Page 48 of Ruthless Villain

Against my better judgment I found myself looking her up on the net. I now know that she works at theChroniclein L.A. and was in a serious accident ten months ago where her mentor died. Then I stumbled across several articles that had been pulled from theEnquirerwith some shit Cole said about her.

I might not know Autumn that well—or at all—but the person he described didn’t sound like her. I ended up feeling like I wanted to beat the shit out of him.

According to the dates the articles were published, I put two and two together and came up with the answer of what sent her to Vegas.To me.

But that all happened by chance. Knowing so, I accepted that I needed to take control of my mind and stop thinking with my dick.

The half-hearted plan I came up with was to try to forget her. It just hasn’t worked.

I walk into the study and the automatic light comes on displaying shelves of books and a sofa area near the window bay. When I used to live here as a kid, this was the place I’d come to think.

There are several other rooms in Preston’s ten-bed mansion that I could have chosen, but I seemed to bond with this one. Probably because it’s on the other side of the house and has the best view of the woods. At night—like now—the shadows create an element of escapism for me. Like a blanket to cover my secrets and inner turmoil I don’t want the world to see.

This room also has some old pictures on the wall of my father and Preston when they were kids.

I find my favorite photo of my father and stare at it, allowing my mind a break from thinking about Autumn.

The picture is of Dad winning his first hockey match at sixteen. I’ve seen a ton of pictures like this, but this one always speaks to me when my mind is unsettled.

I look just like him. Sometimes the similarity makes me feel like a reflection of him.

When my mind gets bogged down with shit I always wonder what my father would do.

I can’t believe it’s been nineteen years since my parents’ deaths. It will always feel like yesterday to me and I will always be that twelve-year-old boy who Preston told his parents had died in a boating accident.

There was a fault in the engine that caused the boat to explode. When the coast guard got to my parents all they found was debris and death.

My parents had a closed-casket funeral so the last time I saw them was the morning of the accident when we ate breakfast together and they both told me they loved me before I headed out to school.

I haven’t been myself since that day. Now I’m left with nothing but memories and pictures like this.

As I stare at the picture I fully believe my father would have told Jakobe to fuck himself the same way I did, but I don’t think he would have had the same problem of being elected as the team’s captain.

Dad was such a legend that people would have overlooked whatever problems they had with him. The same isn’t true for me. Then again, Dad never had to deal with his father’s rival. I do.

I also don’t know what he’d do about hooking up with a girl who turned out to be the said rival’s daughter.

My parents were childhood sweethearts who always knew they were going to get married to each other. Arranged marriages are common in my family to strengthen business relationships, but no one would have known my parents had an arranged marriage because they were so in love with each other.

“Thought I’d find you here,” Hunter says.

I turn to face him as he’s walking in smoking a Cohiba cigar.

“Hey.”

“Just came to check on you.”

I told him about Autumn last night. As it stands the only people who know about her are him, Jericho, and Knight. It needs to stay that way.

“Just thinking about my meeting tomorrow with Jakobe and Evan.”

“Is that the only thing you’re thinking about?” He smirks looking at me with mischief because he knows I’m thinking about Autumn as well.

“Why bother to ask?” My shoulders slump and he chuckles. “Everything’s just screwing with me, including that.”

“You can’t let a one night stand screw with your plans Luc. Unless there’s something you’re planning to do about her.” He gives me a narrowed stare, as if daring me.

“No.” There’s nothing Ishoulddo except forget. “Just imagine the load of shit that would hit the fan if Jakobe finds out I slept with his daughter.”

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