Page 104 of Broken Pieces
She takes a step back, surprise plastering her face. “I know. I knowyou. You would never do anything like that.”
I sigh with relief. “God, these have been the worst three days of my life.” I shake my head, closing my eyes in relief. “I’m so fucking glad you’re here.”
She grabs my face, then waits until I open my eyes to speak. “Of course. I’m here for you.Always.”
“I need to go with Liam, set up a plan in motion to get ready for the indictment.”
“I can go with you.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. It will probably take a while. But I’ll drop by your place later, stay over.”
Her eyes gleam as she smiles. “I’d like that.”
God, I love this woman so much it fucking hurts.
After meeting with my lawyer and deciding I’m going to plead not guilty and hope for the fucking best as we gather evidence, I arrive home to take a much-needed shower and pick up some clothes to stay over at Aria’s.
As the elevator of my condo opens and I walk in, I notice I’m not alone. There’s someone in my living room. I know this because they’re…humming.
“Who’s there?” I yell from the foyer, walking toward thehumming noise.
The person is sitting in a chair in front of the window, overlooking the busy city life. “Oh, you’re here. Great,” says the familiar voice.
My hand trembles with anger when the last person I want to fucking see right now turns around.
Alex Motherfucking Brown.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I stride toward him. “How the fuck did you get in here?”
He waves his hand dismissively. “Too long to explain,” he replies with a maniacal grin.
My knuckles turn white with how hard I’m clenching my fists, trying my best to hold myself back. I could just punch this motherfucker right now. I have so much pent up anger, that throwing a few punches would do the trick to relieve some very annoying stress.
“Why.Are.You.Here?” I ask through gritted teeth.
He stands up, buttoning his suit. “Rough couple of days?” He tilts his head.
I thin my lips and glare at him, opting for silence.
He sarcastically snaps his fingers, as if he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, that’sright! I’m the one who tipped the feds.” He laughs. “God, I didn’t know it was going to take them that long to arrest you. I guess the system really is broken, huh?”
A wave of nausea settles at the pit of my stomach as anger keeps vibrating throughout my whole body. It’ssuddenly too hot here. The place feels so fucking small I feel like I’m going to pass out. Is this what panic feels like?
“Cat got your tongue? It’s okay. I’ll keep talking. I have many things to say.” Alex grins as he circles me. “See, Damian, I know you never saw me as a threat. But I just let you see what you wanted to see.”
We have similar builds, but I’m about four inches taller than him. That doesn’t stop him from trying to stand all tall andmachoin front of me.
“After all, I’m a nobody. Right? Isn’t that what you said?” he snarls.
My ears are ringing, and I’m trying my fucking best to stay composed, to not show weakness. To put up the facade I learned many moons ago. The anxiety is creeping in slowly, but surely, and I’m trying my best to shove it down and fucking drown it.
With a bored expression, I look down on him. He may only be four inches shorter than me, but with one single, determined look I can make it feel like more. That’s how you dominate your enemies. But the shift in demeanor doesn’t come. He looks… amused. He looks like there’s nothing in this world that can bring him down, and that just tells me one thing.
I am utterly fucked.
“I told you once I was going to bring you down to your knees, and that was a fucking promise.”
“What do you want?” I say hoarsely.
