Chapter 112
Hunter
I sit through yet another meaningless meeting.
My grandfather occupies the seat at the head of the table while a dozen executives drone on about projections, acquisitions, and everything else I apparently need to know before officially taking over as CEO.
And I can’t wait for this shit to be over.
Unfortunately, it’s mandatory.
Being stuck in London while my girl is back on Elaris Isle makes my skin itch.
But it had to be done.
I couldn’t take Piper with me at the start.
I needed to know the Bratva, Ferrum Syndicate, and the government had accepted the story. That every loose end had been dealt with.
I wasn’t willing to risk her.
So I dealt with the mess first and gave her the one thing she needed in the process.
Space.
Space to think, and make sense of everything that had happened.
And, most importantly, time to realise that we’re inevitable.
My grandfather knows some of the truth. He knows enough to understand why Frederick is dead and why I killed him.
The one thing I’ve kept from him is that the bastard killed his daughter.
The old man has suffered enough.
He deserves the peace of never knowing what really happened to his little girl.
He never cared much for Frederick.
The man married my mother for her money and spent the rest of his life trying to get his hands on it.
That’s precisely why he never became CEO.
My grandfather never trusted him with the company. He held onto the position all these years waiting for me instead.
My phone buzzes, pulling my attention away from the meeting. I look at the screen and find a message from Harry.
I left him on Elaris Isle, along with a few other men.
Watching over my girl.
I open the message and find a photograph attached.
The moment it loads, my heart starts beating a hell of a lot faster.
There she is.
My girl.
My red.
My love.
She’s sitting at a table, her head thrown back in laughter.
Adelaide is beside her, and Eleanor too. I think that’s the name of the girl Ido is losing his mind over.
For the first time in months, she looks happy.
Free and alive.
She’s wearing a dress that exposes a sliver of cleavage. My cock takes notice immediately.
My woman can make me hard with nothing more than her name.
Thinking about her naked?
I could come in my fucking pants right here and now.
My cock twitches.
I check the time.
Ten in the evening.
So she’s having a night out.
Interesting.
Probably that menace Adelaide dragged her out. Piper would much rather stay in with a book. But judging by that smile, it’s done her good, so perhaps Adelaide’s interference wasn’t entirely intolerable.
Maybe I’ll let the cartel princess breathe.
Another picture comes through. I open it, and this time I clench my jaw.
It’s Piper in the same chair, at the same table, but this time she’s talking to a guy.
For fuck’s sake.
I swear I’m about to have an aneurysm.
My cortisol levels must be through the bloody roof.
Isaak is there now too, beside Adelaide, with Ido next to Eleanor.
Both of them stare at the bloke as if they’re one word away from burying him.
But Piper just smiles at him.
Bloody smiles.
That smile is mine.
And she gave it to him.
She may as well have signed his death warrant.
And once I’m done with him, I’ll fuck her brains out to remind her exactly who she belongs to and why this space I’m giving her isn’t an invitation to start getting ideas.
She is fucking mine.
I have the phone in such a tight grip it’s a miracle the bloody thing doesn’t crack.
Her words about wanting someone to love her and refusing to settle for less come flooding back.
Maybe this is her trying.
Fuck no.
Fuck that.
I rise so abruptly my chair crashes to the floor, and silence sweeps through the room as every head turns in my direction.
I look at my assistant and give a curt nod in his direction.
“He’ll fill me in.” It’s all I say to the room.
I catch my grandfather gritting his teeth, but he doesn’t say a word.
The driver already waits outside with the door open.
I get into the back seat, and he takes the wheel.
“We’re going back to the island.”
He nods and pulls away.
I’m done giving her space.
Yes, we’ve been through hell and back. Her more than me. She didn’t tell me the truth, but I can’t blame her for that.
Like the hot headed bastard I am, I reacted badly.
It was a fucked up situation. But we can’t spend the rest of our lives trapped in it.
She was always mine, and she’ll always be mine.
Now it’s time for her to understand that.
I wanted to be a better fucking person and give her some space, not bulldoze my way in, kidnap her, and hold her captive in my mansion until she finally saw reason.
And where did that get me?
Her sitting across from a man who isn’t bloody me.
So fuck being the good guy. It’s vastly overrated.
It’s time I show her what she really means to me.