Crowned by Fate (Crowned 2)

I scoffed. “And you get America’s vote of sympathy if she disappears.”

Pig.

I shook my head. “I don’t fucking do kids, and sixteen to me is still a fuckin’ kid!”

Finally, he brought his eyes up to mine. “I know. I thought this was what I wanted. It would answer all of my prayers if she just disappeared, but now that I’m here…”

Maybe she’s older and deserves it. I don’t need my reputation going to shit because I can’t end a girl who probably deserves it. Why else would he be here? He’s not my usual client. “You want to or not, because the more we fuck around, the more time that has to get inside your head.”

He nodded. “Do it.”

I shut the door and set off to do what I was supposed to do.

I made my way back to her room, grabbed her by the ties that were around her wrist and dragged her tiny body to the back of the boat.

Devin stood silent, watching me carefully. He knew I didn’t want to do this. Not really. I hate doing women. In fact, I’d only ever done one before—and it was justified. As much of an asshole that I am, my relationship with my mother and my sister was flawless. It’s why I struggled with it. Women make the fucking world spin. We all came from one. They deserve fucking respect for that alone. Period.

Devon glared at me harder, sensing my anxiety. He also knew how I felt about this. He used to call me the silent feminist, until he saw how I fucked.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the girl from the back of her neck, slamming her down onto the chair and tying the anchor around her ankles.

I squeezed my eyes closed. Fuck. We can’t do this shit. This is fucked up. Turning around, I made my way back to the room to try to talk her dad out of it. That way, Devon won’t get itchy for murder if he backs out.

I opened the door. “You can’t do this.”

His eyes came to mine, rimmed red from tears. “You’re right. I can’t. I will just have to find another way to get rid of her.”

I shook my head. “You’re a sick motherfucker. I could ruin you.”

I took my phone out from the back of my pocket and snapped a shot of him before grabbing him by the collar and shoving him up with one hand, coming nose to nose with him. “I’m going to keep an eye on that girl for the rest of her fucking life, and if she so much as falls off the radar for a second, I’ll drown you, motherfucker. Understood?”

He swallowed sharply. “Understood. Keep the money.”

“I fucking will, fucker.”

Turning back around, my steps faltered when I caught Devon standing, a cigarette in his mouth and his cock out, pointing toward the ocean as he took a piss.

“Where is she?” I called out, even though we don’t speak during jobs.

Devon swung around. “Oh, down there. Don’t worry, I took care of it for both of us since I knew you couldn’t.”

“No!” her shitty father wailed in the background, but before anyone could say anything else, I dove right into the water and swam until I saw the dark shadow of her body sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

Silence.

Isa crawls into a ball, tears streaming down her face, her eyes closed. I can’t imagine what she must be going through inside. I feel like every bit the piece of shit for not telling her about this sooner. But how? How do you tell a woman that her daddy wanted to have her killed at sixteen?

“I’m sorry, baby. I saved you, cut you from the anchor and brought you back to the boat. I kept an eye on you for-fucking-ever. Part of that was putting Devon in your life. I’ve always felt protective over you.”

Her eyes snap open as she springs up from her position, storming toward Devon. Her elbow rears back, and her fist flies into his face. Blood splatters everywhere. “How could you!” she screams so loud I’m almost certain a few of her vocal cords snap in her throat.

Devon swipes the blood from his nose, tears pooling in his eyes. Only one person walking who could make death cry, and I was dumb enough to marry her. “Isa, I didn’t know you then. You were just a job. I—I—it all changed when I came to know you.”

“Yeah?” Isa snaps. “What about all those people you killed, Devon, someone would have felt that way about them too and you still killed them!” She was angry. Feral.

She spins around, swiping the stray tears from her eyes and points her finger at me. “I will do this with you, Bryant. To bring my father down once and for all after everything he has put me through, but after that? We are done. I will file for divorce.” I wince at the impact of her words. “And you will fucking let me go. You will never break my heart again because you will never have the privilege to hold it again. You can’t break what you can’t hold.” She spins around and leaves, slamming my office door behind her.