We found Anna in a room with blue walls, gold rectangular molding, a cerulean love seat, and a fireplace. She was staring out the window pretending not to notice Lucas’s attention across the room. The moment we entered, she shot to her feet, scowled at Lucas, and rushed towards us.

“You’re really okay! Oh, Mian! I’ve missed you!” She bounced up and down in that adorable way only Anna could, but when I didn’t return her joy, she paused. “Is everything okay?” Her threatening glare was back and directed at Angel when he stepped around me with Caylen still in his arms.

“I was going to ask you the same.”

The question in her gaze had me stomping over to Angel with my hands on my hips. I waited as he set Caylen on his feet and ignored how my heart fluttered when he set a steadying hand on his back and didn’t move away until he was sure Caylen wouldn’t fall.

His back was still to me as he sighed and stood up straight. I couldn’t stand the amused purse of his lips when he faced me.

“Yes, Mian?”

“Why is she here?”

His frown before he spoke was sincere. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” I hissed. “I don’t want her here. She needs to go home.” Where she’s safe… and away from Lucas. My peripheral allowed me to see how he stood up straight when I demanded she be sent away.

“Did I do something wrong?” The hurt in Anna’s voice made my stomach turn.

“Of course not,” I rushed to assure. “But it’s not safe here.” I faced Angel again. “And you know that.”

“Her mother disappeared a couple of days ago,” Angel offered.

“And some guy,” Z growled, “came around looking for her.”

“He spooked me,” Anna finished. “I came home from school today and found the door kicked in. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Shit. “Anna, I’m sorry.” Angel and his family were slowly stripping away the parts that made me human, but rather than blame them, I took my friend in my arms. “I’m an ass.”

She nodded with her head tucked into my shoulder. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

I still wasn’t convinced it was any safer for her to be here, but there was no way I would turn her away. This may not have been my home, but if Angel wanted this marriage, he damn well better protect my friend.

“We’ll put her in the room next to ours,” he whispered in my ear. His warm breath skated over my skin. I forced myself to let Anna go before she could feel my entire body tremble for him.

“What about school? She can’t fall behind.” Anna had dreams of being a doctor and the better school she got in, the better chance she’d one day wear that stethoscope. 

“I’ll get her schoolwork,” Z answered.

“Mian is right,” Lucas spoke for the first time. His voice was cool as he said, “She shouldn’t be here.” My gaze slid to him, and his eyes dared me to challenge him. Anna’s gasp was so soft, if we hadn’t been standing so close, I would have missed it.

“Exactly what is your problem with her staying here?”

Ignoring me, he faced off with Angel. “We can hide her, but it can’t be here.”

“Where?” Suddenly, I didn’t appreciate Angel’s indulgence.

“One of your relatives.” Angel seemed to mull it over causing another thread of Lucas’s control to unravel. “You know what’s coming. She can’t stay.”

What was coming?

“Maybe he’s right.” Z’s grimace was apologetic. “We’re tapped out on risks.”

The room was silent while Angel thought it over. “Tell the men I need a detail,” he said to Lucas.

“What exactly are we talking about here?” I interjected. Lucas was already punching buttons on his phone to make bad things happen so problems disappeared.

“It’s not the right time.” Angel’s tone was dismissive. He didn’t even look at me.

“I think—”

“I said not now,” he barked. His glare was now on me full force, warning me not to push.

Maybe I was as spoiled as he had me pegged because I couldn’t keep myself from crossing my arms and saying, “Then if she goes, I go.”

I didn’t see him move. I only felt the pads of his fingers biting into my nape. “Stop acting like you’re still a sixteen-year-old brat. You’re a woman—my woman—and I’m telling you, wife, you won’t be going anywhere.” He had shifted me closer and closer as he spoke until my breasts were flush against his chest.

“You don’t own me.”

“No, I don’t, but I want you safe and safe I’ll keep you.”

“How am I safer here than her?”

“Because she’s not mine. You are.” I didn’t have a response that didn’t include melting, but Anna’s gasp quickly brought me back to reality.

Fucking him or fighting him, it was always easy to forget that Angel and I weren’t the only two people in the world. Anna’s shock, Lucas’s grimace, and Z’s knowing smile told me they’d heard every word.

