17
There’s been a part of me that has been expecting a lie.
It’s what people do. We lie. We protect ourselves. Our loved ones. Sometimes we don’t even mean to do it, it just simply happens because at the time it’s what we think is best.
A part of me has been expecting this whole thing to be a ruse. A thing Marcus and Wren have thought up to ensure her safety, her innocence but as I stare at her face, at the big green eyes, filled with an innocence I’ll never recognize in anyone else in this world I realize I’ve made the right choice.
My father always told me mercy is given to those who deserve it and there is no one more deserving than Wren, despite her last name.
She has no idea who her father truly is. Having been raised by Lawson, he’s been the only man she’s known and whilst he’s far from innocent he isn’t who I am after.
After deciding her death would not come by my hand I started to think of another plan.
Regardless of the situation and my incapability to do what I need to; I knew there was another way to hurt Valentine.
He’s kept his daughter safely tucked away but never too far. He’s watched her, doted on her from afar, ensured her future, all in preparation to bring her into the family fold.
Granted, the family fold is built on lies and thievery but to him I’m sure it’s very precious.
She was being groomed to take over from him. I was almost certain of it. But thatalmostwas giving me doubts, what if I was wrong here? What if that wasn’t the plan at all? If that’s the case, what the fuck could he want her so badly for?
They taught her how to fight, how to hold her own, that much was clear.
I had no doubt she could take down a man twice her size, hell she could have taken me down had I eased just a little, let my guard down just enough for her slip in. She had no problems protecting herself and with the right motivations and incentives it wouldn’t have taken her long to get into the swing of things.
But really, what will it look like if Valentine’s daughter started fighting for their enemy?
People will question his authority, his command and power, if, after all, his own daughter could turn against him then why shouldn’t they?
And once he starts to feel it slip, when he realizes he’s losing it all I’ll ensure he knows, in those last final moments, he has most certainlylost it all.
I’ll keep the city, I’ll keep the power, I’ll have his daughter and what will he be? A rotting corpse buried six feet under.
Watching her face now, after I’ve given her his name, I see nothing but a blank expression.
The girl is fearless.
She simply doesn’t give a fuck who I am or what I can do, she’ll stand in front of me and she’ll give me shit and I won’t deny it, I fucking love it. I live for it.
Her push when I pull, her fight, her fucking everything…
I stalk towards her and grasp her chin, tilting her face up so she’s staring me directly in the face. There’s so much hate in her gaze, it burns hot but not nearly as fiery as the desire that swirls in the mix. She hates that she wants me, loathes it but there’s no denying this basic instinct.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, she wants to touch, to see, to feel, despite the very real threat of pain. Of death.
She fights it. Tooth and nail but she’ll learn.
She’ll be the good girl I know she can be and until then, I’ll keep her here. With me.
“Together, little bird, we’ll bring your daddy to his knees.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” she breathes.
“Oh no,” I shake my head, leaning down to brush my lips across hers. It’s soft, unlike the last kisses I gave her. This one is a promise.
A promise that she’ll always belong to me now that she is in my grasp.
She seems taken aback at the gentleness. She doesn’t reciprocate the kiss, her lips stay still, slightly parted and her eyes open but there’s a mass of emotion there I can’t wait to dissect.