His Possession, Her Escape

s the perfect partner, helping him climb from a young enforcer to the undisputed boss,

him promising that same protection to a

cheek with shattered glass and snarled that I belonged to him. He publicly gave my foundation and a

h kidnapped. The kidnappers held a knife to

his wife, and sai

nd killed, walking away with his

. An old family

y, and built a new life from the ash

estaurant, a ghost from a life I had bu

pte

' s annual event was a display of power, and as Brennan Johnson' s wife, my role was to ensure it was flawless. I

ight. I walked through the grand hallway, my hand trailing along t

from under the door of Brennan' s study. That was

as about to knock when I heard voices from inside. One was Br

ng in the air. A cold fee

n asked. His voice w

Everything is in place. Alyssa will be t

my throat. A consp

oftened slightly. "She' s with

ann said dismissively. "You

who looked at Brennan with wide, worshipful eyes. He' d intro

an promised, his voice fir

Don't let the old guard get wind of this. Es

soft click of his lighter, a sound I knew so

world, which had felt so solid just moments before, fractured. Be

saved me from a rival family' s attack. He was fearless, covered in b

power with my family' s legacy, he swore I was the only thing that mattered. He bought me the

er, a conspirator who spoke of another woman with

as I pushed the

his large mahogany desk, Breann standing beside him

of a second, a flicker of surprise, bef

oice a smooth, casual gr

ssion a mixture of annoyance and d

ste filled my mouth. I had raised Breann after her

my voice shaking despite my

't deny it. He just looked at me, a faint

s response was more

" I whispered.

tte. "She' s clean, Alyssa. She' s simple. Not like you." He t

e the good wife and look the other w

a whisper. My heart felt like

t a di

l loved the man he used to be, screamed in protest. But the woman standing in this

re rage. He swept his arm across the desk, sending a crystal gla

a thin, deep cut across my cheek. Th

in two long strides. He grabbed my chin, his finge

om mine. "Don't you ever say that word t

inst the cut on my cheek, smearing the blood. The

my voice thick with anger and tea

now cold and empty. But then, for a moment,

he said, his voice dropping to a low gr

alked out of the study, leaving me alone with t

ad seen his iron fist deal with enemies of the Sterling Syndicate

shown that side

ies of his world. He' d come home with blood on his knuckles but would wa

gainst the advice of everyone who knew his a

s absolute. And I was no longer his treasure

h escaped my lips. How quic

first rays of dawn crept through the windows. My body ached,

my reflection in the mirror a stranger.

sh away the filth of the night, the bathroom

e threw a stack of photographs at me. They scatter

a cafe. The angle was intimate, makin

this?"

e man. A junior associate from a rival family. I had met hi

snapped his fingers, and two of his

s. Brennan picked up his phone and aimed the camera at me. Humiliation and pain w

sfaction on his face. "Now you have something to remember thi

les, the water from the shower mixing with my te

otecting me from his enemies. Now, because of s

ed, the hunting dog gets cooked. I was his hunting dog. I

wasn't

est. I found my own phone, my fingers shaking

re a familiar, gravelly v

Alyssa," I

t of silence. "Wh

said, the words tumbling out. "I n

. He was my father's consigliere, a man of deep loyalty. Brennan had forced him into ret

he finally said. "His

ll had his network, the old guard who r

I said, hangin

uld endure. And th