Emily Sunford had come prepared—prepared for mockery, cold sarcasm, disdain. She had braced herself for that. But what she hadn’t expected… was this.
She hadn’t expected Fae Kane, Ace’s younger sister, to try to smash her head with a stool.
She hadn’t expected the unfamiliar, terrifying woman—Suzy—to pull out a blade and announce she’d carve up her face.
That wasn’t mockery.
That was violence. Real violence.
Fear swallowed every ounce of her bravado. Trembling so hard she could barely stay on her knees, she scrambled forward, half sliding, half crawling, and clung desperately to Ace Kane’s leg.
“H-Honey… help me… please help me…” she sobbed, voice quivering.
Seeing her cower like this filled Ace with something complicated—a tangled knot of bitterness, anger, and a sting of self-loat
