Deal • REWRITE • BOOK 1

4; She Loves Control

"Do you have someone fücking wired or something because I'm starting to think you do,"

L U C I E N

"Do you really think that she was that close to dad?"

Alex didn't bother looking from the window in my office as he shrugged in response to my question, his lack of focus making me sigh as I put down the papers in my hand and turned in my chair.

"Alex."

"Lucien, why does it matter whether she was close to dad or not?" he asked, finally turning on his feet as he looked at me with an expectant look.

"She's hiding something and I want to know what it is, I hate being blindsided over stupid shít," I grunted, thinking back to the way I watched Aria frown when we'd both taken her to see my father at the hospital.

"Lucien, she was clear about not telling anyone. Just leave it alone."

I stiffened.

His anger wasn't towards me but nevertheless I found it provoking, my instincts making my body tense as my fingers clenched into my palms.

Deciding to drop it before the both of us got agitated I stood, mumbling a few words to him to tell him to loosen the stick up his áss as I walked out of the office and towards the noise in the kitchen.

Vera and Ellie were here, Tevez and Bradley's girlfriends which meant the house was noisier than needed and the constant headboard banging became an overlooked sound. It was annoying and had me wanting to rip my own fücking ears off when it came to five in the morning and the sound was still ringing in my ears, their overactive libido becoming a nuisance in my life. It also meant that I'd only had two hours of sleep and that wasn't good for anyone, especially Aria since she'd made me drive her to church again this morning before the hospital only for her to sit there for two hours and do nothing.

Well...I'm sure it wasn't nothing, but for someone who was a self-acclaimed atheist it sure looked like nothing.

"Why are you scowling?" Jinx asked as I walked into the kitchen, my hands rubbing over my face as I shook my head at him, telling him not to ask as I made a beeline for the patio door that connected to the back yard.

He muttered something under his breath, the only words that I could hear being áss which made me clench my jaw as I pulled my packet of cigarettes out and walked outside, my eyes scanning my watch quickly as the time stared back at me.

4:47pm.

Instantly the cold air slapped me in the face when I closed the patio door behind me, waking me up instantly as I inhaled the fresh air and ran my thumb over the wheel of my lighter. I lit my cigarette, walking across the path and taking in the expanse of the garden, a hobby turned passion my mother had.

The extra space on the one acre land making up the garden had her sunflowers planted across the entire perimeter, the yellow standing out against the bricked walls as other greenery weaved in between other plants. It was a sight to see and oddly seemed to be a calming mechanism, the tightening in my chest happening for a reason other than anger as I blew out smoke and felt the tension in my shoulders slowly disappear.

That was until I spotted a certain someone sitting against a tree with a book in her hand.

Unconsciously I held my breath, my feet stepping slower as I walked towards her with the mind set to scare her until she sighed, turning a page with her finger and speaking.

"Scaring me won't do anything," she said despite not looking back, my eyebrows raising as I inhaled another puff of my cigarette and replied.

"You didn't even look back."