Inevitable (A Kingpin Love Affair 2)

“I don’t know what to say…” I muttered astounded at her behavior and how the night’s events had played out.

“Nothing. Say nothing because when this is all over, I will be the one to walk away from you, not the other way around.” And then she was running, she was leaving me, and I felt the walls closing around who I was. Around everything that had happened between us.

The debt was settled, but our future was inevitable.

We were born to enemies none the less.

Bree

I was so fucking stupid. I was running from him, and by the sound of silence surrounding me, I knew he wasn’t following me. Maybe he didn’t care, maybe none of it mattered, but I knew if I couldn’t save him from his own mind, no one could. I had dealt with so much in the last week. I had learned my mom had an affair, and James, Jared’s father was my own, and who I thought was my father had secretly been working with the FBI. He had been using me as a pawn in his own personal game.

“Why the fuck do I even care?” I growled to myself, falling to my knees in the park. I had run for what seemed like forever, but really hadn’t been more than ten minutes.

As I sunk further into the ground, I wonder why I was even trying. Why, right this second, I didn’t call Jared and tell him to take me as far away as he could and hide me. He had asked, one time late at night. He had said he would do anything he could to contain the sliver of happiness he had.

“You know someone like you, out in a park like this—not really all that safe.” A deep voice rumbled behind me. I turned around, staring into a pair of deep green, vibrant eyes. I knew those eyes, the voice, and it did nothing to stop the sickness in my stomach from bubbling over.

“Who cares what is safe anymore.” I was stupid—so fucking stupid. I knew it, and Devon knew it, too. Maybe that’s why he was here. Maybe Zerro had called him to fetch me.

“Obviously, not you. There’s a basket case fucking man searching the hills for you and you’re running in the park alone.” His hair was a little too long for my liking, and his eyes—those eyes peered deep into my soul. It was as if you couldn’t lie to him to save your very own life.

“After all I went through, I almost want to fucking give up and turn myself in. Have you ever just been tired of running?” I asked not really sure why I was asking. I didn’t even know why he was still standing here talking to me. He wasn’t my keeper.

Squatting down on his heels, he looked me straight in the eyes. “I live a double life, Bree. I’m pretty sure I have thought about running more than you ever have in your entire life.”

“Then why don’t you?” I asked naïve to the understanding. People always had a choice, right?

He smiled, and it wasn’t a genuine kind, but more of a comforting one. “There is no point in running. If I ran, I would be running forever, and what fun would that be? I wouldn’t get much sleep at night having to look over my shoulder at every corner.”

The wind picked up, pushing my hair into my face. I had no reason not to believe what he was saying. It made sense. Running was the same as sitting and waiting. Both caused a knot of anxiety to form in your belly. I guess all I really wanted was freedom.

“Did he send you to fetch me?” I growled, changing the subject. I would be fifty shades of fucking angry if he did. I wasn’t a dog.

“No. He doesn’t even know I’m with you right now.” His voice was calm, but something about the fact Zerro didn’t know sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t tell if Devon was the good guy or the bad?

“Why not?”

“He didn’t need to know. After all, he is the one who let you go,” Devon said stating the obvious. Had he been watching us?

“Who are you, and what is your plan in all of this?” My voice turned high pitched, terror was filling my mind. Running wasn’t a good idea, after all.

“My plan hasn’t changed. I’m not here to kill you or hurt you so calm down. I can practically hear your heartbeat through your jacket.” A sliver of amusement showed on his face calming my nerves slowly.

Coming to a stand, I dusted off the leaves and headed for a nearby bench. I wasn’t ready to go back to Zerro yet—if he was even waiting for me.

“Zerro told me you had a plan. You guys were devising some shit behind everyone’s backs.” The way I said it made it seems as if he was deceiving all of us.

“Wow, the asshole really can keep a secret…” Devon laughed loud and proud. The creases on his face told me he didn’t often smile, which was a shame.

“Hardly, we got it out of him anyway,” I remarked. A moment of silence passed between us as the wind rustled the leaves in the trees.

“Figures….”

“Why are you here then?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he pulled a knife out of his pocket. I gasped, and my first reaction was to run.

“Shhh,” he said, placing his hand on my knee in a reassuring gesture. “I just watched Mack kill someone. He killed someone for no fucking reason, simply because he could. Do you know how disgusting that is to me?” His words sneered together. His hold on the blade became intense.

“I can imagine it would be extremely unpleasant and completely disgusting.” My tone was all matter of fact, as my heart rattled in my chest. This man was going to give me a fucking heart attack.

“You know, I never wanted to hurt you. I never would’ve. They made us put you in the hole. John made us fucking do it to you. A man I personally worked with, Bree. I worked with John for a couple years, Bree. He was after answers, and all he had to do was discover my secret…”