Page 8 of Concealed Deception

He flicks his eyes over my shoulder, but as I turn to see what his subtle look was aimed at, I feel a sharp pinch in my neck and a large hand cradling my head.

My eyes widen in fear.

My body is stupefied.

I try with all my strength to stand from my chair, but my body is already betraying me.I’m incapable of moving and losing control of my senses.

I stare into those same dark eyes that reel me in yet make me want to run as far away as I can all at once.

Before my voice surrenders to this madness, I need answers.“What have you done?”

“No, Miss Pierce.You should be asking, what has your father done?”

Then my world fades.

Five

Xander

I watch as Tony comes toward us—all the while Miss Pierce thought I was paying attention to her.All it took was one little flicker of my eyes over her shoulder for her to direct her focus behind her, though already too late to notice she was in danger.

When I set Tony out to lure her in by that online dating bullshit he loves, I gave him free rein to say whatever he needed to get her to agree to meet me tonight.

It pissed me off that she thought she was meeting someone else, even though fake.

I needed to conceal my identity long enough to form the ultimate deception—after all, she belongs to me.

“She went down a lot easier than expected.I thought she’d at least put up a fight or call you an asshole again.”Tony’s words are unaffecting as I watch him maneuver Miss Pierce’s unconscious body toward the back of the restaurant.It’s amazing what my colleagues will do for me with a little persuasion.

I walk behind Tony and my two bodyguards, Vince, and Knox.They know exactly what to do without instruction.

A fiery rage burns deep inside, thinking of ways to get my retribution.

When my mother died, I knew I had to step up.She was no longer here to protect me from my father’s spiteful hate.She always knew the time would come when he’d demand his only son step up, but it didn’t stop her from trying to delay the inevitable.

I took on new responsibilities, which only goaded my father and his distaste for me at the time.He’d made me do tasks no teenage boy should do—his dirty work and my first hit, yet I blocked every fearful thought out and did exactly as I was told.

There came a time when I finally stood up for myself and only then I saw pride in my father’s eyes.Pride I resent.From that moment, I harnessed my demons and became my own man.I became the name people fear.

I sit in the back of my Escalade, following the Range Rover Tony’s in with my precious cargo as we travel through the streets of Lower Manhattan, toward my historical townhouse between 5thand Maddison.

As I stare mindlessly through the window, lost in thoughts of Miss Pierce, I imagine her delicate skin under my palms as I run them under the hem of her dress that scarcely covers her thighs.Her dark curls wrapped in my fist as I expose her neck to me.

I need to stop.I need to keep a clear head and having her in close proximity is clouding my judgment.I can’t show any weakness, and if I’m not careful, that woman could put the biggest target on my name, and that won’t do.

It only takes twenty minutes to arrive at the townhouse; I purchased it in memory of my mother and the love she had for historical architecture.I take in the red English brickwork while I wait for Vince to get my door.

“Boss.”

I nod my thanks.

Tony knows to make this delivery discreet, making sure the transition goes smoothly, because when she wakes up, I’m going to have one very riled up woman under my roof.

My phone’s shrill ringtone stops echoing through the first floor as I hit answer.“What?”I bark down the line.

“Where is she?”William wastes no time in pleasantries.It doesn’t take a genius to figure out he’s relying on me to find her.

“And here I thought you cared.”My snide remark has the desired effect.

---