His gaze wasn’t soft like it used to be. It was hard. Firm. Expectant.
None of it was real. He was just a figment of my imagination. Maybe I was feeling guilty or nostalgic now that I’d been assigned a new mark. Maybe I missed his kind nature, the way he cared for me and the way he spoiled me just to see me smile for him.
Tim was a pretty good guy. He didn’t deserve what I was going to do to him either, but none of that mattered. My job wasn’t about what I wanted.
It was all about pleasing the Father.
I hadn’t chosen this life. It had been forced on me long ago.
The Father was the leader of a deep underground organization. Once upon a time, they would have been called the mafia, but the changes in laws and police structure had made it difficult for them to operate out in the open like they used to. Now they’d taken to a secret network of interconnected people like me to carry out tasks. They used to launder money, sell drugs and women and all sorts of nefarious things, but with technology came new ways to make money.
It birthed the emergence of women like me who were taught to be anyone they needed to be.
It was the marriage con.
And I was the best.
I’d been working at it for a very long time. I didn’t have parents. I’d been abandoned on the Father’s doorstep when I was a baby and he’d taken me under his wing. I’d gone to the best schools. I’d been trained by the best acting coaches in the world. I knew several different languages and my ability to take on an accent was unmatched.
When I got older, the Father placed me in a home with a couple who taught me everything there was to know about romance. They’d studied it. The year I turned eighteen, they tutored me in the art of seduction, and I became someone to be feared.
I could be whoever I wanted to be.
The perfect con.
The perfect bride.
The perfect everything.
I turned thirty this year and I’d bested more than a dozen men in the marriage game. I’d made the Father a great deal of money. I was one of his greatest assets.
My phone rang in my pocket and I answered it. No one but Tim had this number. It was a burner phone that would get tossed in the sewer the second I cleared his accounts.
“Sophia,” a voice purred. My blood ran cold.
It wasn’t Tim.
“Who is this?”
“I’ve found you,” he growled.
“Dean?” I asked fearfully.
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone for a long time. I swallowed heavily. The blood was roaring in my ears. My heart pounded in my chest and my stomach churned with nausea.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
I had to get out of the city.
I dialed Tim’s number.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” he answered. Good ole dependable Tim.
“I want to get out of the city,” I said in a rush.
“What’s up? Missing the big sky country?” he asked.
I sighed. I had to get a hold of myself and hide the panic in my voice.
“Yeah. I feel trapped by all these buildings all around me. I just really need a break from it, you know?” I replied.
“You okay, Tina? You know you can talk to me, right?” he asked.
“I’m okay. I just want to get away for a few days,” I said softly. “New York makes me think of Maddie.”
Maddie was my fake sister who just died of fake breast cancer.
“Why don’t I send a car for you? I’ll take you to my ranch for the weekend,” he offered.
“God, that sounds perfect,” I said quickly.
“Then it’s a date. Pack a bag. I’ll be there within the hour,” he exclaimed.
“Thanks, Tim,” I said in relief.
“Don’t worry, babe. I got you.”
If only he could save me from myself.
* * *
I walked out of the back of my apartment building where I usually met Tim whenever he picked me up. It was mostly deserted but the weather was growing warm and there were a number of tents set up along the street. The pavement was littered with garbage.
I couldn’t be living in the penthouse and still be Tina from Montana staying in the city. My story didn’t exactly scream money.
I shrugged my leather bag onto my shoulder and crossed my arms over my chest. The sun was just beginning its downward arc in the sky. It wouldn’t be dark for another several hours. Tim’s car turned the corner and I smiled, brushing my blonde hair back into place in preparation for seeing him again.
A driver hopped out of the extended cab and walked around the back. He opened the back door and I peered in, expecting to see Tim’s happy face waiting for me as he held a glass of whiskey out for me to take.
Jack Daniel’s. On the rocks. Just like always.
He wasn’t sitting in the backseat though. Maybe he was on the other side with some sort of surprise.
With a hesitant step, I handed the driver my bag. He nodded and I climbed into the back of the car without delay. I brushed off my thighs and lifted my gaze.
Tim wasn’t waiting on the other side, but another man was.
Very slowly, he lifted his chin and I saw those same blue eyes staring back at me.
“It’s good to see you again, Sophia,” he said.
Dean.
This was definitely not my imagination. This was really real.
“How?” I asked. I was too in shock to formulate any more words than that.
“That doesn’t matter. The important part is that I’ve found you again and I’m not going to let you go,” he said firmly.
I rushed
