Page 73 of Cruel Dominion

She hadn’t wanted to see what I did to Jaden, but she seemed fine enough knowing—accepting—that I hurt him. Killed him, actually. The cleanup crew got rid of the evidence and made it look like he skipped town, running scared.

I hadn’t told Anna that he was dead. I was happy to let her believe what Jaden’s closest clients and friends whispered to the tabloids. She didn’t need to know.

Knowing might change her perception of me and we’d already come so far.

Seeing.

Seeing could destroy everything. And Hudson could make her see.

I couldn’t take that chance.

“So? Will you be a good dog and keep your distance? Stay away from her until I get her engaged, and I’ll have Hobbes sell you his company. Plus a $10 million bonus for every year before she’s got the ring on her finger and a baby in her belly.”

The metal case on my phone groaned as my grip tightened on it, my head filling with steam so hard to see through all I could think of was reaching through the phone and strangling Hudson Vaughn where he stood until his windpipe snapped under my thumbs.

I wanted to tell him to fuck off. No amount of money on earth could make me stay away from my girl. Not this time.

$10 million was a laughable nothing to me. And now that I knew about his feeble revenge plans, I could shut him down before he sabotaged every business arrangement I had.

But he still held the trump card.

Anna couldn’t know what I did to my father.

She wasn’t ready for that part of me, yet. It would ruin everything, and I’d already done enough of that.

As much as I loathed letting Hudson Vaugn think he won, I had to buy time to convince Anna to trust me again.

So I said nothing.

Hudson laughed. “That’s what I thought. Even after all these years, you can still be bought.”

Before he could say anything else, I hung up.

My fingertips felt numb, all the blood in my body collecting into this ball of white hot rage in my chest that made it hard to breathe. Fuck. I could drown in it.

I staggered to the window, throwing it open. The moon was nothing but a sliver slit in the sky tonight, but feeling its light on my face and inhaling the salt breeze into my lungs, I sighed.

I’d find a way.

We would always find a way.

19

ANNA

Abrisk sea breeze blew past me, billowing through my loose dress. The sun’s first light warmed my back, and sand pressed under my toes. The water lapped calmly on the sand and the soft dawn light cast a warm glow on the beach.

I decided.

I was never leaving the ocean again.

“Can I have you two walking through the surf, Summer?”

She was yawning but nodded.

“Sure, what do you want me to do with my arms?”

She pushed up from the rock where she was sitting with her boyfriend.

---