Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“And I would do it. I used to think I was doing it out of fear.”
Helios had whitened at her words. He knew that MJ likely thought he didn’t understand her, but Dio, he did. He fucking understood her now, and he would pay for what he had done to her for the rest of his life.
“MJ, don’t—”
She shook her head.
Relax. Lie down. And keep your eyes open.
That was how she had survived.
She would survive this, too.
So slowly, she made herself turn to Helios and meet his gaze. “I used to think...it was only because I was afraid of him. But I realized...it wasn’t that at all. I kept doing it because I wanted to show him I loved him—” Her voice broke at the last word.
She looked at Helios, and unshed tears choked her voice. “I wanted to prove to you that I love you, but that’s wrong.”
“No, dammit, no.” Helios grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips. He felt so fucking scared by how she was talking. It couldn’t be the end. She had to understand he had only been afraid, but now he knew the truth. It wouldn’t be like that ever again.
“MJ, listen—”
But the pain in her eyes made him feel like he no longer deserved to speak.
She whispered, “I’m so tired of trying to earn someone’s love. I don’t want to do it anymore.” She forced a smile. It was so hard to smile when she felt like her heart had just died. But she had to. “So President—”
That last term felt like a knife stab. He whitened even more, and he gritted out, “Don’t call me that—”
“Could you let Astrid know I’m relinquishing the fight for you?”
Part Two: Burn
Prologue
“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO come here with a woman,” one of the heavily armed men guarding the doorway said brusquely, his gaze suspicious as he gave James a swift but expert body check. The man opposite him didn’t speak, the bored expression on his face unchanging even as he pulled out his gun from his holster and cocked it, aiming for the side of James’ temple.
James straightened to his full height, reminding himself that he had nothing to be scared of. “That’s what I’m here to talk about.” Asshole. But he only added the last part silently, knowing that he would be an idiot to risk saying it. These goons wouldn’t give a fuck that they had racing royalty in their presence. All they knew was that James was supposed to be with his daughter – and he wasn’t.
Goddamn you, MJ, where the fuck are you? Stupid girl had always been a disappointment. He should’ve just sold the brat to her real dad. James knew he would have probably earned himself an easy one mil if he had done that. Maybe even five mil. Madeline’s ex-lover had always been a sentimental fool. But in the end, James’ desire for vengeance had won. Every time he made MJ suffer, it was like making that man pay a thousand times.
“I suppose you have an explanation for this?”
The oily voice coming from the man seated on the cushion, smoking a tobacco cigar, caused James’ thoughts to come to an abrupt halt. All thoughts of talking his way out of trouble fled, too. Even with the notorious crime lord hidden in the shadows, being in the presence of Manolito Chavez served as an effective reminder of what his ego had tried to make him forget.
This man killed for pleasure, but he also liked to kill when he was disappointed.
James started to babble. “I’m sorry. My daughter was supposed to be in town, but she just seemed to have disappeared. But she doesn’t have any other family. I can ask around, use my rights as her father to find out where she is. I just need some time.”
“You have one month.”
The time limit had him swallowing, but James knew better than to complain. “A month then.”
When James Cartwright left the room, Manolito came to his feet. When he stepped into the light, his entire visage was revealed, the scarred disfigurement of his face so grotesque it had been known to have women faint.
Walking to his desk, he pulled one drawer open to take out the full-length photo of the car racer’s daughter.
MJ Cartwright.
Long hair that would be great to use to strangle her own neck. Lovely fair skin that he could use as his own easel, and his knife would be his paint brush. She had everything he wanted in a woman, and what made her perfect was the fact that her only living relative was willing to sell her off.
Where was she now? he mused. Was she still a virgin? If she was, he just might give her father a bonus. If she wasn’t, it didn’t matter. He knew of a good doctor who could reconstruct her hymen. One quick surgery, and he would be able to give MJ an unforgettable first time.