Page 6 of Breaking Point

Only, I stop when I see a figure perched against the wall by my door. In the moonlit landing, my heart stalls.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice is gruff, the sound like flint against stone, and I don’t know what it is that settles in me at the sound.

My shoulders fall, but I clench my keys a little tighter as recognition floods my veins. “Warden.”

Crew Warden. A man I was sure I’d never see again- not after the fallout with Charlotte. Yet he’s here. A shadow lingering at my door.

As I walk closer, I realize he’s scowling. Just like he has every time since the first. I don’t know why it bothers me so much. It’s unnerving. Intimidating maybe. And it isn’t just because he’s a solid wall of a man. He’s at least 6’3”. All toned muscles and strength.

Everything about him screams stay away from me, and since our last interaction, I’ve been keen on doing just that.

I plaster on my best smile, jamming my keys into the lock and twisting as I keep my voice light, “I don’t think I ever expected to see you on my doorstep.”

He all but called me a liar at our last encounter. He might as well have spat at me for all the distaste it carried.

The man despises me, and for the life of me, I don’t know why. I’m kind. I can be charming if I want to. Yet he hates my guts. I harden myself against the thought, twisting the handle to find it still locked.

My damn hands are shaking. I heave a sigh, refusing to show how much his presence affects me. I turn abruptly, finally meeting his brown eyes. “Why the hell are you here anyways?”

A flicker of surprise passes over him. As if maybe he wasn’t expecting the question. He frowns again. “Your father didn’t tell you.”

The comment grates my nerves, and when I finally pry the lock open, it’s with far more force than necessary. “My father didn’t tell me what?”

His assessment of me is so quick that I almost don’t catch it.

Almost, but his eyes narrow and his face falls flat. “That’s a conversation for you and him. There’s a car waiting downstairs.”

My father sent Crew Warden to my apartment- at two AM- because I’ve been ignoring his calls.

Confusion and annoyance flare in my chest, but as I look at Crew again, I realize I have no choice. He’s not leaving unless I go with him… and I don’t particularly feel like testing his patience on the matter.

“I’m not-” I start, but he’s already pushing off the wall and walking toward the stairwell.

“Get in the car, Ms. Hughes. Let’s not drag this out more than we have to.”

I swallow down a biting reply and begrudgingly turn after him. The entire trip down, I’m trying not to think about why Charlotte’s head of security is taking me to my father’s house in the middle of the night.

Somehow I have the creeping suspicion that I’m the one to blame.

Chapter Four

Crew

My gut hasn’t been wrong on me yet… and something tells me I’ve possibly just made one of the biggest mistakes of my career. After completely uprooting my life, starting a new company, and clearing my slate, it’s not a good feeling to have.

Dwelling in regret though- I’ve done it for too many years already. Now is not the time to start reconsidering my decisions.

The tension with Olivia is palpable. Like a sense of impending doom about to crash down on top of me. It’s not a matter ofifbut a matter ofwhen.

I accepted the job. I cleared the slate.

There’s no going back now.

My last job was a beast of its own. Viserion had several wings and gardens that went on for miles. Aspen House is only two stories, but with the jade colored marble and gilded accents carved throughout, it’s no less extravagant.

My first time meeting Harvey here two months ago, I almost wondered whether the golden lion guarding the front door was real. Harvey Hughes doesn’t strike me as a man to spare the expense.

He’s 53. Single parent. Been in Westos for over 25 years, and in that time, he’s made his money in law, representing Sutton’s richest and dirtiest. I’ve gotten my own hands dirty working for the type, but Harvey has a clean record- and little debt from what I can tell.

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