er

razor-sharp. I pulled a thick paper towel from the dispense

nter. My thumb hovered over the keyboard for a f

es

tossed the phone into my cheap clutch. Watching my mother waste her life hoping

close to the mirror, carefully tracing the sharp lines of my

y shoulders back and locked my spine into a perfectly straight line. I grabbed the brass

didn't shiver. I walked forward, my heels clicking

double doors of the

the crystal chandelier

spering. Their jaws dropped as they stared at me. They couldn'

ces and headed directly for the bar. I reached over the counte

e of the mahogany bar. I looked through the shifting cro

. He was bending her backward slightly, kissing her de

would have ripped my chest o

beat. I felt absolutely nothing. The scene playing out i

r liquid slowly. The ice cubes clinke

e shift in the air. Chace suddenly broke the k

he bar. His thick eyebrows instantly

to be broken. Instead, he saw me holding a drink, studyi

like he was a co

ited a sudden, irrational fury in C

d, his long legs eating up the distance between us. Hi

oulders completely blocked out the light fro

down around my wrist, right over the hand h

e amber liquid flew out and splashed onto the pris

t tilted my head up slightly and stared into his angry

itted his teeth, his voice a low, threatening growl, warn

ulled out a small, black velvet square box. He shoved it rough

de sat a pair of massive pink diamond earrings. T

e to take the hush money, keep my mouth shu

s in my palm. The corner of my mouth tw

ut with a loud *crack*. I casually tossed the priceless d

n warmth. I told him I would do exactly as he asked. I turned on my

wish, Mr