The Syndicate’s Bride

Chapter 18

Vanessa

I had trusted him and his respect for the sport, going as far as placing bets on him for that very purpose. Yet, he didn’t blink an eye as he threw my act of trust in my face.

I thought I knew him to an extent, at least racer Ryan who commanded the tracks with a carefree spirit and daring precision but I had been so wrong.

People called him many names and his reputation definitely seemed to speak for itself. When he had been called a cold blooded machine, I thought it was prejudice. I thought it was just people doing what they did best, spreading rumours about people they could only judge from afar. I even tried to understand him, to get in as deep as possible, to attach a reason to his cold nature, but it seemed I had been a fool, a naive little girl who constantly searched for the best in everyone.

How stupid of me.

“Why’d you do it?” I asked in calm anger. He stood, looking at me passively but didn’t reply.

I scoffed. “Don’t play the mute game with me now, Ryan. Why did you do it?” He remained silent, quietly observing me, which only angered me.

“I f*****g bet on you, Ryan,” I shouted and saw a flicker of emotion in his passive stance. “I actually bet on you believing you had respect for how things were done in the game, yet, you ridicule me by doing the exact opposite.” I chuckled bitterly. “You make sick.”

I stepped up to him, stopping just before I could close the distance between us, and looked him up in the eyes.

“You’re nothing more than a cold blooded pawn of your father. You let him bend you to his will at every given opportunity so much so that you’d rather disrespect the race than disrespect him, “ I spat. “You really made me sick.”

His jaw clenched, the only sign of emotion on his stone cold face, but still, he said nothing. I tsked, annoyed at his silence, before turning away from him and walking further into the garage.

A part of me really believed him to be better than most people gave him credit for and in doing so, I had let my guard down and forgot who he really was. I willed myself to trust him and he gave me even more reasons to despise him.

I hated him.

In my anger and frustration, I slammed my hand on my work table, causing vibrations to the tools on the flat surface. I panted heavily, clenching my hands into fists as I banged continuously on the table before sweeping the table’s content off the desk and to the floor with a grunt.

“f**k!” I screamed frustrated.

Walking further into the garage, I picked up one of my bigger wrench, going straight for the drawers and appliances and smashing them as much as I could. Before this incident, I had never really thought myself to be an angry person.

Even when father did the worst things to me, I had only ever felt a deep level of fatigue and resentment at his stone cold methods, never anger. But with Ryan, his betrayal ran seriously deep which was shocking since I thought him to be a business partnerand nothing more.

But I knew that term was only my way of escaping from the truth. Ryan and I had long progressed from our continuous irritable behaviours to each other. I mean, that much was clear when I took the leap of trust by betting on him when I had never once enjoyed or even thought of engaging myself in such activities. At a point in our arrangement, without even realising it, I started to trust him to an extent, but clearly,

That meant nothing to him.

His new car wasn’t spared from my destruction. I took my time with that one, make sure to break all the support and genuine faith I had in him when making the car. I had built it for the person who respected the game, but the man that was standing before me was anything but.

Fucking bastard.

Ryan

When Vanessa asked me why I had flunked the race, I wanted to answer her, clear up the misunderstandings, but I couldn’t because it wasn’t safe information. Instead, I stood still, taking her insults and scolding.

She didn’t understand just how bad things in the underworld could be. There was a familiar saying that father drilled into my head when I was still a child, ‘the more you knew about the dangers lurking in the underworld, the more dangerous it was.’ At the time, I thought it was just one of his many proverbs, but now as an adult, I understood just how literal the saying was.

Vanessa was naturally soft and fragile, these type of people never survived in the underworld. She could be tough at times, showing bravery and resilience but those two things lacked the necessary power needed to protect herself in the underworld. She needed to be more than just brave, she needed to be utterly ruthless, something she could never be.

She had no idea just what type of danger laid in wait for her.

So, I kept shut and watched her destroy the garage, making sure to leave no corner of the room untouched. Then, with her wrench still in her hand she turned to the white car in the middle of the room and brought the tool down on the car with force, smashing the windows.

I flinched at the action. Thomas had told me during our last meet that Vanessa had taken it upon herself to make me a customised car as a gift. I didn’t show it then but I had been happy, silently anticipating the gift she now violently destroyed, willing it to irreparable damage.

God, she must hate me right now.

Sensing my wolf rising to the surface, I began to feel a surge of anger and frustration. Anger exploded with me, heating up my skin and causing visible veins of irritation to line my body and forehead. Vanessa, oblivious to my change in emotion continued with her display of rage, going as far as yanking the car doors of its hinges.

I exploded in a frenzy, zooming to her in a second and pinning her against the wall in the next, ceasing her movements. She groaned in annoyance, eyes blazing with unflinching rage as she looked me dead in the eyes. Neither of us moving to back down.

Oddly reminiscent of our first meet.

“You need to f*****g calm down,” I said, slamming my hand beside her head so hard it left a bit of an imprint on the wall.

Her eyes narrowed in slits, a sign of her growing annoyance.

“And I’ve told you to stop f*****g telling me what to do!”

“I’ll stop telling you what to do when you start doing what you’re supposed to do.” I seethed. “You think you know everything, huh?”

“I know for a fact you’re a piece of s**t,” she snapped, baring her teeth to me. “A dishonest piece of shit.”

I looked at her in frustration. If only she could understand this one time that I was trying so hard to not endanger her, but her rage was blinding. She was clearly not open to understanding.

“You’re acting like a child, Vanessa.”

Her eyes widened in anger as a bitter chuckle left her lips. “Oh, you want to see what a child can do?” With that, she raised the wrench in her hand and struck me hard across my face. I stumbled back from the brutal force, already tasting blood in my mouth from the impact.

“f*****g bastard,” she screamed huffing and panting. Looking at me from head to toe one last time, she turned and walked out of the garage.

“f**k!” I groaned out in frustration. This was definitely not how I expected the day to go.

THIRD POV

Two men lurked in the shadow, waiting for the perfect time to strike. They watched as Vanessa exited the garage, leaving in a rage that only wore down her guard, making her less aware of her surroundings and more fragile to external attacks.

She was alone now, pacing the hallway a few distance from the garage looking dejected and on the verge of tears, a hundred percent clueless about the killers watching her every move from the shadow.

They smiled at her. This was the best opportunity they didn’t think they’d get. It was almost time to strike.

The men had been hired by Owen to carry out Mr. Logan’s plan. “Use her as bait only, you are not allowed to kill her, got it?” Owen had said, drilling it into their ears. But there was a little information Owen seemed to forget,

They were loyalty to Mr. Logan and only Mr. Logan.

Before leaving the Logan estate, unknown to Owen, Mr. Logan had called them to his office one more time, giving them specific orders.

His words had been clear and concise and with those words in mind, the assassins had set out.

“Kill Vanessa Logan.”