Page 23 of Vicious Captor

He hates me. It’s not dislike or annoyance I see in his glare. But sheer unadulterated hatred.

I turn to Mom, who’s watching him just as carefully as I am. “It will be okay, Lulu. Declan has promised me a game of chess. He says he’s the best.”

Declan glances at her. “I am.”

“And I will bet that lovely Beretta in your holster that I’m the better man.” She points a dainty finger to his waist. “When you set me free, you hand it over.”

He smirks. “When I win and your husband comes for you, you will take the pistol he carries and hand it over.”

Her eyes widen in feigned shock. “You don’t even know what he carries.”

“But I know I’ll enjoy the look on his face when you do it.”

Mom’s lips thin and she narrows her eyes to near slits. “You’re on.”

Declan shifts his attention to me once again. “Shall we?” He sweeps his hand to indicate I should proceed to the entrance.

I turn toward the doors to the foyer and force my legs to propel me forward.

God, why is this so fucking hard. I’m stronger than this. At least, that’s what I’ve told myself for years now. What I’ve told my father every time he’s excluded me from the family business.

“Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean violence scares me,” I swore to him when I demanded to be included.

He rolled his gaze heavenward as if he was praying for patience. “This world is not for everyone, princess. All I want for you is to enjoy life.”

It infuriated me that he didn’t believe me capable of the tough decisions that have to be made. My brothers are physically stronger, but that doesn’t make them better at ruling a family. Whatdoesmake them better is that they were raised to do so. Taught from the moment they could walk and talk.

The blame doesn’t fully lie with them. Before Rowan, I didn’t want anything to do with the dirty side. I rather pretended that The Duran Construction Company was not just a front, but a legitimate business. And that everything we owned was because of that.

After Rowan, however, everything changed. My heart hardened and I wanted nothing more than to exploit that violent side of me that was born that night.

I craved revenge and the power necessary to get it.

I am the daughter of Fernando Duran. Don of the Boston Mex, the successful Mexican mafia he created after fleeing the cartel. He has done what’s had to be done, no matter the circumstances. Hard things. Things that brought him pain in order to succeed.

This is whatIhave to do. Arranged marriages are common among crime families. As are kidnappings and murders. All part of our twisted world. And if I’m going to live in it long enough to see the rewards, I must play the game.

By the time I reach the foyer, I’ve managed to steel myself. My spine is ramrod straight and my confidence has returned.

But it all goes out the window when the wooden doors are opened and the first thing I spot is Rowan.

Damn. I hate that I find him so fucking sexy. Too sexy. My attraction to him is a liability. In a nanosecond, all that bullshit talk about being the daughter of Fernando Duran and playing the game goes out the window.

I walk to him, my legs unsteady once again. He gives me one of those wolfish grins that used to melt me, but now I’d love nothing more than to slap it off his face.

He steps close, bending his head slightly to meet my gaze. “You look so lovely.”

“Really? Because this atrocious garment you chose for me would drown out anyone’s beauty.”

Chuckling, he grazes my cheek with the back of his index finger. “Not you, Lou. Nothing could make you less desirable.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re unbelievable. And I mean that literally. I don’t believe a word you say.”

“I’ll earn your trust again.” Then he does something that scares the living daylights out of me. He produces a blade from somewhere in his pants and lifts it high.

A scream bursts from me as he swings the blade downward, and thrusts it into the stone behind me, missing my ear by inches.

“You jackass!” I shove him and try to move past him to his black Mustang.

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