Page 109 of Fierce King (L.A. Ruthless 1)

I walked into the bedroom to see her sitting on the bed brushing her beautiful, dark hair and my cock twitched at the sight of her.

She turned to me and gave me one of those killer smiles and my heart leapt into my throat.

‘What have you got there?’ she asked, indicating the envelope in my hand.

I walked towards her and handed it to her. ‘I need to talk to you.’

She blinked at me as she took the envelope from my hands. ‘Alex, what’s wrong?’

‘I need you to know that your father is not the man you think he is, Alana.’

‘What?’ she said, her beautiful face pulled into a frown.

‘That is everything I have on him. Everything he told you that I’ve been holding over him to make you agree to marry me.’

She glanced down at the envelope and then opened the top, peering inside. ‘Why are you giving this to me now?’

‘Because I want you to have it. You can do whatever you like with it. Destroy it … or keep it, it’s up to you.’

‘Why would I keep it? Let’s get rid of it now.’

I sat down on the bed beside her. ‘I think you should at least look at it before you make a decision. And I think you need to talk to him about this arrangement between us.’

She placed a hand on my face. ‘Why don’t you tell me instead?’

I took hold of her hand. ‘This is a conversation you need to have with him. I need you to know the truth.’

‘Then tell me the truth,’ she insisted.

‘You wouldn’t believe me.’

‘So, what are you suggesting?’ she said and I saw the tears in her eyes.

‘I’m releasing you from this contract between us. You’re free to go whenever you choose. You should go home and speak to your father and then decide what you want to do next. But that information in your hands hurts my business almost as much as it hurts your father. So, I want you to think about that and why I would ever release it.’

‘Alex,’ she started to say. ‘I don’t know … what are you talking about?’

‘I’ve booked you on the red eye to New York tonight. Hugo will drive you to the airport and then one of your father’s men will pick you up from JFK.’

‘So, that’s it? I can just go? Just like that? You and me are done?’

I took her face in my hands. ‘You and me will never be done, Alana. I hope you come back to me. I hope that you weren’t lying when you told me that you love me. But, yes, you are free to go, princess.’

She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes and a look of confusion on her face. I wanted her to go and see her father and find out the truth, but I also wanted her to wrap her arms around my neck and tell me that of course she loved me and that she couldn’t stand to be without me.

But she said none of those things. Instead she uttered two words, and they broke my ice-cold heart.

‘Thank you.’

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