“Wife?” Anna shrieked.

Angel’s fingers gently massaged my nape where he’d gripped me before letting go. I glanced up for help, but it became clear I’d have none when his eyebrows merely rose. I forced myself to face my friend and confess the magnitude of my father’s betrayal. “It seems, Anna, our fathers had a marriage certificate forged three years ago.”

“What? W—w—why would he do that?”

“He thought he was protecting me.”

“But you can have it reversed, right? What he did was illegal.”

And it was exactly why I couldn’t. An annulment meant implicating my father, and unlike him, I couldn’t so easily sacrifice a person I loved, which left a divorce. Angel would never let that happen. He chose that moment to palm my hip, his touch possessive, a branding of my new life placed on my skin. It made me think of his family crest Angel had permanently inked into my skin.

Anna stiffened when her gaze dropped to Angel’s hand on my hip. The atmosphere shifted, the air becoming frigid, as Anna seemed to draw the same conclusion. “Divorce her.” Everybody in the room froze at the ferocity in her tone.

“And who will make me?” Angel challenged. I shoved an elbow in his gut, but the pain meant for him shot up my own arm.

“How dare you, Angeles Knight.” She charged him as if he weren’t twice her size with at least six or seven inches on her. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Good.” I felt his fingers grip my arm. “You shouldn’t be, and as long as you don’t cross me, you won’t ever need to be.” I didn’t fight him as he pulled me to the door. I didn’t want to face Anna’s inquisition right now. I wasn’t ready.

I was going to get out of this marriage one way or another. 

“Wait. I can’t leave Caylen.” His strides didn’t slow as he continued to lead me away. 

“They’ll keep an eye on him,” he said when we reached the first floor.

“I really wish you wouldn’t make decisions about my child. He isn’t your son.”

I nearly collided with his back when he stopped suddenly. He shifted until he faced me, and then his strong arm was like a steel band around my waist. The fingers he shoved into my hair, however, felt like a caress.

“Believe me, Mian. I know he’s not my son. I know it every second of the day. I know it every time I look at him. He’s not mine.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tight. “But he should have been.”

“We were never meant to be, Angel. You know that.”

“Fuck what’s meant to be.” His head dipped as if he would kiss me. “I only care about what will be.”

“Are you going to kiss me?” I was panicking inside, but also high from anticipation.

“I want to.” His lids lowered, and the sensual husk of his voice made me shiver. “I really fucking want to.”

“What if I don’t want you to kiss me?”

He growled low in his throat as he licked my bottom lip. “Then I’m lucky that’s not a problem.” He then kissed the retort from my lips. I couldn’t deny him how well he kissed or how good he tasted or how right his body felt against mine. I was betrayed by my whimper when he ended it. “I want to kiss you in other places.” I almost begged him to do it when he let me go. He smiled as if he could read my thoughts. Maybe it was the way I swayed towards him. “Maybe later.” He kissed me again, offering his tongue, and forcing his groan down my throat. “Definitely later,” he promised.

When he pulled me through the front door, with his arm around my waist, lust was put on hold. Three large black SUVs were parked at the end of the steps with scary looking men waiting around it. I pulled on Angel’s hand to stop him, but he only forced me down the steps.

“We’re leaving? Why are we leaving?” I dug in my heels, but he simply lifted me from the ground and carried me the rest of the way. “Angel! Manhandling me won’t make me like you!”

His chuckle as he carefully placed me inside the middle SUV sounded so sexy that I hated him even more.

“What about Anna?” I questioned when he followed me inside.

“They’ll look after her too.”

“You mean Lucas? Yeah, he seemed really eager to keep her safe.”

“He is.” A large hulking man appeared and stole Angel’s attention. “Let’s go,” he ordered. The man didn’t hesitate to disappear, and seconds later, we were moving.

“I don’t understand how you can allow Lucas to act like such an ass to her.”

“He’s a grown man, baby.”

“I don’t trust him with her.”

“He doesn’t trust himself,” he replied matter-of-factly. At my perplexed look, he sighed. “He wants her. If she stays here, she’ll be back under him, and he’ll hate himself for it.”

“Then maybe we shouldn’t leave him alone with her.”

