“Ransom? Are you mad at me or something?”
“Mad?” His throat felt dry and scratchy. “No, princess, I’m not.” He wasn’t mad at her. He was mad at himself. Why didn’t he ask about her last name or family? He should have, but he was too busy listening to his dick.
“Then why does it feel like you’re pulling away from me?”
“I’m not.” He pulled her hands away. “You’re right. You should go before your cousin freaks out.” And tells your father we’ve been sleeping together. Realization crept up on him: He’d been fucking Grant Anderson’s daughter. Fuck me! This was not going to end well.
“Oh. Okay.” She shrank back from him, a look of hurt flashing across her face before she turned and got up to walk toward the door.
Goddammit if that didn’t make him feel like a piece of shit. This whole thing made him feel like the biggest piece of shit ever. “Isabelle—”
The door slammed loudly as she exited the room. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He buried his face in his hands. God, he wanted to tear the room apart. His wolf, too, pressed at his skin, wanting to shred him from the inside. That pain would have been preferable to the ache in his chest.
A buzzing sound from the bedside table made him start. “Goddammit!” he shouted as he glanced over and saw “unknown number” flashing on the screen. Grabbing the phone, he threw it across the room and got to his feet.
I have to leave. His gut was telling him this wasn’t going to end well. The best thing to do was get out while he could.
He threw his empty duffel on the bed and flung open all the drawers as he began to stuff the clothes into the bag. Swiping his keys from the dresser, he grabbed the duffel and dashed to the door, yanking it open. His heart stopped when he realized there was someone on the other side. “Isabelle?”
“I didn’t want to leave like that. Ransom, I want you to know—” Her bi-colored gaze dropped to the duffel bag. “Are you leaving?”
He swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“Were you even going to tell me?”
Unsure what to say, he remained quiet.
Anger flashed across her face. “Just like that? You’re going to leave New York without even telling me?”
Yes, he was. It was for her own good. And so was what he was about to do. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Isabelle. This was just fun for both of us.” The look on her face made him want to tear his own heart out because surely that would have hurt less. “It was your chance to slum it with a nobody Lone Wolf like me before you went back to your castle, princess. Sleeping with me could be your good deed for the year.”
Her jaw dropped. “Do you honestly think that’s what this is about?”
“Then what is it about? Why are you keeping me a secret from your friends? Was the fucking not good enough for you? Or was it too good which was why you kept coming back like a bitch in heat?”
She flinched at his words. “You don’t know me if you think that way.”
“That’s the problem, princess,” he spat. “I don’t know you at all.” He huffed. “But since you’re here, why don’t we have one last fuck before I—”
“Go to hell, Ransom!” A glitter of tears was trapped between her thick, dark lashes. “Go to fucking hell and never come back!”
Every muscle in his body froze as he watched her bolt down the hallway. His wolf was growling at him, wanting him to chase after her. No. This was for the best. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with her in the first place. She was Grant Anderson’s daughter. The man who ruined his life. The man he wanted to see dead.
Shaking his head, he slammed the door behind him and made his way to the garage. After securing his duffel, he started the engine and drove out into the street heading uptown, not caring if he was breaking speed laws.
Though he tried to focus on driving, his mind kept wandering to Isabelle. The look of hurt on her beautiful face was something he could never forget, and the stabbing pain in his chest only grew exponentially. He was so focused on the pain he didn’t realize there was a figure in the middle of the street blocking his way until it was too late. With a loud curse, he jerked the handlebars and the bike skidded and threw him off. He tumbled head over feet into the grass and smashed into a brick wall.
“What the fuck?” Groaning, he got to his feet, bracing himself against the wall. He planted his palms on the edge and blinked to get his vision into focus. Light scattered like diamonds across the wide body of water before him, and farther out, he could see a ridge with buildings built along the edge. He had been on Riverside Drive when he skidded off, which means this was the Hudson River.
“Ransom.”
Ice flooded his veins at the sound of the voice. Slowly, he turned around. Sure enough, it was the man from the diner. Even out here in the dark, he was still dressed in his hat, sunglasses, and trench coat. “What do you want?”
The man’s nostrils flared. “I told you to be ready when I called you. Instead, you ignore my calls, and now you’re running away.”
“Find someone else to be your errand boy,” he spat. “I changed my mind.”
“Changed your mind?” the man said incredulously. “Have you forgotten the bargain that was struck? The plan that’s been set into motion?”
How could he forget. “It’s not worth it.” The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was true. Revenge was one thing, but he couldn’t allow anyone else to get hurt. Especially not Isabelle. “We’ll find another way.”
“Ha!” The man laughed cruelly. “You
