Broken Reign: Enemies-To-Lovers Romance

I probably shouldn’t be wearing a dress. Who knows where we’re going? Maybe a drug run.

Be nice.

He’s trying to get out. He’s not Felix.

After all the time I’ve spent with Felix Bernard, he has never made reference to getting out of the game. I guess not all drug lords are created equal.

Okay, enough procrastinating. It’s time to go.

I leave the bathroom, grab my bag, and head out the door. I opt to take the stairs. My building is nice, but it is in no way nice enough for me to take the elevator on a daily basis. That thing breaks down at least once a week.

I also live in a relatively small building. With only five floors, I can do it. It’s my cardio. My heels slap on the steps as I head down. By the time I make it to the ground level, I have worked up a small sweat on my brow.

Swiping it away, I pull out my phone, turn on the camera, and pat my hair back into place. Heading toward the subway, I make my way downtown to Tobias’s office. Again, when I get there, it’s the same old story. The guard waves me in, and I step into the large elevator. Now that I know how much Tobias hates enclosed spaces, this elevator makes sense. It’s huge.

Even for me, who gets claustrophobic, this one doesn’t make me feel like I’m suffocating.

At first, I took it because I didn’t think I had a choice. Plus, I never wanted to show weakness. It only takes a second before the doors open, and once again, I’m striding into the empty office space.

Does he own the whole building?

My guess is yes.

Standing in front of the large windows in the distance, with his back toward me, is Tobias. His head is tilted up as if he’s looking at the clouds, then his chin drops, and his back becomes rigid at whatever he’s staring at now. He must hear me; my shoes echo in the empty space. The clicking sound rings through the air, but he doesn’t turn around.

“I’m here,” I say to get his attention, but he still says nothing.

Moving closer, I try to discern what he is looking at. When I’m finally close, I see he’s watching a playground. I never noticed it before.

A group of kids are playing. They look to be in preschool. I stare for a minute before I hear him cough, and then he turns to face me.

“Morning,” I say, and he nods, then he takes a seat at the desk. “Something on your mind?”

“I always have something on my mind.”

“Since I’m your lawyer, and regardless of what you say, I have to listen, so do you want to talk about it?”

I’m not sure why I say any of this, but I want to comfort him for some reason. Which is weird because I also resent him for making me come here.

“I’m fine.”

The room goes silent. I know he’s lying, and I find myself wanting to know what he’s thinking about.

“What made you decide to quit?” I finally ask.

“That’s a long, complicated story,” he mutters.

“I have time.”

“Not enough time for this one,” he deadpans.

“Just start talking, dammit. Our day isn’t going to get better until you talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

“Fine, but first, I have to take you with me to a few meetings.”

“Duh. That’s what we’ve been doing this whole time.” I scoff playfully.

“No. This is different. I want to warn you about the first one.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“That being said, I still want to tell you who we are going to see.”

“Okay.”

“We are meeting with Lorenzo Amanté.”

The need to let my mouth drop open is there, but I will my body not to embarrass me, again. Lorenzo Amanté is only the rumored head of the mafia. He’s supposed to be nuts, too. Real anger issues. Which doesn’t surprise me, seeing the chosen occupation.

“I’ll be fine,” I answer before gesturing to the exit. “Ready, then?”

He nods, and after that, we walk toward the elevator. We step inside, and he turns to me.

“I want to leave this life because I never wanted to be here,” he says, and I’m shocked he’s broaching this story. I don’t dare say anything for fear he will stop. “All of my life, I wanted something else.”

“Then why did you do it for so long?” I can’t help but ask as we arrive in the garage and start heading toward the Range Rover.

“Because I needed the resources and money to take out my one true enemy. And you should know the story.” With a slight pause, he continues as we settle into the car.

“When I was a small boy, it was just my father and me. But even though it was just us, my father was always gone. At the time, I didn’t know why. All my nanny ever said was that he was a very important man. He had very important friends who relied on him. Again, I was young and had no concept of who or what these people expected from him. We moved around a lot. He set up businesses in different locations, and once everything was in place, we got up and did it all over again. I used to resent him for it. All the moving around is hard on a boy, and I needed my father, who was never around.”