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“Um...I don’t know. I guess he’s always too busy.

” There’s more,, but I don’t expect Brooke to spill club business.

I’m not here for that. My father would make me to use my friendship with Brooke to spy on his enemies if he ever found out about it, but I would never betray her.

I would first run away before I let my father force me into using the only friend I’ve ever had.

“Do you like him? I can introduce you guys—”

“No,” I say quickly, my voice loud enough to draw attention to us but not enough to reach Gray, and yet, he looks up.

Almost as if he can sense eyes on him. I suck in a sharp breath when his eyes lock on me, and goodness, he’s a god.

I cringe at the thought as it slips in, but I can’t help it.

The man has a strong jawline and piercing blue eyes that seem to penetrate my walls.

I’ve had my guard up all afternoon, afraid to drop it and expose my true identity to these people, but it’s almost like he can see me for what I am.

A fraud.

A hint of a smile plays on his lips, a subtle flicker of amusement that makes my pulse quicken. His quiet intensity sends goosebumps climbing up my body, and I quickly turn away, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.

God, what the hell was that?

“Scarlett?” Brooke’s voice is loaded with questions as she leans closer to me. “Is that…your type?”

“I don’t have a type,” I say, grabbing the wine I was intent on ignoring and daring a sip.

It’s been sitting there long enough that it tastes stale.

I consider getting up to get a fresh glass, but my knees are too weak, and the cause of my affliction is standing at the bar.

There is no way I’m heading in that direction, so stale wine it is.

“Then why is there drool dripping down your chin?”

My eyes widen in horror as I reach up to touch my lips, glaring at a deeply amused Brooke when my fingers come back dry. “Not funny,” I say with a mock scowl, but I find my eyes shifting back to the mysterious stranger who’s now been joined by Axel.

“I think it’s quite funny, the way you’re looking at him.”

I won’t ask. I don’t need to know… “And how am I looking at him?” Damnit!

“Shock, lust… Want.”

“That ridiculous,” I scoff, turning to my stale wine again. I ignore her gaze as I bring the glass to my lips, wincing at the taste.

“Hey, even the ice queen is allowed to like someone.”

Except I’m not allowed, but I don’t point that out as it would need an explanation. Even so, I find my thoughts flickering to the idea of what it would be like to be in some kind of relationship with a man like…Gray.

We’d trade secret lustful looks the way Brooke and her boyfriend often do. Sneak away from the party for a little rendezvous. My father wouldn’t have to know, and I could be with Gray, share my firsts with him. Have control over who gets to have me at least.

But that is just a pipe dream. Imagination that belongs to a normal twenty-year-old college student, which is something I will never be.

“It’s getting late,” I whisper, my eyes shifting to the darkening skies. I try to keep my voice neutral, but I imagine some cracks show as Brooke’s brow furrows.

“Don’t tell me that you’re leaving. You are not staying for the games?” She grabs my hand and squeezes it. “That’s the best part of the night. We play against the guys, and they always win. You’re smart. Like, really smart. I bet we’ll win this time if you join us.”

I should say no. I have overstayed my visit. God, I wasn’t even supposed to be here. At this cookout. On this side of town. With these people. But then I look at my friend’s gray eyes, and I feel myself waver.

My father will kill me!

“Okay, but I can’t stay long.”

But I do. For four more hours, long after the sun has set, I find myself playing games with people I barely know, trying and failing to ignore the heavy presence of the man my eyes keep flitting to.

Of course, we lose every game to the guys.

Contrary to Brooke’s expectations, I am no help, not when I can’t seem to gather my wits around the man whose eyes I feel on me constantly.

But I ignore it. At least I try.

Gray is still on my mind when I finally excuse myself, waving at Brooke who’s nestled with Axel on a seat meant for one.

She flushes when she catches my eye, waving back, and with a shake of my head, I finally make my exit.

In place of Gray, thoughts of my father take root, and I fight back the panic that follows the entire elevator ride down to the underground parking.

I let myself get carried away tonight. I wasn’t supposed to be out this long.

My hands are trembling when I climb into my car, a gift I got from my father a few months ago after I helped him with some creative accounting. Helped the man hide money, and this was his gift to me. I can only hope it wasn’t stolen.

I wince when I notice that it’s nearly ten, flying out of the parking lot in a rush. The traffic is typical of a Sunday night in Chicago, and by the time I’m pulling into my building’s parking, it’s ten-thirty.

I fight the tremble in my hands as I walk into the expansive lobby, barely paying notice to anything or anyone as I beeline to the bank of elevators, rushing in when one opens for me. My apartment was another gift from my father, but it often feels more like a gilded cage.

Deep breaths, Scarlett. Slow and deep!

The doors open on my floor, and I hurry out, my heels clicking on the marble floor as I rush to my apartment. I take out my key card and press it against the scanner, holding my breath when the door unlocks and I push it open.

The lights are on. My heart drops to my feet.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

I slowly walk inside, a tremble racking through me when my eyes lock with my father’s. I inherited every part of my looks from the man—his hair, his eyes, his coloring. Nothing from the woman who birthed me. A woman I’ve never once met.

“Dad, I…I just…um, went out with friends.”

My father’s steely eyes narrow on mine for long seconds, and I wait for him to press the matter, but he doesn’t. “Next weekend, I want you at the club,” he says, getting up from the couch he’d been sitting on. “We have work to do.”

By work, he means more help hiding the club’s dirty money. Every time I do this for him, it chips at my soul, and I hate that I’m slowly becoming like him and the band of criminals he keeps around. “I don’t want to do it anymore,” I blurt out.

My father whips around, and before I know it, he’s standing in front of me and his hand is on my jaw, gripping tight. “What did you just say?” he growls, and I push down a whimper when he digs his fingers into my cheeks. “You don’t want to work?”

“It’s…illegal.”

“Listen to me, girl,” he spits, venom in his voice.

“The only reason I didn’t sell you off to some rich old man the second you turned eighteen is because you are of some use to me.

The moment you stop being useful is the moment I’ll auction you off to someone who’ll know how to deal with you. Until then, you earn your keep!”

I hold back tears, meeting his hard stare head on, and it’s not until he lets go and stomps out of my apartment, slamming the door behind him, that I allow myself to collapse on the floor. I wrap my arms around my middle, choking on the tears I refuse to shed.

I hate this city. I loathe everything about this damned city and my cursed life here!

In the comfort of my home, I find myself blaming the city all over again, cursing it for housing such monsters.

And for trapping me with them.