“He can control himself for a few hours.”

I sighed and forced myself to relax. The estate was deep in the countryside of Illinois. For miles, there was nothing but open space whose beauty I couldn’t bring myself to appreciate. I was far away from the apartment I was sure I didn’t have any longer, and now I was forced to trust a man who caused me to lose everything. Angel drew my attention when he slid out of his suit jacket, leaving him in the waistcoat.

“Where are you taking me, Angeles?” His eyes cut to the side, watching me warily.

“Angeles? You don’t call me Angeles.”

“Maybe it’s time I do.” His jaw tightened, making me grateful for the space between us. “Where are you taking me?” I demanded more forcefully.

He forced his gaze from me to stare out the window before answering. “To meet my family.”

“Why?” I was genuinely curious why he would do such a thing.

“Because you’re my wife.”

“In whose reality?”

His head swiveled to face me, and his eyes burned with promise. “Ours.”

“You forged that certificate.”

He chuckled, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t believe that.”

“I believe you’re a criminal who would say and do anything he could to get his way.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, wife, but I’m a powerful man. I don’t trick. I take.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “And fortunately for me, I didn’t need to take you. Your precious father handed you to me on a silver platter.”

“Because he thought he could trust you.”

“He wanted to be rid of you.”

“He loves me.”

He nodded slowly as if he regretted the truth. “I never said he didn’t.”

Pain clawed at my skin to get inside. “You’ve had a hell of a time implying it.” I stared at my empty ring finger. “Why do you torture me?” It was an answer I’ve wanted every day for nearly ten years.

“I wish I knew,” he answered after a lengthy silence, his gaze and voice soft, unlike his heart.

“Do you love me?” He jerked. His eyes widened. I held my breath.

Waiting.

It wasn’t hope that made me ask.

Once upon a time, I loved him, and he avoided me. Now he couldn’t let me go.

He sat back and tilted his head out of curiosity. “Would you believe me if I told you I did?”

“No.”

“Neither would I.”

“That’s not an answer.” Wasn’t it possible to love and not believe what you’re feeling?

The shrill ring of his phone broke the silence. If I were bold enough, I’d chuck it out the window and demand my answer. Instead, I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket. I was deeply surprised, however, when he ignored the call and tossed the phone on the seat.

“Who was that?”

“Lucas.”

“Don’t you need to get that?”

“It can wait.”

“You sure? Rich men with dirty secrets are waiting.”

“Does this mean you don’t want your answer?” His lips twitched. “By the way, I have female clients too. Three months ago, I made a wealthy woman richer by killing her cheating husband. He was actually a good guy, I’m told.”

“Ironically, it seems beneath you to be a mercenary for disgruntled spouses.”

“Her money was good, and she may have been having an affair of her own with one of my biggest clients.”

“It’s amazing how well you sleep at night.”

“Lately, I’ve had you to thank.”

An uncharacteristic grunt came from me. “And the answer to my question?”

“Do I love you?”

“Yes.”

“I sold my soul just to have you, and I would sell it again to keep you. Wanting you made me a monster, so tell me, Mian… does love compare?”

“You can’t discount how love feels if you’ve never felt it, and don’t kid yourself. I didn’t make you a monster. You sold your soul for power, not for me.”

He simply smirked and scratched under his chin looking defiant. “Perhaps. Do you love me?”

His question tortured me, and he knew it. “I thought I did.”

“I heard good girls like bad men.” He grinned. “Tell me the truth. I’ll know if you lie. Did it turn you on when I treated you like shit? Did it make your pussy wet?” His smile turned secretive, and damn me for finding him tempting. “All those years, I thought you were the forbidden one…”

“You say you want me to stay, but you do and say everything to push me away.”

His smile faded away. “I’m sorry for teasing you,” he said surprising us both. I’d never known Angel to be contrite.

“You should know teasing me won’t get you back in my pants.”

“And do you want me in your pants?” His voice was deeper now. Lower. Huskier.

“Isn’t that why you don’t want to let me go? So you can fuck me at your leisure?”

“Pussy doesn’t move me.” His laugh was condescending. “I have women a hell of a lot more experienced than you willing to fuck me at my leisure.”

