Mated To My Ex's Ruthless Brother

he hard wood of the desk sounded lik

red at the sc

battering the glass with the first hard pellets of the predicted blizzar

Ste

s assistant, Marcus, handling the logistics or relaying changes in plans. He was supposed to be in London for a business trip, or at least that's what he had told her three days ago wh

er fingers tremblin

is Ms.

was heavy, flat, and reeked

traighter, clutching her cardigan

inct. We have a Liam Sterling i

ustody. The word hung in th

r voice cracked.

nce, he needs bail posted. He refused to cal

urse

shoulder, grabbing her purse, her ID, and the thick wool coat h

rio. Liam needed her. That was the only thought allowed to exist in her brain. Not the fact

eeds

ep, and wait times that stretched into infinity. Zoe ran out to Broadway, the wind biting at

k, her stomach twisting into tight, painful knots. She played out scenarios in her head. Maybe someone had insult

oor wax, and misery. The fluorescent lig

eum. She felt small here, out of place in her frantic st

Sterling," she told

, then her coat. He smirked, a small, unpleas

him. She never did.

certified check. Or

he knew the Vance family accounts were currently overleveraged, teetering on the brink. If this card declined h

n seconds before spitting out a receipt

s." The officer slid a clear

saw Liam's platinum wat

ube of

shade of red. Chanel. Not her shade. Never her shade. Why was this in his pe

d a logical explanation. Maybe he picked it up b

oor buzzes, inter

walke

gged line of red against his pale skin. His white dress shirt was torn at the co

d, her hands reaching out

linc

d right past her shoulder, focused in

ed at the officer, ignorin

ropped to her

answer, a girl stepped

erything Z

jacket that had seen better decades, ripped fishnets, and combat boots. Her eyeli

Liam b

e moved as if she were a piece of furniture, an obs

oe had never heard directed at herself. He took the girl's hand, inspecting the

defiance and pain. She looked at Liam, then her

in that look. Only a sh

ce raspy, like she'd been screaming

od there, clutching the bag of Liam's belonging

Sterling here put two guys in the hospital because they

for him to laugh it off. To say, No,

s too busy wrapping his own sui

uttered to Jade. Then, finally,

drenaline and alcohol still swimming in the

ve a car?"

re you okay? Just a

She swallowed the lump in her throat, tasting b

around Jade's waist, suppor

s a single unit. Zoe stood alone in the middle of the pr

wed them out into the biting cold, the

d Jade inside, tucking the hem of her skirt in s

beginning to fall harder now,

he back seat, impatient. "Get

o the cracked vinyl seat. The heat in the

in the rea

rom her forehead and pressed his lips there. It wasn't a quick peck. It was

streets. She pressed her hand against her chest

red the phone. She was th

this cab, she was not