Page 3

Of course, Anton arrived with no plan and no way to repay the new debts he created for my business.

I can’t believe this asshole, his arrogance.

The sheer gall of it, to walk back into my office with nothing to offer.

He has no idea who he is messing with—or he knows and thinks his old friendship can save him.

But not this time. Not anymore. He’s played that card far too many times and used it up.

This time, he is being treated just like everyone else.

He’ll pay for the arrogance.

I’m not particularly worried about the debts. I can smooth things over with my business partners; they know me well enough. Our relationship is secure enough to handle this hiccup. It’s a shitload of money, though; not a hiccup. More like an explosion.

The main issue here, though, is that Anton has pushed his luck one too many times, and I am not going to let this time slide.

His greed and his willingness to fuck other people over to make himself a quick dirty buck is not something I will tolerate or allow anymore.

His days in my city are over. His life is over.

Roan is still talking to him, even though I’ve already decided that I’m in the mood for bloodshed this afternoon.

I might even make a spectacle out of him. Use him as a message for anyone else who tries to play me. Word will spread about what he’s done. I can’t have people thinking he got away with it without paying some kind of price. And he clearly has nothing to offer except his life.

I step forward, shaking my head. I’m over this. “Let’s finish this.”

“Wait,” Anton pleads.

“Last words, Anton,” I warn him, letting my fingers brush over the gun on my desk. I won’t use this weapon. Roan will wrap a cord around his neck and strangle him. It’s cleaner, less mess to deal with afterwards.

Roan is on the line to the receptionist girl. I want her out of here before we do this. She’s never seen anything especially incriminating, and I don’t want to start exposing her now.

“My daughter. You can have my daughter in exchange for the debt.”

“Your daughter ,” I snort, laughing loudly. “What the hell makes you think I want your daughter, Anton?”

“You need an heir. You can marry her. She’s strong and healthy. She’ll give you lots of children.”

I narrow my eyes at him.

“What the fuck is up with everyone suggesting I get to work making heirs? People need to learn to mind their own business,” I snap, annoyed, but curious why it’s the second time today this suggestion has come up.

I’m not blind to signs from the universe.

Perhaps I do need to start looking into the idea of creating some heirs. But I can almost guarantee that I don’t want to be doing that with Anton’s daughter—this scum of the earth can’t possibly have the type of daughter I’d be wanting to have children with.

Roan returns, already wrapping the cord around his hands, pulling it taut.

“Kill him,” I say to Roan, with a nod.

Roan steps forward, but just as he does so, movement catches in the corner of my eye, and I turn towards the front of the office to find a woman walking towards us.

“Wait,” I demand, holding my hand up.

Roan follows my gaze to see what I’m looking at.

She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life.

She’s petite, with golden blond hair that hangs in loose curls over her shoulders, a narrow waist, and curved hips hugged by the tight skirt she’s wearing. Her features are sharp and feminine, her eyes piercing as she stares at me with confidence.

I told my arms across my chest, unable to hide the grin on my face.

In my life, I’ve never seen someone more beautiful than her.

“Who is this little fox?” I ask quietly.

“Anton?” she calls out, sounding annoyed.

I look at Anton in disbelief. “You know this girl?” I demand.

“That’s Lara. That’s my daughter,” he stammers, shifting awkwardly, trying to move away from Roan.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Roan says, also shocked to his core. “ That’s your daughter? Not in a million years…”

“You can have her. In exchange for my debt,” Anton pleads. “Please, let me go.”

“What kind of a father tries to sell his own daughter?” I growl, angry at him, but already latching on to the idea of making her my wife. Why shouldn’t I claim that magnificent creature as my own?

Even though she’s probably just like him—a con artist, here to try and talk the talk to get her father out of shit. I wonder if she knows her father would sell her. Or maybe this is all some plan they are in on together.

Well, the joke will be on them when I do marry her and don’t let her escape the commitment.

I smirk, glancing from her to her father, then back at her. She narrows her eyes, and I can tell by her expression that she hasn’t heard what we’ve been discussing.

Anton presses his lips together, his dark brown eyes giving nothing away. Nothing except fear for his own life—and a willingness to do whatever it takes to save his own scummy existence.

“Nestor?” he asks, knowing that his life depends on my answer.

I shrug and look at Roan.

“Everyone keeps telling me I should have kids,” I muse.

Roan looks at the girl who has almost reached us. His brows rise and he tilts his head to the side. “Can’t say I’d turn that down,” he smirks.

“Yeah, I agree. I think this is an offer I’m willing to take a risk on,” I mutter, then turn to Roan. “Get this asshole out of here.” I wave my hand through the air towards Anton. “Anton, you are banished from this city. If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

“Oh my word, yes, thank you, thank you,” he blurts out, scampering left and right for a second, ready to run in any direction just to get away from us. He’s like a rat in a trap. I can’t look at him for another second.

I turn towards the girl, Lara. With a smirk on my face, I shove my phone in my pocket and tuck my gun back into the holster. Then I march towards her.