My cheeks heated. I was mortified and didn’t want to let it show, but I couldn’t help but look away. “Then why the obsession,” I whispered to the window.

“You tell me. It was you who cast the spell nine years ago. Not the other way around.”

“Believe me, if I knew how to break it, I would.”

“You know. You tried. You failed.” His words brought my gaze back to him.

He was talking about death. Only death could break the spell. The memory of the moment I plunged that knife inside him replayed, and I knew I could never rip my soul out again to be free of him.

“I don’t need to kill you. I’m sure someone will do my dirty work.” I didn’t tell him the thought of him dead made it hard to breathe.

“You sure you want me dead?”

“You framed my father.”

“Fuck your father,” he coolly replied. “Do you want me dead?”

“When you say things like that? Yeah… I do.”

I wasn’t expecting his arm to whip out and wrap around my waist. He pulled me close until I was buried into his side. “You don’t belong to your father anymore. Your loyalty should be with me.”

“We shouldn’t be married. What was my father thinking?” I groaned.

“He was thinking he could protect you by giving you to me.”

“Then why am I more afraid than ever?”

“Because you aren’t afraid of dying. You’re afraid of falling.”

For him.

I hated him for being right.

I was afraid of falling for him all over again. “How can you expect me to love a monster?”

His smile drove a blade through my heart. “You become one.”

Because loving him, staying with him willingly and wholly meant giving up my soul.

 

* * *

I’d fallen asleep with my head resting on Angel’s shoulder and had woken up with my head in his lap and his strong fingers stroking my hair softly.

“You’re awake.” His fingers stopped moving through my hair. “Good.”

I lifted my body slowly and stretched as best I could in the seat. I was aware of Angel’s steady gaze. “How long have I been asleep?” I took a look around and realized we were parked in a driveway that could easily fit three cars. “Where are we?”

“You’ve been asleep two hours. We arrived thirty minutes ago.”

“Thirty? Why didn’t you wake me?”

He glanced away and murmured, “I think you needed it.” He seemed distant, but I chose to ignore it and stretched one more time. “Ready?” He was watching me again.

“Do I have a choice?”

“There’s just one more thing,” he answered slowly. I watched as he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a little blue box. The same little blue box that had been delivered to me three years ago. “I was planning to take you to dinner and—” He couldn’t seem to bring himself to finish. Slowly, he lifted my trembling hand and gently slipped the ring on my finger.

“Is this why you’re dressed in a suit?” I remember the first time I laid eyes on him after three years. He had been in a suit then too, playing the part of a high-class criminal.

He didn’t answer, and again, I wondered about his mood as he stepped out of the SUV and into the setting sun. His hand reappeared, and I slid mine, now adorned with his ring, into his warm palm allowing him to help me from the car. For once, his gaze wasn’t attached to me. He was avoiding me. Looking up, I admired the two-story home constructed of A-lines, stone, and brick. It was modest compared to the estate and reminded me of the homes I once shared with my parents so long ago.

“Who lives here?” I questioned to distract myself from his hand that had fallen on the small of my back. “My aunt lives here with her family.”

We climbed the brick stairs to the front porch. “How close is this aunt to you?”

“She’s my father’s sister.”

Now that stumped me. “You never mentioned her.”

“I make a habit not to talk about my family since it’s my job to keep them protected.”

He rang the doorbell, and a second later, the door opened revealing a girl no more than a couple years younger than me who must have been waiting by the door. She had long brown hair, a heart shaped face, and blue eyes that sparkled. I recognized her from the funeral but had never learned her name.

“Angel!” She jumped into his arms, and he groaned from the weight of her body hitting his.

“Nice try. You can probably bench press a bull.”

“How’s it going, Tabitha?” He squeezed her before setting her on her feet, and we followed her inside. I looked back in time to see Angel’s small security detail posting around the yard. The door closed, leaving me trapped inside with Angel’s mysterious family.

“Well, Austin’s gone back to school, thank God. One more day with him and I’d have killed him.”

“Don’t let your mother hear you talk like that. She’ll be moving you out of the country next.” 

“Ugh. Don’t remind me, please. She nearly blew a vein when I told her I was thinking of asking you if I can throw a party at the estate.”

