SaraI sighed heavily as I put my glass down on the desk in Jaxon's home office. I'd come here because I knew that this was where he kept the good whisky. I'd retreated to the shower while Jaxon was being treated by the doctor.The thought of watching him pull a bullet out of my husband made me feel sick. It was the very last thing I needed to see after another nightmarish day. Even after receiving the threat on my desk, I hadn't expected the day to go this way at all. It was all so much to wrap my head around. It all still felt completely surreal, as if it were all some bad dream and not my very real reality. This had been the last thing that I had expected, and I felt fairly sure that Jaxon was just as taken by surprise. I felt sick with fear every time I replayed the events from earlier. I couldn't stop thinking what would have happened if Jaxon hadn't noticed the sniper on the roof when he did–if his arm hadn't been there in time.I'd be dead. Cynthia had actually tried
SaraAnother day, another long ten hours on my feet. They prickle and ache with every shift of my ankle, especially as I step out of my old beater of a car. The pressure I have to apply is agony on my arches as I limped up the rickety steps of the porch that wrapped around the house. With a quick beep, the car locked up, not that anyone would have wanted to steal a hunk of metal like her. She wasn't worth a dime. Every light in the house was off, which wasn't unusual for a weekend.... Hell, even weekdays Dad would be gone into the wee hours of the night. Gone and wasting away what little he earned from the government, of course. How he ended up here, I'll never understand. It was like one day he just sort of snapped, and sucked our savings dry. The savings that Mom had saved up for years before she died. The medical debt was one thing, but Dad's gambling addiction? Even worse. About twice that amount.We were never going to get ourselves out of this mess. Hence, why I was pla
Sara"Ja—" I thought better of it and cleared my throat, pushing down my emotions. Instead, I repeated myself."Yes?"Jaxon's gaze refused to leave mine, the shadows so strong that they almost reached out and grabbed me. My throat closed in on itself, my lungs screaming for me to breathe. I didn't want to, though. I wanted Jaxon. I wanted him to respond, to elaborate on why I needed to distance myself. Cut ties. I needed for him to explain to me how he was so much worse than my father. My dad was a man who cared more about money than his own daughter. How could Jaxon be anything like him?Jaxon suddenly came to, shaking his head and looking away. "Nothing. Sorry. I was saying, you need to cut ties with everything. Get out of this house, get a good job. Be happy."The tension was released so abruptly that my air escaped on a huff that ended in a laugh. "The job I want isn't hiring high school flunkies."This had Jaxon looking at me again, distaste on his face as he spa
SaraIvan wandered into the house, pausing in the foyer as he smiled at me. "Hello, Sara."His smile was snide and yet filled with wit and cunning humor. He always enjoyed coming here. "What do you want, Ivan?"He shrugged and moved into the living room before he slowly moved around the area, looking at the pictures on the side table near the couch. Ha paused for a minute and picked up one of the photographs in a wooden frame.It was one of me and my dad from when I was much younger. I remembered that day vividly, how Dad had taken me to the beach and then for ice cream. We were both smiling in the picture my mother had taken when we got home.It had been one of the best days of my life, one I would never forget, even though now, the fond memories I had of my dad were overshadowed by the mess he had become.Ivan's voice jars me back to reality as he sets the photograph back down with a bang that almost shatters the glass. "Where's your dear ol' dad tonight, Sara?"Of cou
Jaxon"What the f*ck did you just say to me?"When I first walked into the gambling den, which was infested with the downtrodden vermin of society, I was not expecting to be thrown for a loop, for my morality to be tested, well, more than usual that is.Yet, here he was, Sara's delightful f*cking father, offering me the one thing I could never have. He smirked, that almost sinister, smug grin, and moved closer before he whispered, "You've had your eye on her for years now, haven't you?""So you want to sell her to me?"Was he insane? His own daughter?"She is all I've got left. Please. Forgive my debt, and you will have Sara."Daren was practically on his knees in front of me, his eyes wide and hungry for salvation, the kind only I could give him, the kind they all begged me for. Their lives."You make me f*cking sick."He scoffed and reeled back as though I had slapped him. I should punch him in his f*cking cocky a*s face instead. "Sicker than a man who wants his
SaraTonight was decidedly the worst night of my life. The shock had worn off quickly; here I had confirmation of something I'd suspected long ago–that Jaxson had underworld connections. Scratch that. He was apparently the boss, in charge of all these men who had been harassing my dad–deservedly, of course–the people he owed money to. That shock was replaced with searing anger. I'd just talked to Jaxson moments ago, and he'd been so kind, protective… and now he was happy to own me like a dog.Few things felt worse than being treated like property, and having Jaxson be the one to treat me like this hurt even more.I was sitting in the back of Ivan's car, doing my best to ignore Jaxon—which was hard seeing as he was sitting right next to me."You can't give me the silent treatment forever, Sara," he said.I grunted, turning my face toward the window to hide the tears of anger. I felt sick to my stomach. It was official. There wasn't a man in my life who had respect for me
SaraWhen I was younger, I'd been to Jaxon's 'house.' Calling it a house might be an insult though, seeing as it was a f*cking mansion.Just outside of the city borders in a gated community where all the rich and powerful people lived, Jaxon had a three-story mansion on a ridiculous amount of land, able to host charity balls and large meetings..The last time I was here I had been 16, just before Mom was diagnosed.It was still just as grandiose as last time, but now it was more intimidating. Jaxon was right about one thing, though. It would be the nicest cage I would ever get to have.We had to pull through big wrought iron gates and drive up a gravel path to the front doors of my new home for… forever, I guessed.Part of me didn't think it felt real as I stepped out of the car and grabbed my bag, looking up at Jaxon's mansion.The lampposts and garden lights made it all look even more imposing. I used to like this place—now all it did was fill me with a sense of dread.
JaxonI woke up early the next morning, stretching and staring at the ceiling for a while before I got up. My mind was racing with thoughts of Sara, and her reaction to everything last night.I remembered watching Sara as she stomped up the stairs, trying not to chuckle, whether in amusement or exasperation…She was so stubborn sometimes, but then again, that was something I had always liked about her. Maybe too much. That fire and rage in her eyes throughout the evening were far too attractive. Dangerous. She wasn't a child anymore but still....I reminded myself that this was the best option for everyone. Sara would be away from her father, and he wouldn't be able to come in contact with her anymore to ask for money. She could finally stop stifling her potential from having to take care of that fool.It would be hell for me though, to have her so close, actually living together but unable to have her. And Sara thought that I was the one being cruel to her when she was unkno