Broken by His Hand - Piper Stone Page 0,70

my parents were killed and everything changed. I was forced to go back home to deal with their estate and my two younger brothers. While they were sixteen and seventeen, there was a chance they would have been placed in foster homes if I hadn’t accepted legal guardianship. That never bothered her, at least so I thought. She even supported what I was trying to do until I became absorbed in working on my father’s business. I had to close the club but that wasn’t the worst part. It was the accusations from the FBI that really took its toll.”

I paused, hoping that Sophia would say anything. She sat stoically, as if nothing I said mattered.

So I continued. What the hell did I have to lose?

“Anyway, that took months of questions and investigations into my father’s holdings. Even his will was kept in probate until the family corporation was exonerated of any wrongdoing. By then, we’d grown far apart. While she never said it to me, I knew that the fact my family had been under investigation was difficult for her, especially since her father was attempting to run for public office. She broke it off one day over coffee, barely able to sit for ten minutes before shoving the ring across the table. While I never blamed her, I realized that the choice I’d made to give up my life had stripped me of everything I cared about. I poured myself into fixing the books, attempting to figure out what the hell I was going to do with the club.”

I heard a slight noise. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her face. Maybe she was listening after all.

“Then another four years went by. By then, I’d made the decision to open the club, but I knew I couldn’t do it alone. My brothers had recently graduated from college and we made the decision to work together. I haven’t looked back in the six years since, but in making that decision, I pushed every thought of a private life to the wayside. I wasn’t going to place the burden on anyone else, especially when I knew there was the potential of retaliation for reopening the club.”

After taking a deep breath, I realized it felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

“Then why me?” she asked ever so softly.

“Because I saw strength and caring in your eyes. I think that’s the first time I really experienced that in a long time. When you walked into my hospital room, I was floored at my reaction. Stunned,” I laughed before continuing. “Plus, your defiance. The one thing about holding onto secrets is that you gain respect, but only out of fear.”

“That’s not you, Michael.”

“Maybe it is, Sophia. I have become my father. Ruthless. While I apologize again for being impetuous, the fact you placed your safety on the line because you were angry isn’t acceptable. You agreed to follow my rules.”

“Not in so many words.”

“Yes, you did.”

She shifted toward me. “I’m not a thing that you can order around, Michael. I’m not one of your employees you can intimidate. I have or I had a life. Now, I’m going to find another one.” She moved to a standing position, attempting to walk around me.

I grabbed her arm, yanking her closer and keeping my voice down. “You’re not walking away from me. Not now.”

“I know. You own me. You can’t own something who wants to fly away. They will always find a way to freedom, even if it means ending their life in order to do so.”

Her words were like a dagger through my heart. I rose to a standing position, jerking her even closer. “If that’s what you want, when it’s safe, you can run far and fast away from me. I won’t try to stop you, but while you’re under my protection, you will follow my rules. I don’t care if I have to lock you in the suite, I will keep you safe.”

“Fuck you. Fuck you for ruining a beautiful evening with your arrogance. Maybe you’re right. That’s all you’re capable of. I concede, Michael. I will do everything you say, but trust me,” she hissed as she tipped her head, glaring into my eyes, “I will get the hell away from you.”

She jerked away, taking several steps until she stopped short, slowly turning her head in my direction.

“Are you coming? Sir?”

The same rush of anger continued to build, but I needed to keep