Page 14 of Sinister Engagement

A chuckle worked its way up my throat.Well, well, well, I thought,what a curious little eavesdropper my future wife is.

Realizing she’d been caught, Angel began to stutter. “I-I was just coming to let you know that I was all right.”

“Evangeline!” I heard Raph’s chair move back as I assumed he stood up and rounded the front of his desk.

“Dad.” She moved up close to me, blinking when I still hadn't moved out of her way as she likely expected me to. Her gaze lifted, those strikingly beautiful hazel eyes dilating. “Excuse me,” she said in a quieter voice.

Only then did I move to the side and allow her into the room. It was odd to see Raph allow her in while one of his guards was bleeding and injured, but then again, I was glad to see she didn’t run the other direction when faced with such violence.She may be cut out for this life after all, I thought, watching as she hurried past me and into her father’s waiting arms.

“Well,” I began as I watched the two of them, “it appears she’s quite well.”

“I suppose you’ll be taking care of those arrangements then, now that you’ve seen her?” Raph asked over his daughter's head, her shoulders stiffening. I wasn’t sure if it was because of what I’d done to the guard, the attempted hit on her life, or the accelerated timeline of our wedding, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Not when she didn’t cower at the site of what I did. She might be innocent, but there was a hint of fire buried deep behind those wide eyes. Otherwise she would have been terrified of me when I caught her on the other side of that door instead of embarrassed.

“Yes,” I answered, enjoying the suspicious, narrowed glance she shot back at me. “Among a few other things.” Such as having a small discussion with her guards. I turned to her. “Enjoy your time with your father, Angel. I’ll return for you shortly.”

Her lips parted, but before she could protest or respond, I left the visit the guards’ quarters. I didn’t stop until I’d had all the Price guards I could find gathered in one room. Then, one by one, I showed each of them what would happen—to them, their bodies, their lives, and their families—if they ever failed again.

7

Angel

Happy. That was the only sensation that filled me as I sat on my bed, but the longer I sat, the more a thread of anger, hurt, and betrayal grew in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I waved it away and hopped up. Stumbling, I glanced down, finding a missing heel on my shoe.

“What the…” I murmured, my room shifting until I was standing next to Gaven. He was yelling at my father’s men and that was when I remembered.Someone had tried to kill me. But even with the reminder, I still felt odd. Almost out of body and numb as I looked around. Happiness was still there, but it was waning, leaving a cold void in its wake.

When I blinked, my surroundings transformed again. My mother’s body. Only this time when she lay in the casket, she didn’t look peaceful. There was blood dried everywhere, several bullet wounds in her chest. Gasping at the sudden tightness of my chest, I glanced around for someone—anyone—to help ground me.

“Little sister,” Jackie taunted, her signature smirk and cruel gaze centering on me from where she appeared by our mother’s body. “You can’t tell me you actually believed we were normal, did you?”

Mafia princess. Soon to be a boss’s wife.

“Everything you thought you could have? College, a life away from crime… there’s no way you can have it. Any of it,Angel,” she whispered as Gaven and my father appeared, shouting things I couldn’t make out.

Every breath I attempted to take was a struggle, my sister’s chuckling echoing around me. I tried to hold onto anything I could reach, to stay steady, but everything disappeared when I touched it. Swaying back and forth, I watched as the space around me constantly changed. Different places I’d been, people I knew, everything spinning around with a practical life of its own.

“You’ll never be free again,” Jackie cackled amongst the chaos.

And no matter how much I tried to stop it, to change what I was seeing, to have control, none of it worked. All I was left with was the empty void and panicked breathing…

Gasping,I shot up in bed. Sweat coated my body and my heart thudded so loudly in my ears I couldn’t hear anything else. Panic and fear iced my veins as I sat there, still stunned from my nightmare. But the longer I sucked in air, the less the emotions affected me until my heart rate had calmed and my chest wasn’t tight.

I tossed the blanket off of me and slipped from between the sheets, my focus falling immediately onto my laptop that sat closed on my desk. Sinking into the chair, I pulled up a web browser and started to search. I needed some semblance of control, even if it was only an illusion.

My fingers flew across the keyboard shakily as I looked up online classes for school. It was a long shot, knowing that even if I got a degree, it wouldn’t be much use as a boss’s wife, but I didn’t stop until I had found a couple options.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I leaned back in my chair, slumping against the worn cushions. It wasn’t much, but knowing the option was still there finally calmed the remaining worry.At least right now I don’t have Jackie’s incessant negativity and cutting jabs to pop my bubble of illusion,I thought, finally getting up from my chair and heading into the bathroom.

I bent over the sink and splashed a handful of cold water on my face, relishing in the refreshing sensation on my sweat coated forehead and flushed cheeks. When I stood back up, I found my own tired, haunted eyes staring back. Dark circles were forming, and my skin was a sickly pallor. Grinding my teeth, I straightened my spine and strode from the bathroom.I’m safe and I have a plan,I reminded myself,no need to continue to dwell on what happened or pesky what-ifs. When I realized what time it was, I rushed through getting ready, knowing that I was going dress shopping in a little bit.

“Besides, there’s no time to be shaken,” I muttered ruefully, “not with a wedding only a few days away.” Tossing on my shoes, I hurried down the hallway.

Gaven was in my father’s office once again, only this time there was no shouting like the day before. The door was open, but I still didn’t want to barge in, so I knocked softly on the rich wood.

“Ah, there she is,” my father exclaimed, the lines around his eyes deepening as he smiled. Gaven’s ever vigilant gaze found mine, his lips thinning slightly as he eyed me, no doubt picking up on my exhaustion.

“All right, then we'll be off. We'll be back in a few hours,” Gaven told my father, standing from his chair and walking over to me without a dismissal. I gave my father a small grin and nod before turning and following Gaven out. At his closeness, my heart began thud wildly in my chest. His hand encompassed mine without warning as we made our way out to his car.

My usual bodyguards filtered into an SUV that was waiting in the drive as well, ready to follow us to the dress shop. As soon as the door was closed and Gaven had slipped behind the wheel, he looked over at me.

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