Page 26 of No Longer Mine (Rags & Riches #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

Dimitri

I swung hard, my knuckles cracking against the leather bag, the force rattling up my arms.

I should have been celebrating. I should have been drinking with the people who now owed me their loyalty, basking in the power I had just secured. Instead, I was here. Alone. Beating the shit out of a bag because I couldn’t get her out of my head.

Scarlett Montrose.

The thief. The con artist. The woman who had stolen more than just my ring—she’d stolen my goddamn peace of mind. My breath heaved as I stepped back, rolling my shoulders. My muscles burned, but it wasn’t enough.

I told myself I hated her. That I almost did. That the fury boiling in my veins had nothing to do with how fucking perfect she looked in that dress tonight. That I wasn’t imagining what she had let him do to her.

Gavin Crenshaw.

The idiot.

Did he even realize what she was? Did he have any idea the game she was playing?

I exhaled sharply, flexing my fingers before shaking them out. The split in my knuckle was minor, but I’d felt the sting. Good. I welcomed it. Pain was easier to deal with than whatever the fuck was happening in my chest.

My phone buzzed in my gym bag, but I didn’t need to check it to know who it was.

Benson.

The security breach had worked. She was back home.

Benson could have gotten me through her security without notifying her. But I wanted her to know. I wanted her to be afraid and rush home. There was nothing to be afraid of, not yet, but it forced her out of his bed— that was all I cared about.

I grabbed my phone from the gym bag, my fingers tightening around it before flipping it over.

Benson

She’s home. Changed the codes. Locked down tight.

I huffed out a humorless laugh, rolling my sore wrist. Of course, she did. Instead of running, she only made her walls higher and made it harder for people to get to her. Who was this woman?

I grabbed my towel and slung it over my shoulder, walking toward the locker room. The gym was still empty—just the way I liked it. I needed space to think. I grabbed my suit from one of the lockers and pulled my hoodie free from my gym bag.

She had the ring. For now.

She had her security codes reset. For now.

She thought she was safe.

I couldn’t wait to show her how wrong she was. I couldn’t wait to get back at her. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her little neck and punish her for taking what was mine. My lips curled as I pulled my hoodie over my head and tucked my hands in my pockets.

Don was waiting for me outside in the car. “Feeling better?”

“No,” I growled.

“Do you want to talk about it?” That was a first. He usually let me stew in silence.

“No.”

He nodded his head and pulled away from the curb.

The car rumbled down the quiet streets, the city still alive, still humming with movement.

But all I could see was her. I let my head rest against the seat, my fingers tapping against my knee.

I could still smell the faint trace of her perfume from earlier tonight.

Still see the way she moved in that dress, the way she had let Gavin’s hands roam her body like she belonged to him.

Fuck. I was going in circles. I was obsessed.

I needed anything on my mind that meant she couldn’t be like I’d done for the last few months.

I’d thrown my entire being into the campaign.

When she didn’t show her hand, I decided she was gone.

How wrong I was. She was back, and it was worse than before because now I knew who she was.

Not only did I know who she was, but I also knew where she lived.