The black mouth of Tonya's gun was pointed straight at me.
A shot cracked out.
I threw myself sideways on instinct, and Tonya laughed, wild as a madwoman, swinging the muzzle up to my head.
I kicked off my heels and clawed across the dirt, dragging myself away.
The bullet sliced past with a rush of wind, grazing my skin, and punched a deep hole in the ground.
Terror was all over my face. Tonya's was lit up with delight. "Next time you won't be so lucky!" she screamed at me.
Beside her, Luke took the girl's hand with doting eyes. "Silly thing. This is how you hold it if you want to hit her."
He closed his hand over Tonya's and aimed them both at me.
No time for the bitterness now—I scrambled up and ran, but the tie bound my legs tight, and I went down hard into the mud.
Another crack. The two of them put a round through my ankle.
I clamped my hand over it, and blood poured out red through my fingers, more and more of it.
The red of it stung my eyes. I didn't have the proof yet, the proof that Luke had moved my father's assets. I couldn't die.
Something flickered across Luke's face, almost reluctance. He came over and looked down at me. "Or you could kneel and apologize right now, and swear you'll never hurt Tonya again."
Pain and fury hit together, and there was no room in my head to think. The words came out before I could stop them. "Kneel to that woman? Never."
"These shoes were custom calfskin heels Luke had made for me in Italy. Now they've got your filthy blood on them."
"Lick it clean and maybe I'll think about letting you go." The malice on Tonya's face wasn't even dressed up.
The next second I gritted my teeth, worked the tie loose from my legs, and threw my body straight at the black barrel.
My blood-soaked hands seized Tonya's and forced the trigger.
If I lived through this, I'd stake this life on dragging Luke and Tonya straight to hell.
The bullet went into me in an instant. I fell backward, the pain in my body so savage I shook all over.
Tonya let go of the gun, panic flashing in her eyes. "It was her, she pulled the trigger herself!"
Luke gathered her in and soothed her. "Don't be scared. I'm here."
He bent down and murmured in my ear. "You don't get to die until you've signed your father's shares over to me. In your own hand."
The words were a poisoned blade, working into the softest part of me again and again.
Then he straightened up and kissed her cheek, gentle. "There now. Don't let her ruin your mood."
"I'm so scared. My head's spinning." Tonya finished speaking, closed her eyes, and went limp in Luke's arms.
He stamped down on my wound, beside himself. "If anything happens to Tonya, I will not let you live."
I screamed, I couldn't help it, curling in on myself.
He wouldn't look at me again.
Luke scooped Tonya up in his arms and strode toward the sports car.
At his signal, the bodyguards threw me into the trunk like a piece of junk.
Inside the car, Luke kept calling that woman's name, and I lay there with the tears and the blood running freely down my face.
I still remember that year. He was a young heir with all of New York's money in his hands, and he didn't care about a single thing outside his studies. I was only a girl whose looks brought her other girls' jealousy for no reason.
That day a few students had me cornered on the roof, pushing me around, and he happened to be up there reading. He got me out of it.
That was the moment Luke stepped into my world, and the moment he showed everyone just how far his power ran.
He went straight to the student who had led the bullying, and in his name as chairman of the school board he called an assembly of the whole school, students and teachers, and told the entire world that he was my weapon. As long as the Randalls stood behind me, no one could touch a hair on my head.
From that day I started to fall for him, and he gave me every bit of tenderness in the world. In our world there was only each other and no one else.
When he proposed under the blazing northern lights in Iceland, the cameras fought each other for the shot, splashing our faces across every front page as the golden couple of the year.
He gave me the most spectacular wedding in the world, and on that day strangers stood in the cold just to watch us pass, weeping over two children who had grown up loving each other.
Just when I thought I would be happy for the rest of my life, a woman named Tonya shattered every illusion I had about love.
I pressed down the tearing inside me, picked up my phone, and found that familiar number.
"Anne, have you made up your mind?" The voice I hadn't heard in so long came straight to my ear.
He'd answered before the first ring finished.
My lips parted, my cheeks went hot in a rush. I held my brows tight, my heart drumming, and at last I made myself say it. "The, the deputy director post you offered me before, I want to take it..."
My voice cut off. The words had circled all the way to my mouth and still wouldn't come out.
"I've kept it open for you this whole time. Come whenever you want." There was a thread of gladness in his voice.
I drew a deep breath. "Give me seven days. Once I've handled my own business, I'll come in and take the post."
