Page 1 of The Heiress

Prologue

Jace

Trevor Lingotom sat across from me in his expensive suit, one leg slung over the over, leaning casually as we discussed how to manage the ten million dollars he just acquired as if we were shooting the shit about Sunday afternoon football.

A few million was nothing to these rich fuckers. Chump change.

He looked down his nose at me. “And what about you, Jace? Did the resort return the investment you hoped for?”

The asshole was taking a dig at me because I generally stuck to more conservative ventures rather than gambling every dollar on high stakes opportunities. It’s true that sometimes these jerks won big, but it’s also true they lost big too. And while I had a comfortable amount of money in my accounts these days, the ache of being poor was something that never left. Like post-traumatic stress, anxiety strangled me anytime I thought about losing it all. So I only took big risks when the time was right. Everything else was secure. Diversified. Safe.

Before I could answer, the familiar sounds of two Harleys vibrated the air, signaling the arrival of myotherlife. My brothers only came to my office if there was an emergency. I kept my professional life completely separate from my club life.

Which meant it was time for Trevor Lingotom to leave.

I stood and buttoned my blazer, holding out my hand. “As always, it’s a pleasure, Trevor. I’ll see you in two weeks to finalize the paperwork.”

A curious smile curved his thick lips. “Got somewhere important to be?”

“I have another appointment.” That was a lie. Trevor was always my last appointment of the day and he knew it.

“Well then I’ll leave you to it. Have a good evening, Mr. Malone.”

I watched Trevor’s Lamborghini slide out of the parking lot, past the two Harleys hidden under the trees in the shadowy corner by the fence that separated my office building from the island tourist trap shops next door.

At least my brothers gave me the courtesy of taking the time to post up and hide. I stepped outside and gave them a wave. Storm and Riddick emerged from the shadows. The club’s sergeant-at-arms and his favorite enforcer. Both in full colors. I cracked my neck and my hand formed a fist at my side, already ready for whatever fight they needed me for.

They quickly covered the ground by foot, up the flight of wooden stairs, and through the door I held open. We stepped into the small waiting area outside my office. “Who fucked what up?”

Storm stood eye-to-eye with me but he was at least twenty pounds of muscle heavier, which was saying something because I was pretty fucking terrifying when I wasn’t in a suit. It was crazy how clothes changed everything. If I stepped into the coffee shop across the street I’d have four sets of eyes pointed my way, four lips pulled between teeth as they batted lashes at me. But walk into the same shop in leather? Those same women would grab their purses and shrink back a few inches.

“We got to bounce,” Storm said quickly. “The Pythons are pushing up on the fight tonight.”

“Fuck.” I cracked my neck again. There wasn’t a bet in Tampa that didn’t pass through our club. Over the last ten years Devil’s Wrath had gone from one of five gambling operations on the west coast of Florida to the one and only. Aside from a blip last year where some fuckers ran their own scam, we had a complete monopoly.

Which meant from time to time someone tried to get in on our action.

Riddick stood a couple of inches shorter than us, but he was just as intimidating. “Todd wants you to handle it. I’ve got our guys meeting us there in an hour.” He never used Todd’s road name with me. It was agreed between a certain number of us that he no longer deserved that honor.

I grabbed my laptop and locked up. My house was five blocks away and sometimes I walked to work, but today I’d driven my truck and I was glad that I had because there was no time to waste. It made the change from suit and tie to jeans and leather easy. I slipped off one skin and slid into another. I was a chameleon with more skins than anyone knew. Exactly zero people understood who I really was and I liked it that way. Not my brothers, not my handlers, and certainly not anyone who considered me family.

How far are you willing to go?

Those were the words that haunted me. They were also my mantra at this point. How far was I willing to go?All the way, baby. Because once you take that first step, there are only two options, and the first option didn’t work for me. I was never going to be someone’s pawn. Oh, they all thought I was their boy. Their secret weapon. Their toy.

Theywere all wrong.

I played my own game. People only saw what I let them see. To Todd I was his bastard stepson, doing his bidding as treasurer of Devil’s Wrath. The old guys didn’t trust me. I was a usurper in their kingdom. They clung to their president like he was a god. Meanwhile I took control, bringing in my friends and only keeping the guys I could completely trust, like Storm and Riddick.

As for my other secret job? Well, they thought they had me under their thumb. Complete loyalty, giving them everything they needed.

I didn’t trust them either.

That’s why I worked for myself. Maybe Jace Malone, financial advisor, was the closest to the real me of them all. That Jace made good money and took care of his clients, himself, and no one else.

How far are you willing to go?Her words haunted me when I let them. I spent a lot of timenotletting them. It was amazing what drinking and fucking could do to clear a head. That worked for a few years. And then it didn’t. That’s when work took over. I liked money and puzzles. Investing other people’s money gave me the opportunity to do both. So most days, that’s where I lost myself in hours and hours of work. When I wasn’t working I was working out. If those two things didn’t have me passed out at the end of the day, then I did some more. I’d been on dozens of midnight jogs through the empty island streets.

Today for some reason, she wouldn’t leave me alone.How far are you willing to go?It kept running on a loop through the back of my mind. I lied to everyone, even her. But what option did I have? Taking this path all the way to the end was the only road that gave me the potential for a different life.

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