Chapter 74

• She breathes in a sharp, audible intake of air that gives away what he does to her. Annabelle steps back from him, holding his gaze for a second longer before looking around the garage to check on the boys. She notices they’ve had some more people join them while they were talking. The perplexed look that passes between Beckett and Quinlan in what she assumes is a response to their interaction does not go unnoticed by her. She sees Davis rounding the boys up, and she knows their time there is ending.
• “I’m sure you’ll feel that way until you find someone else who fits your requirements,” she quips, fearing her words speak the truth. Annabelle turns back to Nicholas, still trying to recover from the impact of his confession and yet needing to show him that she has some semblance of resistance when it comes to him. A complete lie, but she has to try anyway. “Why waste your time on me when you can have any other girl willing to give you exactly what you want?”
• “But. I. Want. You. Annabelle. No. One. Else,” he smirks, “and I told you, my mom taught me when I want something, I need to go after it until I get it.” The man is relentless, but she still thinks he’s after the challenge when it comes to her. She shakes her head at him. “You have a habit of telling me what you want, Ace, without asking me what I want.”