“I’m cool with it, but you and I know your parents will never be.” His voice was no longer gentle when he asked, “Where are they?”

“Dad’s office. I heard them say you were coming more than an hour ago before they disappeared in there.” Angel’s jaw tightened, and I was nervous all over again. This no longer seemed like a pleasant family visit. Angel never looked back as he prowled up the stairs without a word, leaving me alone with his bouncy cousin.

Our gazes met, and I found myself waving awkwardly. I felt extraterrestrial under her stare.

“Hi, I’m Tabitha, Angel’s cousin,” she finally introduced. I took her hand when she offered it but was afraid to do more than hold it. I was small by anyone’s standards, but even to me, she seemed so fragile.

“Mian, I’m Angel’s–” Captive? Lover? Wife? None of them seemed to fit. Red covered almost every inch of her cheeks as she giggled. “What?” I couldn’t stop my own smile from spreading.

“It’s just… you and my cousin really must be in love.”

I felt my smile fall. “Why do you say that?”

“You embraced his claim on you openly, which means you must have claimed him yourself. Angel would never let you unless he was in love.”

Something told me this girl spent her time lost in wonderland if she thought Angel and I were in love. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen. I turn sixteen in a few months. Why?”

It was weird seeing someone who was even more sheltered than I had been. “Angel and I aren’t in love.”

She didn’t seem upset by my honesty. Merely skeptical. “Are you sure?”

I fidgeted even though I had three years on this girl. With one question, she seemed more astute than I gave her credit. Or maybe I was just paranoid. “Why are you so sure? You’ve seen us together for five minutes.”

Her bright baby blues twinkled. “You’re forgetting the funeral.” She walked away, and I found myself following. When we ended up in the kitchen, I watched as she pulled open the refrigerator door littered with magnets and family photos and pulled out a bottle of water. Their home wasn’t the symbol of wealth and refine you’d expect from a Knight, and I loved it because it truly felt like a home. “Want one?”

“Sure.” I couldn’t explain why my mouth all of a sudden felt so dry. I took the bottle and downed a third of it before recapping. She seemed content with the silence while my heart pounded faster. I finally caved when she started humming. “What about the funeral?”

“He could barely keep his eyes off of you.”

Because I was his captive.

“Trust me, Tabitha, there was a reason for that, and it wasn’t love.”

She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but I could tell by the twinkle in her eye that she didn’t believe me. “Where’s that cute little boy? He was so adorable. Is he your son?”

“Yes, he’s my son.” 

“Is Angel…?”

I almost hated to tarnish the fantasy she was building in her head about her cousin and me. The stars in her eyes reminded me of myself three years ago. “Angel isn’t Caylen’s father.” I laughed at her pout.

“I suppose he wouldn’t be. We would have known about him. So where’s his father if you don’t mind me asking?”

 The last thing I wanted to talk about was Aaron, but I didn’t want to be rude. “He didn’t want him,” I answered a little too bluntly.

The fierce look of anger and disgust that twisted Tabitha’s delicate features. She looked more related to Angel than ever. “Does Angel know? I bet he’ll kick his ass.” She stood from the bar stool she had been perched on and looked ready to demand Angel do just that when I grabbed her arm.

“Uhh, Tabitha?”

My touch seemed to bring her back from wherever she had gone. “Sorry,” she exhaled and offered and apologetic smile. “I just hate guys like that. They take what they want and leave their victims behind to deal with the consequences.” She then rushed to say, “Not that you’re a victim!”

But I was, wasn’t I? Aaron raped and impregnated me, and then pretended not to know me, and now his father wanted to kill me. If you looked up the word victim in the dictionary, there I would be, except… I chose not to live that way. I wasn’t Aaron’s victim. I was his survivor.

“No harm done,” I said when her startled face turned worried. “So what do you think they’re talking about up there?”

“I don’t know. Whatever it is won’t be pleasant. He’s not exactly welcome here.”

“He’s not?”

“My mom never wanted any part of Alexander’s legacy. My grandfather was furious with her when she married the man she actually loved.”

“Why would he be upset about that?”

“Arranged marriages are kind of our family’s thing.”

I wasn’t surprised given how Angel and I came to be married and what drove Victor to betray our fathers.

