Page 37 of Broken By Sin

“You’re hunting the bastards that took your brother from you. You are great at your job, Kacey–” He scoffs and shakes his head, pointing a finger at me.

“I’m that good of an agent, you blew my cover out of the water.”

“Kacey, stop,” I plead as I step forward, but he shakes his head and takes a step back.

“Why are you here, Chanel?” He doesn’t give me a chance to answer, my breath lodges in my throat as my heart begins to lurch in my chest at the thought of him ending this thing between us. “You have a family that loves you, parents who would kill for you and here you are wasting your time on a crooked fed.”

“You’re not crooked,” I say as I try to close the space between us, but he avoids me and steps to the side. “Kacey, don’t do this,” I plead when I see the look of determination in his eyes.

“I can never give you the life you deserve, Chanel. I can’t afford the front door of the house you currently live in, let alone the whole fucking thing.” Shaking my head I deny his claims but he pushes on. “This warehouse is all I have. I couldn’t afford a house so I bought this and started to convert it. Want to know a secret?” I don’t bother answering because I know he doesn’t need me to. “Xavier, Ro and Benny helped me pay for this place because I couldn’t afford it on my own. This is the glamorous life of an agent, baby. I risk my life daily, only to be used and lied to. Everything I have fought for is a fucking lie. I met you and fell head over heels in love. The moment I found out who you were, I didn’t give a fuck because you weren’t like the stories I heard about your uncles and dad.”

“I’m not like them–”

“No you’re not, baby,” he whispers as he cups my face between his hands and smiles down at me. “You are so much worse,” he murmurs. I recoil and stumble backward, away from him.

“W-what?” I choke out.

“You are the most lethal poison. You run through my veins and I hunger for you like an addict. I should have flipped you that night you found out who I was, but I couldn’t. It was then that I knew I wasn’t cut out to be an agent. I threw myself into my work to prove to myself that I could do my job and you weren’t a distraction. I arrested my own brother just to prove that I could do it and keep my heart out of it. I love you, Sin… always will, but I am no good, baby. I’ll fuck this up between us just like I fuck everything else up.” Tears well in my eyes as I process what he’s saying.

“You… don’t want me?” His eyes close. I watch his chest rise and fall as I wait for him to answer me. The moment his eyes open and I see the hollow look in his eyes, I know he is about to break me, again. He digs something out of his pocket and comes to me, reaching out he grabs my hand and places a card and key in my palm. I stare up at him waiting for an explanation but he says nothing, instead he places a soft kiss to my lips before releasing my hand and stepping back.

“That’s the key card to get you into the building and that key is to Quintin’s office. You will find all the files and every bit of information on your family on his computer. Benny managed to find out that Q has been running off the book surveillance on your family so we know without a doubt the master files will be on his computer.”

“Kacey–”

“Your best chance to get in and out without being detected is when Royal meets with Halil–”

“Please,” I beg as the first tear falls.

“If I find out where he is hiding, I’ll text you.”

“You’lltextme?” I scream as my tears fall down my cheeks unchecked. He stands there with a blank look on his face as I stand before him, breaking in half as he rips my fucking heart from my chest.

“I knew you would be spying on my apartment, which is why I lured you here so they could take you home.” Utterly confused I stand here staring at him until a knock sounds on his door, Kacey moves to open it and when I see who is standing there, I shut down. The tears stop flowing, my heart turns to ice and I go into survival mode as I block out all the pain and stand tall. “Thanks for coming.”

“You the reason for that?” Royal asks as he flicks his head toward me.

“I never meant to hurt her,” Kacey whispers. I scoff and shoulder past him, but before I make it out the door, he grips my wrist and halts my movements. I refuse to look at him, instead I glare daggers at Royal.

My cousin got what he wanted. He got the old, angry, jaded and bloodthirsty Chanel back. He’ll never have to worry about me going soft again because I will never let another man get close enough to me to hold any power against me.

“I love you and I’m so sorry I couldn’t be the man you needed me to be. You deserve the world. I wish I wasn’t such a fuck up. Your dad’s right, Sin. I don’t deserve you.” Hearing that my dad was talking shit to Kacey just fuels my anger. I yank my arm from his grasp and bail the fuck out. I ignore Ro, Benny and Xav as I exit the way I came in. At the sight of my father leaning against my car, I grit my teeth and ignore the bastard. I head to Royal’s car and ride shotgun. I feel my dad’s gaze on me but I don’t look at him. Fuck him and fuck Kacey Vaughn, they both deserve what’s to come.

Royal exits the warehouse a few minutes later, exchanges words with my dad, then climbs in beside me. Dad drives away in my car. Royal doesn’t follow him instead he chooses to take the long ride home. I look out the window and fight back my tears.

“I’m always here, Sin. Believe it or not, I wanted shit to work out for you–”

“Fuck off with your bullshit, Royal. You never wanted me to end up with anyone because then that meant you would be alone. Newsflash asshole, you have a fiancée!”

He swerves off the road and pulls into a random car park by the water’s edge. “Get the fuck out. We’re doing this shit now!” I leap out of the car and round the front of the car where he meets me. His eyes burn with anger so I allow my own anger to take control. I strike out and hit him right across the jaw. He stumbles sideways but I don’t stop. I jump into the air and land a hit to the side of his face. I keep throwing punches and he blocks each of them, allowing me to keep coming at him.

“Fight back!” I scream.

“Not like this,” he yells back. He and I have sparred together since we were kids. He knows I can take a hit but he has never fought me outside of the ring at Uncle Rook’s gym. I need him to fight back, I need to feel the pain of his fists to distract me from the crippling pain inside my chest.

“Fucking fight me, you pussy ass bitch.” He grunts as I land a roundhouse kick to his kidney. He jumps back and keeps his guard up as I attack him again and again until I can’t hold my arms up. “Fight back,” I sob out. He drops his arms to his sides and the pitying look in his eyes as he stares down at me has me dropping to my knees, heaving out gut-wrenching sobs. Within a second he is on the ground beside me, pulling me to him as he holds me close while I break down for the first time in my life. I have never cried in front of anyone, aside from Kacey.

“I got you, Sin,” he says as he rocks me in his arms like a toddler.

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