MIRANDA
I pulled into the Astor's needlessly extravagant driveway while gnawing at my bottom lip. Quinn had asked me multiple times during our drive here if I was feeling okay. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't hide my anxiety. When I finally decided to go with Tory's plan, I thought it would work out. we would have a few drinks; Ace more than me, then we would go to my apartment and maybe he would give me some information that I could use. But no. Gunnar had to go and mess that up by suggesting we have a get-together at his home which was a two-hour drive away from the city.
How was I supposed to get anything useful now?
The thought of recording the conversation on my phone had crossed my mind but — on the off chance that Quinn decided to use my phone for something, I couldn't risk it. That meant I had to sit back, find a way to relax, and enjoy the night as it unfolded. I drew in a ragged b
MIRANDAI may have had too much to drink. Was it four martinis or six? I couldn't remember and either way, it didn't matter because we had done tequila shots in between.After dinner, we had retired to the living room. Gunnar wasn't that bad. He actually had a fun side to him that apparently, Quinn brought out. Ace continued with his advances but in a teasing manner. He got a kick out of riling me up.Stupid asshole.The room began to spin and everyone's voices meshed. Gunnar was busy telling us a story about — actually I couldn't remember what it was about but it had Ace and Quinn laughing. Their laughs bounced off the walls that made up my skull. The alcohol wasn't close to leaving my system and I could already feel a headache coming on.I brought my hand up to my temple and silently groaned to myself. My head felt heavy, as if someone unscrewed the top, took out m
MIRANDA I turned and instead of extending my arm to find empty, cool cotton sheets against my palm, I felt something warm, soft, and yet hard with ridges and bumps. My head felt heavy and my eyelids heavier but I forced them to peal open. I could remember most of last night. Quinn and I came to the Astor house to have dinner and drinks and I may have had too much to drink and over-extended my invite to the entire night. My vision was blurry when I opened my eyes, a bright light leaking through a sliver of space between the thick black curtains. I eventually focused on the man that resembled an angel sleeping beside me. The light hung around him as if it were a majestic halo, leaving only his silhouette in view. It was difficult to imagine this man planning and orchestrating so many murders. He was a serial killer, a mass murderer, but at this moment he looked as if he couldn't harm a fly. He slept on hi
MIRANDA "You seem distracted," Agent Chambers waved a hand in front of my eyes that were glued on a family photo on his desk. This was the first time I found myself in his office and the first time it felt disgustingly wrong for me to be here. After what had happened over the weekend, after hearing what Ace had done for me, I knew I couldn't sell him out like this. But I didn't know how to back out of this. What excuse could I possibly give them? I gulped down my resignations and focused on Agent Chambers' mossy green eyes. He had the standard corner office for an FBI agent in his league and I was sure that he was pretty proud of it. He probably wanted to keep this office with his beautiful view and to do that, he needed my help. However, I no longer saw Ace in the same light as him. "What if Ace isn't as bad as you think he is," I sat back and crossed my right leg ov
ACEI scrubbed a hand down my face as I listened to Quinn drone on about different wedding arrangements. For someone who didn't want to rush into anything, she seemed to be having a fucking ball of a time searching up flowers, dress patterns, and the whole shebang that came with the wedding farce.My brother was at the office. I was certain of this because he wouldn't leave Quinn's side if it didn't involve business and he preferred to keep Quinn far away from any of his business affairs — both legal and illegal. It was something I actually could commend him on doing. The woman I ended up with — if I found someone to handle me — would probably be in this shit with me. I didn't need her being ignorant about what I did and it would just be easier to protect her."Are you even listening to me," Quinn eventually asked, leaning forward and poking me in the cheek, "or am I boring Trigger
MIRANDADaniel shoved past Ace, shoulder checking him with a grunt before making his way down the hall to the elevator. I knew I couldn't keep Ace from entering the apartment but the rage in his eyes, the redness of his face, it all sent fear racing down my spine. He waited, though, waited for me to let him in. It surprised me he hadn't just broken into my apartment in the first place.I stepped to the side and gestured for him to enter while wiping away the tears that stained my cheeks. Daniel had sat with me while we watched the whole video — the content instantly got to me. That could have been me. I could have been stuck beneath those boys. I could have been silently praying for it to stop because my body was too numb to do anything. Or maybe my mind would have gone numb too, barely registering what was happening. Maybe I wouldn't feel their icky hands on my flesh or the throbbing pain between my legs. Maybe I'd
MIRANDAAce remained silent after we left Gabby's house. I didn't like his silence because I wanted to know what was going on in his head. What did he think about my plan? Did my words shock him? It couldn't have though because we had about what I'd do to a dead body on multiple occasions. Of course, those were just ways to keep the imagination active. This was reality.I planned an actual living, breathing, person's murder and I didn't feel an ounce of guilt about it. Maybe I belonged in Ace's world after all.We entered the city but he wasn't making his way to my apartment. I wasn't sure where we were going but I was happy that it wasn't home because it gave me time to speak to him. It gave me time to loosen his tongue about what he had just heard."Are you just going to ignore my presence in the car then?" I quipped, turning to him with a glare.My eyes latched onto the
ACEI surveyed Miranda from the corner of my eye as I drove to her apartment. She was nervous and she could deny it all she wanted but I saw it in the way her pulse hammered against her skin at the crook of her neck, in the way minuscule beads of sweat clung to her temple, and in the way she kept fidgeting or biting at her lower lip that now sported red cracks because she wouldn't stop chewing at it.Miranda could lie to my face and tell me it was what I had planned for tomorrow that was bringing on these nervous ticks of hers but she would be fucking lying. She was nervous from the moment I entered her apartment after Daniel had left. If she thought for one God damned moment I believed her pathetic excuse of having rat problems, then she probably thought I was stupid — beyond it really.And maybe I would have brushed off her behavior if it hadn't been for the way she lunged at me, pressing her lips
MIRANDAI entered the massive house with my chin up and my palms clammy. Not the best combination but I remembered the last time I had been here. Ace had dragged me along as company. He thought I would stop him from doing something utterly stupid and yet, at the end of the day, Ace still managed to be Ace.He was protective over Quinn, more so than he was over me at the time. But considering everything, I understood why. He didn't trust the man that stayed in this house. Not when that man was the same person who killed Ace's parents and then used Quinn — his very own daughter — as a pawn in his game.But I needed to be here. Ace wouldn't let me out of his sight especially when I mentioned coming to this home. I could see him fuming internally even though he kept a cold resolve on the outside when I mentioned meeting with Daniel. It wasn't what he thought though. I wasn't trying to get into Dani