Chapter 36
ATHENA
I looked down—first at my phone, then at the thin paper in my hand, and finally at the building in front of me. I repeated this several times, convincing myself I hadn’t made a mistake, but no. The phone showed the same place.
Why the hell was I standing in front of one of our town’s most luxurious strip clubs?
As far as I knew, my father had once owned this place.
After marrying my mother, he sold it to some anonymous buyer.
Still, it remained the most infamous club around, if you knew what kind of fun you were looking for.
The neon lights flickered past one in the morning, washing the street in red and violet.
My black wig itched under my hood. I tugged it lower, praying not to be recognized.
Slipping past the mansion’s guards had been a miracle.
I don’t even know how I did it, but I knew time was ticking.
If they found out I was gone and informed Ace, things would get messy. I had to move fast.
I looked down at the slip of paper again. Two words were scrawled in heavy ink:
Little Rebel.
Followed by a code.
My stomach churned. The men at the door, all built like brick walls in suits, watched me approach with raised brows. I felt ridiculous in sneakers, a short skirt, and a coat far too casual for this place.
“Um…” I cleared my throat, gripping the paper tight. “Little Rebel… 387564?”
The men stared, amusement flickering in their eyes—until, in an instant, something switched. Their faces hardened. The tallest, a dirty blonde with cold eyes, nodded. His deep voice rumbled.
“This way, miss.”
The other two stepped aside, and I swallowed my fear, following the man inside.
The first door shut behind me with a heavy thud.
Beyond a second black door, pounding music vibrated through the air, probably the main club, but we didn’t go that way.
Instead, we turned right down a long, dark hallway.
We walked for what felt like forever. The music faded to a dull echo.
On both sides of the hall were black leather doors.
Finally, we stopped in front of one door. Unlike the others, it was a deep, bloody red. The man opened it with a nod, motioning me inside. I stepped in, and the door closed behind me, sealing the dim red glow inside.
The room was simple but undeniably luxurious.
A massive black king-size bed with blood-red sheets dominated one side.
On the other, a desk and two leather couches.
There were no windows—only large panes near the ceiling, like the one-way glass in police interrogation rooms. I moved further in, curiosity gnawing at me despite the chill crawling up my spine.
Before I could make a decision, the door opened again and a tall, dark figure stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind him. My stomach twisted when Dominic Stone stepped forward, the dull red light casting shadows over his sharp features. A wicked curl tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Hello, Little Rebel.”
“You outdo yourself every time, I give you that,” I say, forcing the words out even as the heat rises to my cheeks, small red spots blooming against my pale skin.
“Do I?” His eyes dragged over me, hungry, calculating. “Interesting.”
I catch the way he watches me—this wicked smile curling at the edge of his lips. I hate how I notice this. Even though I despise him, I can’t deny he’s the most dangerous, magnetic man I’ve ever seen. I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“I want to see Linda. You said she’s safe. I want proof.”
“She is,” he said lazily, every syllable deliberate. “Just not here.”
“Then why bring me?” My stomach flipped.
He leans back against the door, taking his time before he speaks again.
“I’ve been thinking about your little offer.”
My throat tightened.
“When you said you’d give me anything in exchange for your family’s safety.” His voice was silk over steel. “I’m here to collect.”
“And what do you want?”
“I’ll ask you one more time, Athena,” he says, closing the distance between us. I’m so close I can see the cold gleam in his eyes, the smirk playing on his lips. “Are you willing to do anything I want to save them?”
My face twists with a storm of emotions—fear, anger, uncertainty, and something else, something I don’t want to admit. I know standing here, offering a deal to a man like him, is a dangerous gamble, but I don’t have another choice. My fists curl tight at my sides.
“Yes.”
He closes the last gap between us in a few long strides, and I feel it—the electric shock of his proximity, the way my heart races and my body betrays me with a heat I can’t hide. Our shoes touch. My chest presses against the sharp lines of his suit as I tilt my face up, locking eyes with him.
“Marry me,” he says. “And I’ll put an end to this.”
