Page 1 of Perfect Sin

The Prodigal Son

Sin

“Stop the fucking car.”I slam my shoulder against the door and yank on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge.

“What are you going to do? Jump out of a moving car?” Arthur chides.

“If I have to.”

“Jackson, you’re acting like a child. Which is why I had the driver engage the child locks.”

Arthur Whitmore sits across from me, unconcerned about my increasing anxiety. The farther away from Raven we get, the tighter my chest feels. I don’t give a shit if Arthur is my father. Right now he’s the man standing between me and my wife.

“I know you’re upset, but really, this is for the best. You just need some time to settle in and get to know your family. Give us some time, Jackson.”

“You want time? Help me get my wife back, and I’ll give you all the time you want.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do you know what spot that would put me in? Her father is running against me. This isn’t the time to frolic with the enemy.”

“She’s not the enemy. She’s my fucking wife. Either help me get her back, or I’m leaving the first chance I get.”

Arthur casts me a scathing glance. “Is that kind of language necessary?”

“Yes, it’s fucking necessary. I just watched my wife get dragged out of a car by the man Lucien and I were trying to protect her from. There were bruises on her head and you are the one who kept me from getting to her.”

Usually I try to rein in the demon inside me, bury the monster deep, but I decide he can see me exactly as I am. I still don’t know how I came to live with Damien Blackthorne as a toddler. As much as I want answers to those questions, I need to protect Raven more. Lucien too, for that matter. He’s not immune to his father’s wrath.

I lean forward and drop my voice to a whisper that’s more disturbing than comforting. “Whatever you think is going to happen by forcing me to come with you isn’t going to work. Best you figure that out fast.”

He waves a weak flick of his wrist, dismissing me. You’d think he’d be interested in learning about the son he lost, but he turns to his phone and begins answering emails.

One thing is certain, the two of us couldn’t be more dissimilar. His world consists of boardrooms and suits. Mine is made of blood and bleach.

Arthur Whitmore exercises power through words and appearance. My training taught me to say nothing and never be seen. More importantly, I learned to never take your attention away from an opponent unless you want to die.

I might be his blood, but I’m not his son. Not as long as he’s the obstacle between me and Raven. I’ll crush him if that's what I need to do to get to her.

“Your mother is very excited to see you tonight,” he says, setting his phone down.

I laugh and the sound is chilling even to my ears. “You really think I’m going to slip back into your lives, be this perfect son you lost, don’t you?”

His face hardens. “You are my son, Jackson. I understand you’re going to need time to adjust.”

I’ll play along. He seems determined to lay down the law, but I won’t be the one to start the battle of wills. “I’ve told you my condition. Help me get Raven away from her father and I’ll stick around.”

Arthur shakes his head. “You have a fresh start, take it. Trust me, an association with that family will bring you nothing but pain. We’re going to fix it, though. My lawyers are looking into the legality of your marriage. I’m sure we’ll have that sorted out in no time, and there will be no further connection to the Blackthornes. They aren’t our kind of people.”

Sitting back in my seat I exude calm, but really I’m plotting all the ways I’d like to kill him for threatening my relationship with Raven. “What exactly would our kind of people be?”

“Certainly not crime lords and their daughters. There are many sophisticated young women for you to choose from. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. All you have to do is let go of the past. Embrace the privilege and opportunities in front of you, just let that girl go.”

“You want me to abandon the woman I love for money and status? How do you think those women would feel tying themselves to a killer?”

He chokes. “Enough of that. The things you were forced to do will not be mentioned from this point forward. We have a second chance to be a family.”

“You don’t know me, so let me make this clear. You will not stand between me and my wife. And your lawyer is going to find my marriage is very legal.”

All this time I worried Damien would manage to force Raven into a marriage, and if he got her back, he’d be the one keeping us apart. I was wrong about so many things. And never would I have expected my parents would be the ones keeping us apart.

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