Page 60 of Cinderella and the Daddy

Anna wants to play games? She's about to learn that I've had excellent teachers.

I will not let her threaten Leo.

Anna touched that necklace with such casual affection and smiled at me like she actually cared. She turned me into a weapon against the people I love.

By dawn, one way or another, this will be finished. Either I'll be driving back to the compound with answers and resolution, or Luka will be coming to collect what's left of me.

Either way, Anna's going to learn that some games have consequences.

17

CINDY

The Mustang purrs as I pull through the compound gates at dawn, Mac sprawled across the passenger seat like he owns it. I’m frustrated. Pissed. And beyond disappointed.

Anna and Drew had vanished.

I should have known she would hide from me.

Cowards.

I park in the garage and sit for a moment, letting the engine tick as it cools. My night out solved nothing.

Mac stretches and yawns, giving me a look that clearly says he's ready for breakfast and his bed. I scratch behind his ears before we both climb out.

The compound feels different in the early morning light. Quieter. I make my way through the halls. Part of me expected Luka to be waiting by the door, demanding answers I don't have. Instead, the sound of rhythmic impacts guides me toward the gym.

I find him there, shirtless and gleaming with sweat. He’s absolutely destroying a heavy bag with his bare fists. Each punch lands with the kind of force that could shatter bones. His knuckles are raw and bleeding, but he doesn't seem to notice or care.

He senses my presence before I make a sound. His body stilling mid-strike. When he turns, our eyes lock across the space between us. The air turns molten.

He looks genuinely surprised to see me standing here. Like he had convinced himself I wouldn't come back at all.

"You're back," he says, his voice rough with exertion and something that sounds suspiciously like relief.

"I told you I would be."

He reaches for a towel, wiping the sweat from his face and chest, but his eyes never leave mine. "Find them?"

"Gone. Vanished." I step further into the gym, drawn by the magnetic pull that always exists between us. "Their apartment was cleaned out, the garage too. Like they were never there."

He nods, not looking surprised. "Cowards always run when cornered."

"You knew they would."

"I hoped they would." He drops the towel and moves toward me, each step deliberate and predatory. "Makes this easier."

"Easier how?"

Instead of answering, he backs me against the wall, his hands bracing on either side of my head. The heat radiating from hisbody is intoxicating, mixing with the scent of his sweat and that something indefinably him that makes my pulse race.

"I don't want to be without you," he says quietly, like the words cost him something precious.

The admission steals my breath. This dangerous man, who commands fear and respect from killers and criminals, just told me he needs me. Notwants—needs.

I don't give him a chance to take it back or hide behind that mask of control he wears so well. I kiss him first. The truth was, I wasn’t sure I would make it back.

Desperation and fire fuel the passion between us. He tastes like salt and violence and something that's become as essential as breathing.