“What?” I nearly screamed. “Are you crazy? Marry you to fulfill your psychotic plan?’’
He just smiled — that low, cruel smile that didn’t touch his eyes but cut straight through mine like a blade.
“You said anything.” His smirk sharpened, a blade against my resolve.
“Yes, but—”
I stopped when his brow lifted just slightly. That was enough to silence me. He had a point, damn him.
“I have a boyfriend.”
His smile widened, darkened. Unhinged and terrifying in its calm.
“You don’t.”
My arms crossed over my chest instinctively, a flimsy attempt to shield myself from his presence. ‘‘I do,” I snapped. “And one day, he’ll be my husband.”
Lies. All of it. The only man in my head right now was the one standing in front of me, and I hated it. I wanted Dominic Stone gone, from this room, this city, and my life because deep down, a voice—dark and traitorous—was whispering that marrying him didn’t sound as horrific as I wanted it to be.
Dominic lifted his hand with slow, deliberate grace. His fingers brushed my cheek, his eyes locked on mine, sharp as obsidian, and then, without a word, his hand gripped my jaw, firm and commanding.
“Will your little boyfriend still want you when he finds out his sweet, innocent girl screamed my name while I was buried so deep inside her she forgot who she was?”
I gasped, the air stolen from my lungs, but said nothing. He leaned closer, lips curling into something wicked.
“Will he kiss those lips after knowing they choked on my cock? Will he want you the same way, Athena?”
I stood silent, too stunned to speak. His eyes burned now with something else. Was it jealousy or possession? No. No, it couldn’t be.
“Marry me,” he said again, “and I’ll end this. You have my word.”
“Why?” I challenged. “What do you get from this?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“You.”
The word hit me like a punch. Maybe it was the way he stared at my mouth like he wanted to kiss it, claim it. But this was Dominic Stone, and I knew better than that.
“You don’t even like me,” I whispered.
“‘Like’?” he laughed bitterly. “That’s such a pathetic word. The last word I’d use to describe what I feel when I look at you.”
His touch vanished, and in its place, his arms looped around my neck like a chain. Not choking, but pulling me to him.
“I don’t like you,” he growled, inches from my mouth. “I can’t fucking stand you, but when I’m near you, it’s the only time I feel anything at all, and I hate you for that.”
His grip tightened, choking the air from me until the edges of my vision blurred.
“I shouldn’t want you. I can’t want you, but I’ll take you anyway, because the thought of someone else putting their hands on you?” His voice dipped into something primal. “It’s more haunting than losing every ounce of revenge I’ve been chasing.”
Just before the darkness swallowed me, he released me, just enough to drag me forward and crush his mouth to mine, and I let him. I kissed him back harder. He kissed me like he was starving for a taste of me. His hands tangled in my hair, cradled my face, and devoured my breath.
“You’re not ready to see the man I’ll become if someone else touches you,” he rasped, his hand fisting in my hair as I whimpered into his mouth.
“The world is not ready for the monster I’ll become.
” His lips came back to claim me, again and again, until I couldn’t breathe without him. Until I didn’t want to.
“So tell me,” he whispered, teeth grazing my jaw. “Are you willing to be mine, Athena? To save your family… are you willing to give yourself to me?”
Was I? It felt like signing my own sentence. But the way he kissed me, the way his touch ignited something low and wild inside me. That maybe I was already his.
“Yes.”
He pulled away just enough to leave me dizzy, gasping, needy. His lips curved with slow, predatory satisfaction.
“Prove it.”
My brows furrowed, confusion piercing through the haze of heat between us.
“Prove it to them, too.”
“Them?” I repeated, voice hoarse. He pointed up toward the windows. I followed his gaze and saw nothing but our reflection in the glass. But I felt them. Eyes. Watching.
“You can’t see them, but they can see you.” His jaw tightened. A flicker of fury burned in his eyes. “They want you, of course, they do. How could they not?”
I shivered. Heat and shame warred in my gut.
“This is your choice dollface,” he said, cruel smile widening. “Turn around and run or stay and show them who you belong to.”