Cruel Temptation (Underground Kings 1)

Jaxon walked toward the mirror, and he stared at me, his eyes trying to convey a message I wasn’t able to understand.

All I knew what Brian wanted the money. He would have killed me for it. Jaxon told the truth.

I ran out of the room; my bare feet slapped against the floor, and tears clouded my vision as I stared ahead where the elevator was.

The last ten years of my life had been a lie.

What other lies were buried in this past decade?

Chapter Thirteen

Jaxon

I knew getting him to admit he wanted the money would be easier than him getting to admit that he killed Tracy. Now that Quinn knew one truth, maybe the acceptance of my innocence would come easier.

I walked out of the room, and Brian shouted, “Don’t turn your back on me. We must plan! Get me out of here. Jaxon! Jaxon!”

I ignored him, not giving a damn about his cries for freedom. I knew Quinn needed me. Regardless of the kind of man Brian is, spending a decade of your life with someone, only to find out they weren’t who they said they were, was hard.

Me on the other hand, I was relieved. I was one step closer to making Quinn mine again. It didn’t look like I had to wait ten years. I didn’t have to take Brian’s toes to convince her, well, I might now for a different reason, but things were looking up for me.

Just how I wanted— selfishly.

Selflessly, I didn’t want to hurt Quinn in the process. Pain was inevitable right now, but it would get better. If she allowed me to make it better for her. For us.

I closed the door behind me and pressed the button the wall that silenced the intercom between the rooms. “Quinn?” I called out for her and searched the dark room for her petite frame, but I couldn’t see her. “Quinn?” I started to worry when she didn’t answer. She always had something to say, even if she refused to speak, I saw her eyes and they spoke loud enough for her. “Quinn.” I ran out of the door and took a left down the hall. I still didn’t see her. I slowly started to pick up the pace when I saw nothing ahead but the elevator. The soles of my shoes clicked against the floor, and by the time I got to the elevator, I had been sprinting. My hand hit the button on the wall with the remaining momentum flowing through my body, helping me to stop in my tracks.

She had taken the elevator up and, with the size of the place, probably got lost. “Come on, come one!” I said with impatience since the elevator liked taking its time. Once it dinged, I hoped when the doors slid apart that Quinn would be standing in front of me, but the square space was empty. The only thing that lingered was her scent. She always smelled like a cool spring day with a hint of citrus. Spring was my favorite time of year, and it only made sense for the woman I loved to smell like something that brought me peace.

I hurried inside and pushed the button to the main floor, shoved my hands in my pockets, and waited to lift. I had five floors to think about what to do and how to handle this delicate situation, and I had no idea where to begin.

Quinn was a different woman these days. There were parts of her that were the same, parts of her that were so unique and unknown; it was like I had never met her before. She was fire and ice all rolled into one, and both sides of her burned me. She tested me like no other had tested me, which said a lot since I spent ten years in prison and got into countless fights.

Quinn wasn’t brute strength she didn’t have an ego to prove; she was logic and intelligence manifested into a beautiful woman. It was the most dangerous combination I had seen. She could take down anyone, and that included a man like me.

The elevator stopped, and the hallway revealed itself when the doors opened. I ran down the hall again only for Sebastian to meet me halfway. He seemed to be in a hurry too. “Where is she?” I asked. “Have you seen her?”

He nodded. “I was coming to get you. She’s at the infinity pool.”

“Is she okay?”

His stone-cold eyes swirled into a deeper shade of blue as he thought. “I don’t know. She’s crying. I’d assume not. I haven’t seen a woman cry in a long time.” His hand landed on my shoulder. “Go to her. She needs you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Sebastian. She never needs anyone.” I almost admitted that I’d been the one who always needed her, but I had a feeling it didn’t need to be said. Sebastian knew. We were cellmates. He knew everything about Quinn, things I never told anyone before. I confided in him with the love I held for her. He wasn’t just a best friend; he was my brother.

“I think you’re wrong. Everyone always needs someone, even if they don’t want to admit it.” Sebastian gave a tight, short squeeze to my shoulder and let go before turning around and marching back down the hall to the common area. He had a few minutes of walking to do; the house was gigantic.

As he vanished into the distance, I continued my search for Quinn. Instead of following Sebastian, I took a door that led out to a walkway that surrounded the cliff. It was safe, reinforced with strong metal rails. As I stepped outside, the wind blew the ocean’s salt across my face and I inhaled. This was why I decided to build my home inside a cliff because the view was one in a million. I could jump off the rail into the depths of the water, that was how close we were to danger and beauty.

Speaking of danger and beauty, I had my woman to find. Yeah, mine. Quinn had always been mine, whether she liked it or not, we were star-crossed. She might not like it, but I wasn’t going anywhere unless the damn devil dragged me down himself

My hand grazed the rail of the walkway along the side of the cliff, heart pounding with adrenaline from being so high up. When I looked down, the waves beat the rocks, and I thought of the poor driver I pushed over the cliff. I hoped he had a quick death. I didn’t like loose ends, and he had become one that needed to be clipped.

The path dipped down into stairs, natural steps the cliff had made, and the area fanned out to the infinity pool. Quinn had her arms on the side where the water gave the mirage of falling over the edge, and she stared at the Pacific, how never-ending it seemed.

She didn’t have on any clothes. They were in a pile on a lounge wicker chair, and I moved them under an umbrella since it looked like it was going to rain. This was the second day we were supposed to go shopping for her and we haven’t. Life had interfered like it always did.

Quinn hadn’t noticed me yet. She gave me her back, all smooth and wet, glistening even though the sun wasn’t out. I slid off my shoes and started to unbutton my shirt, tossing it onto the pile Quinn already created with her own clothes.