I am and almost as feared, too.
“Sorry to interrupt, Boss,” he starts, running a hand through his red hair. “But you’re gonna want to see this.”
“What is it?” I bark, already at the end of my damn tether.
“Unless Ford has miraculously found the thousands of dollars he owes, I doubt Boss is gonna want to hear whatever this is,” Nick says with a scoff, taking the thoughts right out of my head.
To my surprise, Jace pulls a face and says, “Well … that’s sort of what’s happened.”
“Sort of?” I ask, confusion mixing with my anger and creating a temperamental mixture of emotions that has me likely to stab the next person to interrupt me today.
“It’s better if I just show you.” Jace pokes his head back out the door and gestures for someone else to enter.
There’s nothing on this Earth that could have prepared me for what enters my office.
Two of my lower-level lackeys drag someone between them, and Jace hurries to close the door behind them. For a long second, everyone just stares at the limp, dirty person hanging between the men and silence reigns.
Then she lifts her head.
Dirty blond hair frames a heart-shaped face, and tear tracks create clean lines down pale cheeks. Huge blue eyes meet and hold mine, vulnerability and something harder, something steelier shining in them.
It’s a woman. Not just any woman, but the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Even filthy and bruised, her hair a mess and her clothes torn, she’s captivating.
My men let her go, and she hits her knees on the floor, holding my gaze as she tips her head back to stare up at me.
I can’t look away, even if I wanted to.
“What the fuck is this?” I ask, still staring at her even though my question is meant for my men. For a second, nobody answers, and my blood boils. “I said what the fuck is this?!”
The girl stiffens at my raised voice, and for the first time in a very long time, I feel a surge of guilt. I thrive on people being afraid of me, and yet, the idea of scaring her makes me want to murder someone. I want to gather her up into my arms and make sure nobody ever causes her to feel afraid ever again.
But first, I have to figure out who the hell she is and why she’s in my office.
“This is Ford’s payment,” Jace finally says, and my head snaps up to glare at him.
“What?” I snap, my voice dark and full of deadly promise.
To his credit, Jace holds my gaze instead of flinching away the way the lower-level guys do. “He sent her as payment to clear his debt,” Jace explains, and I swear to God I’ve never been so angry in my damn life.
My eyes return to the girl, unable to stay away from her any longer. She’s shivering, but she hasn’t dropped her head, her eyes still trained on me. There’s strength in the way she refuses to cower, and goddamn it’s incredible. She looks a good ten years younger than me, and I can’t help but wonder where the hell Ford found her.