“No offense, but does your family realize this is the twenty-first century?”

“It happens more often than you think, except it’s done in secret. Fathers want to marry their little girls to men, who can offer them the most gain, and sons will do their duty because to them a hole’s a hole.” I choked on my water. She giggled and patted my back. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t peg you for the cynical type,” I said when my throat was clear.

“No?” She giggled again. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve heard it from my mom enough to believe it’s true.”

“I don’t remember seeing you all at the party.”

“That’s because my mom isn’t welcome.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well, after my father denied allegiance to my grandfather, and she allowed him to take us away, he disowned her.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Not many people will stand up to my family like he did.”

“Your father must be a brave man.” Or stupid.

She got that adoring look all girls did for their father, and I wondered if Angel hated him too. “He is. He’s a cop.”

Definitely hates him.

I cast a worried glance toward the stairs and prayed there wouldn’t be bloodshed. A moment later, we heard footsteps and exchanged glances. Angel’s gaze swept my body the moment he appeared before settling on my face. I couldn’t read what he was thinking, but I knew something was at work in that ruthless mind of his.

I hadn’t noticed the couple who entered with him until the woman spoke. “Angel, is this her?”

My defenses went up when I realized she meant me. The woman had the same dark hair as Angel, but her eyes were a light shade of blue. She was only about an inch or two taller than I was with curves to envy.

“Michelle, Officer Garrett, I’d like you to meet my wife.” Anna’s delighted squeal was the only reaction.

“Hello, dear. I’m Angel’s aunt. We didn’t get a chance to speak at the funeral. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She offered me a nervous smile, and I returned it.

“Mian,” I simply greeted even though it was apparent they knew who I was.

Officer Garrett offered me his hand, and after I had shaken it, he stood back to observe me. He was as tall as Angel was, with blonde curls graying at his temples. He was still wearing his uniform with a shield I noticed was from the Chicago police department, which meant we were either close to Chicago or he had a hell of a commute. “She looks young, Knight.”

I was sick of people discussing me while I was in the room. “I’m nineteen. The legal age to marry is eighteen, Officer Garrett…” My accusing gaze met Angel’s, his surprise that I was defending him was evident. “…or sixteen if your father consents.”

“Just your father?” he replied without missing a beat. “What about your mother?”

“She’s dead.”

“So you’re telling me the two of you have been married since you were sixteen?”

“We’re telling you that it’s legal, and it’s done, Garrett.” They locked gazes, and some silent battle ensued. Finally, Officer Garrett grunted and scratched his five o’clock shadow.

“Fine. I’ll leave it alone…” He studied me as if I were a perp in his interrogation room. “…but only if she can tell me that she married you willingly.”

“Dad,” Tabitha rushed to defend. “Leave her alone. You’re scaring her.”

He wasn’t, but I didn’t like his attention either.

“I want her to tell me she married him willingly because there’s no way in hell I’d let my little girl marry someone like Knight.”

The room was silent. Every eye was on me as they all waited for me to deny what he suspected or lie and continue this war with Angel. “Then you obviously didn’t know my father, Officer Garrett.” I moved around him and stood next to Angel, sliding my hand into his much larger one. He immediately lifted it and laid a soft kiss on my skin. Later, I might ask myself if I had made the right decision, but my gut already told me I had. Garrett was a cop who had sworn to protect all, but I was a mother who promised to protect my son, and I couldn’t risk him.

Officer Garrett’s smile was forced as he took in our joined hands. “I guess we owe you congratulations then.”

“Yes, congratulations,” Michelle reluctantly added. Our gazes locked, and I could see her disappointment. To Angel, she said, “When can we expect her?”

“Tomorrow.” He must have sensed my confusion because he started to rub the back of my palm soothingly. He didn’t want me to ask questions right now.

We didn’t hang around after that. I think I was as eager to go as they were for us to leave. The goodbyes were stale with the exception of Tabitha, who gave me her cell number. I was too embarrassed to explain that I didn’t have a phone. Angel, however, stepped in and told her to call the estate and ask for me when I just stood there awkwardly. All the while, Michelle and Officer Garrett looked on, unconvinced that we were a fated love match.