Page 15 of Ruthless Prince

“I know today didn’t go how you wanted it to.”

“No, it didn’t. I lost. I can’t even win the first round. That’s supposed to be the easiest, and I fucking lost.”

“You did just lose your father not that long ago. That could be affecting you.”

He grips the punching bag to still it and looks at me. “Listen, Ellie, you’re sweet, but I don’t need advice right now, ok? I just want to punch this thing.”

“Oh, ok,” I say, quickly leaving the room.

“Ellie,” Vincent calls out.

I glance back.

There’s a look of remorse in his eyes. “I don’t mean to be an ass. I’m just upset.”

“I know.” And I know I shouldn’t even be inside the same room as him, especially when he’s shirtless.

MR. MOORE

I didn’t take in Vincent for him to fucking lose. I need him to win this competition. I need him to get close enough to Nico Manciniso he can kill that fucker. Ever since Nico Mancini returned to New York and became the most powerful man in the city again, my income has slowed down. I’m not the number one drug and gun supplier anymore.

Nico is.

And I need him dead.

It’s a good thing Vincent wants Nico dead, too.

But I can’t have Nico’s murder get back to me, so I need Vincent to do it, and the only way to get Vincent close enough is for him to win this damn competition, which he’s already lost.

So, I’m going to fix this for him.

Jack Riley, a.k.a. Bear, stumbles into his apartment, drunk. Easier for me that way. I’m hiding in the shadows with a syringe in my hand.

Once Bear gets closer to me, I lunge out of the darkness and stab the syringe into his neck.

“What the fuck,” he murmurs before falling to the floor and going unconscious, He’ll be dead within a few minutes. No one will suspect me. They’ll all think he was drunk.

With Bear out of the competition, Vincent will get an automatic placement in the next round.

I’m doing this for my business. I’m doing this for my daughter so she can have the life I never had growing up. And I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to keep Ellie safe.

ELLIE

I’m heading to my room when Vincent steps out of the hallway bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. I stop short, a flush crossing my entire face.

Vincent doesn’t look as surprised as I feel like he should look. “Hi.”

“Hi …” I glance around to make sure my father isn’t walking down the hallway at this very moment. “Why are you taking a shower here? Your bedroom is on the other side of the house.”

“For some reason, I couldn’t get the knob to work. So, I decided to try this shower instead.”

It’s a perfectly reasonable answer.

So, why don’t I believe him?

And why am I happy he used the shower closer to my bedroom? I shouldn’t be. Father would be so disappointed in me for crushing on Vincent.

But my father isn’t here right now.

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