CHAPTER FOUR
1280 Words
Lena felt her knuckles burn as the taste of copper coated her tongue, but she didn’t stop running. The moment Adrian Cross had seen through her at his party, she knew the job had just become a million times harder. And when he asked who sent her, his voice cold and filled with amusement rather than fear, she knew she had really brought her guard down.
She stumbled into the nearest alleyway, trying to steady her breath. She pressed her palm against the throbbing scar on her neck, a reminder of the moment he nearly had her pinned.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
With a snort, she pushed herself off the cold brick wall and walked.
She needed an outlet.
And she knew just where to go.
The abandoned warehouse was a skeleton of shattered glass and rusted steel, the perfect place to pour out her anger. She picked up a metal pipe from the ground, the weight familiar in her hands.
Then she looked at her target.
The glass shattered. A rusted cabinet cracked before toppling over.
Metal crunched under her boots. But none of it was enough.
The glass shattered as her fist connected with the mirror, sending shards raining down onto the concrete floor. She didn’t flinch, didn’t stop. Even the blood on her hands was not enough.
She grabbed a metal pipe from the ground and swung it at an old crate, the wood cracking open under the force of her blow.
The abandoned warehouse was her little bubble, a place where she could unleash all her anger inside her.
Adrian Cross had gotten under her skin, and she hated it. Hated him.
Her target was Adrian.
That smug look in his eyes. That damn confidence. The way he had twisted the fight so easily, like he had done this before.
She hated it all.
She stopped, her chest heaving. Her reflection in a broken mirror laughed at her, her lips were split open, and her blue eyes looked dark.
She exhaled sharply and dropped the pipe.
No more distractions. If Adrian wanted a game, she would end it before he even knew the rules.
The following week was spent doing what she did best.
She barely slept, barely ate. She went through every connection, every file, every whisper of dirt, she could get on Adrian Moore, everything.
Bribery. Embezzlement. A secret offshore account.
By the time she was done, she knew exactly how to ruin him.
And this time, she would not be sneaking into a party.
She was walking right into his office.
Lena stepped into Redul Industries as if she owned the place.
She had traded leather for something more dangerous, a fitted black dress that hugged her curves, professional enough to be taken seriously, but still deadly enough to seduce.
She wasn’t here to seduce. But she needed to throw him off.
Adrian sat behind a grand mahogany desk, looking as unfazed as ever. His green eyes flickered with recognition the moment he saw her.
“You,” he whispered, stunned. “You’ve got some effrontery, little lady.”
Lena strode forward, tossing a thick folder onto her desk. “Oh shut up, you fool, I've got more about where that came from.”
She looked at him, her eyes daring him to look down at her hips, “I have everything on you, your silly fetishes, the offshore accounts, your illegal deals, your dirty little secrets. One call, and your little kingdom comes crashing down.”
He opened the folder lazily, slapping the pages of the evidence she had gathered.
Bribery. Fraud. Political manipulation. Enough to bury him.
She leaned forward, smirking. “How does it feel to know you're going to crumble with this one file?”
Adrian didn’t blink. Instead, he smiled.
A slow, knowing smile that made her stomach twist.
Then he closed the folder.
“Interesting,” he murmured. “But tell me, Beth, or should I call you Lena?” He tilted his head. “Or should I call you by your real name?”
The air in the room suddenly felt too hot.
Lena’s body tensed up before she could stop it.
No.
He didn’t.
He couldn't.
“I did my own digging,” Adrian continued smoothly, standing up and walking around the desk. “You’re not the only one who knows how to play dirty Lena.”
Lena clenched her jaw, her mask cracking for the first time.
He leaned in, his voice sounding like roars, as he watched her tremble.
“Tell me, what would happen if your secret got out? If the people hunting you found you? If the people you work for knew what you really did before you became their little assassin?”
And right then, she snapped.
With a growl, she lunged at him, aiming straight for his throat.
But he was faster.
He caught her wrist midair, twisting it behind her back and slamming her against the desk, his hand tracing through her back.
Lena struggled, but he pinned her with ease. His breath was warm against her ear as he chuckled softly.
“Temper, temper, baby” he murmured.
She spat. “You bastard.”
He only laughed, holding her there effortlessly.
“You have two choices,” Adrian continued, his voice calm as they were discussing business, not war. “You destroy me, and I destroy you.” Or.... He leaned in just enough that she could hear the smirk in his voice. “You married me.”
She froze.
He couldn’t be serious.
Adrian chuckled again, loosening his grip just enough for her to turn her head and shoot angry daggers at him.
“Why the hell would I want to marry you?” she snarled loud enough for anyone to hear.
His smirk only deepened.
“Because I don’t trust you, and you don’t trust me,” he whispered, caressing her hair. A contract marriage means we’re forced to watch each other. I won’t expose you. You don’t expose me.
Lena’s mind raced. This was insane.
She stared at him, spitting her next words like poison.
“I’d rather die.”
With a sudden burst of strength, she threw her head back, cracking it against his nose.
Adrian cursed, stumbling back, and in that second, Lena wrenched free.
She didn’t waste time.
She sprinted toward the window, her body moving by instinct.
She heard Adrian’s call-out behind her, “Lena, don’t you dare—”
But she was already leaping through the glass.
The cold wind bit at her skin as she sprinted down the alley, her heartbeat still pounding loudly in her ears.
She didn’t stop running until she reached a bridge.
Then, with steady hands, she dialed her boss.
“I’m out,” she said flatly.
“What?” His voice was cold and furious. “Lena, what the hell—”
She threw the phone into the river.
The splash echoed in the silence.
She exhaled, tasting blood in her mouth as she wiped her bruised knuckles on her dress.
Then she pulled out her pocket knife, running the blade across her fingers, feeling the familiar burn of steel.
A smirk tugged at her lips as she whispered into the night:
“This just got personal, Adrian.”
Adrian watched from his office window as Lena disappeared into the night, his mind racing. She was dangerous, unpredictable, sexy and exactly what he needed.
He picked up the file from her past, flipping through the pages with a frown. There was more to her story, something even he hadn’t uncovered yet.
And he was going to find out what it was.
- Writer