“Hello, I’m here because of my father and whatever he promised…

Anton. I heard you talking about the debts?

Does he owe you money? Has he discussed a way to settle it?

” she asks, her voice sweet like honey, but her eyes tinted with a fierceness that suggests she’s angry.

Livid, in fact. She looks around the same age as my sister, perhaps a year or two older.

She folds her arms across her chest, waiting for my response.

So, she does know about his promise? She is in on the marriage exchange. What other promise would she be referring to? Interesting. Between the two of them, this must be a hustle. An attempt to trick me.

She raises her brows expectantly.

I don’t reply. Instead, I bend down, wrap my arm around her petite waist, lift her over my shoulder, and hold her there with my hand wrapped around her inner thigh, slipping beneath her skirt, my fingers brushing over her warm, smooth skin. My cock stirs at the contact.

The girl squeals in horror, wiggling and panicking. Her scent washes over me. Vanilla and rose. Feminine and divine. It sends a thrill racing through my body.

The easiest way to tell if you are compatible with someone is to breathe in their scent. Someone’s scent is like a written script of their DNA. Pheromones and attraction, all in a single breath of air.

I didn’t need to smell her to know how much she turns me on—but now that I have, it’s ten times stronger than it was before.

“What the hell are you doing? Put me down,” she shouts, bashing her fists against my back in a useless attempt to negotiate with me.

I continue to ignore her, enjoying how she feels beneath my hands. The more she fights me, the higher my hand slides up her leg. I’m certainly not complaining.

I carry her into the elevator and press the button to take me to the lower level parking area beneath the building.

If she’s anything like her father, and I’m assuming she is, then talking to her is pointless.

She’ll be spinning me some ridiculous tale filled with lies and false promises.

I’ve heard enough bullshit for today. I have nothing to say to her.

What’s been promised by her father must be honored by her.

As we ride down in the elevator, with my free hand, I slide my phone out of my pocket and message my contact at the private courthouse.

I have connections everywhere, and this guy can get things done for me immediately.

I pay him enough to deal with these random legal issues, so I expect an instant response.

I don’t want to waste any time or give Anton or his daughter a chance to sneak out of this deal.

Lara is going to be my wife within the hour, whether she agrees to it or not. The money she and her father stole was mine, and they will both pay for it by honoring this deal.

I type into the messaging app, Argyle, I need a favor. It has to be now. I need an officiator to sign off on a marriage. I’m on my way to the courthouse now. Meet me there. Or have someone ready for me who can handle this.

Argyle: I’m here now. Come through. I’ll prepare everything. Is it for you? I can draw up the paperwork in the meantime.

Me: Yes. It’s for me. The girl is Lara Abakumov. I’m sure you can find her details on your own for the documentation.

Argyle: Consider it done. See you in a bit.

Satisfied, I slide my phone back into my pocket. Lara is busy pleading to be put down. She’s given up physically fighting me, perhaps realizing that if I drop her, it’s going to hurt. Or maybe she just realized she was wasting her energy. She’s so tiny I can hold her down with one hand.

“This isn’t funny,” she complains. “Please, tell me what is going on? Where are you taking me?”

The elevator doors slide open in the underground parking lot.

Good thing I didn’t park outside today. It would have created a bit of a spectacle to have to carry her out to my car. I would have had to borrow Roan’s or take one of the spares we keep parked here.

I smile in amusement at my own thoughts. I don’t like to draw attention to myself, and a man walking with a gorgeous girl thrown over his shoulder is definitely going to do that.

Turning out of the elevator, I walk towards my car. My footsteps echo in the underground area.

Yanking the door open, I duck down and set her ass onto the passenger seat.

“What are you doing?” she squeals, trying to move away from me when I click the safety belt in place. She quickly unclicks it and throws me a death glare.

A low growl of annoyance rumbles from my chest. It makes her pause, her eyes going wide with fright and her lips parting in surprise.

Mm. She has perfect lips. I wonder what she tastes like .

My cock stirs again, imagining what it would be like to create heirs with her.

Lara bites down on her lower lip and I glare at her, my eyes filled with warning as I click the belt back in place, locking her into the seat.

She’s going to be fun to break in.

This time, she doesn’t touch it, and I step away from the car and slam the door closed.

Marching around to the driver’s side, I climb in.

I glance at her, my eyes tracing over her legs.

Her skirt is hitched up over her thighs.

She doesn’t seem to notice until she sees me enjoying the view.

Then she huffs loudly, her cheeks flushing bright pink, and she quickly tugs her skirt down self-consciously.

Who could have imagined that a rat like Anton could produce a daughter like this? It seems impossible. But I’m going to make the most of it.

The engine growls to life when I press my finger against the button next to the steering wheel.

The courthouse is about twenty minutes from here, and we should just miss traffic.

I’m about to get married. I grin, pulling out of the parking area onto Beach Boulevard.

It’s the perfect day for a wedding.